Sustainable heating of Dutch greenhouses
Geothermal energy is expected to play an important role in helping meet climate targets. New innovative heat exchangers from Alfa Laval support the solution.
DATE 2024-01-12 AUTHOR David Landes PHOTO Graham Samuels
The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest food exporter by value, and the country’s 9000 hectares of greenhouses are a big reason why. But keeping those greenhouses the right temperature requires lost of energy, so developing alternative energy sources is a top priority in the country’s efforts to meet its ambitious climate targets.
The Dutch government has pledged to be free of natural gas by 2030 and reduce CO2-equivalent emissions by 49 percent compared to 1990 levels. The greenhouse sector is already taking steps toward using renewable energy, with several geothermal energy plants coming online in recent years.
Geothermal heating works by pumping up warm water from deep inside the earth (usually 1,000 to 5,000 meters deep). The warm water can then be used to heat greenhouses, reducing the need for natural gas and other fossil fuels.
Heat exchangers play a key role in harnessing the benefits to geothermal energy, ensuring efficient heat transfer between the warm water coming up from the ground and the cooler water that has been used to heat greenhouses or other buildings.
In 2017, Alfa Laval launched a new geothermal-optimised heat exchanger design as part of a pilot project, which has since resulted three other plants being retrofitted with the Alfa Laval solution. The new plants featuring the Alfa Laval design are also in the pipeline.
And with current plans calling for the building of an estimated 175 geothermal installations by 2030, chances are Alfa Laval heat exchangers will have a central role in reducing energy use and emissions form Dutch greenhouses for many years to come.
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Spoločnosť Alfa Laval prispieva k cieľom udržateľného rozvoja
Organizácia Spojených národov prijala 17 cieľov udržateľného rozvoja do roku 2030, ktoré sa svetoví lídri zaviazali dosiahnuť. Teraz je úlohou spoločností, ako je tá naša, aby k tomu prispeli.
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Náš ocenený časopis
Inovatívne spracovanie potravín, ktoré mení chrobáky na hamburgery, alebo nová technológia na skladovanie obnoviteľnej energie sú len dva príklady článkov v novom vydaní časopisu HERE. Články ilustrujú, čo máme na mysli pod zodpovedným rastom, ktorý prináša riešenia prospešné pre ľudí a planétu. Časopis HERE získal cenu švédskeho vydavateľa za rok 2019.
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