District Heating Graz Liebenau

The beginning of the history of solar dirstict heating in central europe

On the roof of the skating hall of the Stadium in Graz Liebenau, a solar thermal system with 1407 m² collector surface was built

On the roof of the skating hall of the Stadium in Graz Liebenau, a solar thermal system with 1407 m² collector surface was built on an ESCo basis. This system feeds the generated energy into the municipal district heating network and thus supplies the buildings connected to the district heating network in the area with heat for space heating and hot water preparation. With the necessary self-confidence and trust in the solar thermal technology SOLID and the partner company nahwaerme.at set new standards in 2002 with the construction and operation of this back then unique system for solar district heating in Central Europe.

Thanks to the strong initiative of SOLID, the necessary stamina and the support of the federal government, the state and those responsible for the city of Graz, this pilot project was successfully implemented as a first of its kind. Due to the fact that the energy generated by the solar system is constantly drawn off by the district heating system, there is no need for expensive buffer storages. The total collector area is 1.407 m² – mounted on the roof of the skating hall of the Arena in Graz-Liebenau. A transfer station located in the mechanical room of the Arena manages the transfer of energy from the solar circuit to the district heating grid.

The solar plant is operated in an Energy Service model in cooperation with our partner nahwaerme.at Energiecontracting GmbH who was responsible for the proper operation of the plant, while SOLID was in charge of the design, planning and construction. The reduction in CO2 emissions of around 250 tonnes of CO₂ per year significantly contributes to the achievement of the climate alliance goals of the city of Graz on the one hand and furthermore helps to reduce fine dust pollution in the city.