With a height of 45 meters (almost 150 feet) and a capacity of up to 56 million liters (14.8 million gallons) of hot water, the utility company Vattenfall says the tower will help heat homes in Berlin this winter, even if Russian gas reserves are depleted. “It’s a huge thermos that helps us store heat when we don’t need it,” said Tanja Wielgoss, head of heat at the company based in Sweden, Germany. “And then we can release it when we need to use it.” While coal, gas, or waste-powered district heating systems have been around for more than a century, most are not designed to store significant amounts of heat. Instead, they burn the fossil fuels they need, contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. In contrast, the new plant unveiled Thursday at Vattenfall’s Reuter power plant will hold water at near-boiling temperatures using electricity from solar and wind power plants across Germany. In times when renewable energy exceeds demand, the plant operates efficiently as a giant battery, although instead of storing electricity it stores heat. “Sometimes you have plenty of electricity in networks that you can no longer use, and then you have to turn off the wind turbines,” Wielgoss said. “Wherever we stand, we can get that electricity.” The € 50 million ($ 52 million) facility will have a thermal capacity of 200 megawatts – enough to meet much of Berlin’s hot water needs during the summer and about 10% of its winter requirements. The huge, insulated tank can keep the water warm for up to 13 hours, helping to bridge short periods when there is little wind or sun. It will also be able to use other heat sources – such as that extracted from wastewater, Wielgoss said. Although it will be the largest heat storage facility in Europe when it is completed later this year, an even larger facility is already planned in the Netherlands. Berlin’s top climate official, Bettina Jarasch, said the sooner such heat storage systems were built, the better. “Because of its geographical location, the Berlin region is even more dependent on Russian fossil fuels than other parts of Germany,” he told the Associated Press. “That’s why we’re really in a hurry here.” “The war in Ukraine and the energy crisis are teaching us that we need to be faster,” Jarasch said. “First of all, to become climate neutral,” he said. “And second, to become independent (of energy imports).” Figures released Thursday by the German utility industry association BDEW show that efforts to reduce gas use are paying off. Gas consumption decreased by 14.3% in the first five months of this year compared to the same period in 2021. Part of the decline was due to milder weather, but the industry group said that even due to higher temperatures there was a measurable decline attributed to adverse economic conditions, calls from the German government for energy savings and personal efforts by individuals. Wielgoss said it was confident Vattenfall customers would not catch a cold this winter, despite imminent gas pressure from Russia as Moscow reciprocated Western sanctions by reducing gas flow through main pipelines. “Consumers in Germany are very well protected,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. But of course, we ask everyone to really start saving energy. “ “Every kilowatt hour we save is good for the country,” he added.
Follow the AP’s climate coverage at
