Hafslund Oslo Celsio

Celsio owns and operates two waste incineration plants, one of which is located at Klemetsrud and the other at Haraldrud in Oslo. From these plants, the company provides safe and environmentally friendly final treatment of residual waste that cannot or should not be recycled. Celsio incinerated a total of 356,000 tonnes of residual waste in 2022. The waste heat from waste incineration is fed into the district heating network.

District heating activities and waste incineration are important and necessary parts of the circular economy. Incineration of this type of waste has a much lower impact on the environment than storing waste in landfill, which is still a common practice in many European countries. The CO₂ emissions emitted by one tonne of waste over the lifetime of the landfill are about 50 per cent higher than the CO₂ emissions emitted from the incineration of one tonne of waste. Incinerating the waste and utilising the energy that is created also reduces society’s need for electricity, and relieves pressure on the rest of the energy system.

Celsio produces, distributes and sells district heating. The production of district heating is largely based on waste heat from the company’s waste incineration plant, however also includes excess heat from data centres and Oslo’s sewage. Other energy carriers such as bio-oil, electricity and wood pellets are also used during peak-load periods.

Heat production supplied to the district heating network amounted to 1,807 GWh in 2022. Of this total production, 1,016 GWh was from waste heat (waste heat from the incineration of sorted residual waste), 202 GWh was from heat pumps, 193 GWh was from wood pellets, 226 GWh was from electric boilers, 144 GWh was from bio-oil, 25 GWh was from liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 1 GWh was from fossil oil. Celsio’s share of fossil fuels was 1.5 per cent in 2022. At Klemetsrud, 138 GWh of electricity was also produced using waste heat from waste incineration. This is Celsio’s total energy production for 2022, while the figures for the consolidated accounts only reflect production after 19 May, when the company was acquired by the Hafslund Group.

Celsio is actively working to increase the use of local excess energy as sources of heat for district heating production. STACK’s OSLO1 data centre at Ulven now transfers around 3.5 MW of thermal energy to Celsio’s district heating system. This provides heat equivalent to heating and hot tap water for 4,000 Oslo homes, and reduces Celsio’s need for an alternative supply of energy by 20 GWh.

District heating has traditionally also been an affordable source of heating for Oslo’s residents and businesses. In 2022, the war in Ukraine and uncertainty associated with the supply of energy in Europe created high and unpredictable energy prices in the entire market. This also impacted the production costs and sales prices for district heating. The district heating price largely follows the spot price for electricity, and has increased so much during the past year that district heating is no longer competitive against alternative heat sources such as heat pumps. In order to retain existing customers, and to strengthen competitiveness against alternative energy sources, Celsio introduced a discount scheme for district heating from 1 November 2022, in which the discount rates rise as prices increase. The scheme is scheduled to continue until the end of 2023.

It is Celsio’s plan in the coming years to offer its commercial customers a total thermal energy solution, which is something that requires the company to be able to supply both district heating and cooling. Celsio currently supplies some customers with district cooling via a partner’s district cooling centre. The company is also working to establish its own district cooling centres, which will produce district cooling by collecting cold water from the Oslo Fjord and/or by using large heat pumps. Cooled water will be transported in insulated underground pipes to substations/exchanges in the buildings that require cooling. The substations are connected to the internal cooling system in the buildings.

Celsio has thus far identified three areas for commercial growth in Oslo as being the most important market areas for district cooling: City-centre (within Ring 1, including Filipstad), Skøyen and Ulven/Økern. The commercial building Construction City is currently under construction at Økern/Ulven. Through the company Hovinbyen Energy Hub, which Celsio owns together with housing developer OBOS, a new district cooling centre will be established to supply district cooling to the commercial buildings in the Ulven/Økern area.

District cooling is an important part of future urban development. When buildings with their own cooling systems are converted to district cooling, roof areas can be freed up for technical installations and used for other purposes, such as living areas and management of urban runoff. Areas inside buildings, which were initially used to house energy systems, can also be freed up.

For the city of Oslo, district cooling will make a positive contribution towards infrastructure development and result in lower greenhouse gas emissions. When there is no longer a need for each building to have its own cooling production or energy wells, underground areas can be freed up for other infrastructure, for example, tunnels for public transport. District cooling will also contribute towards phasing out the use of hazardous hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in Oslo, in accordance with the climate plan for 2021-2030.

Celsio’s waste incineration plant at Klemetsrud is Oslo’s largest emission point and produces a significant proportion of the city’s total CO2 emissions. Without carbon capture at the plant, it will not be possible for the City of Oslo to achieve its ambitious climate targets. In June 2022, Hafslund Oslo Celsio, the City of Oslo and the Norwegian Government signed an agreement to finance a full-scale carbon capture and storage plant at Klemetsrud. The carbon capture project will be the first in the world to construct full-scale carbon capture at an operational waste incineration plant, and a great deal will be required from Celsio to make the project a reality. Construction commenced in August 2022 with blasting work and the demolition of administration buildings to prepare the area for the carbon capture plant.

Celsio owns 100 per cent of the fibre company Hafslund Fiber, which is a leading player within dark fibre in the Oslo area. Hafslund Fiber is building the next generation fibre network in and around Greater Oslo, and is an operator-neutral infrastructure partner. When Celsio lays district heating pipes to expand the district heating grid, Hafslund Fiber simultaneously lays fibre in conduits beside the district heating infrastructure. In 2022, Hafslund Fiber had 29 customers, which represented customer growth of 21 per cent from 2021.