Biomass heating in Bogafjell, Norway

Bogafjell is a borough of the city of Sandnes at the foot of the Bogafjell mountain, in Rogaland county, Norway. In Norway’s national ambition to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, it has implemented an ambitious fossil fuel divestment plan. Its abundance of sustainable sources of energy make this perfectly possible. This is especially true for Bogafjell, where the vast forests in the region supply sustainable heat for the newly established community.

Bogafjell is a borough of the city of Sandnes at the foot of the Bogafjell mountain, in Rogaland county, Norway. In Norway’s national ambition to move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, it has implemented an ambitious fossil fuel divestment plan. Its abundance of sustainable sources of energy make this perfectly possible. This is especially true for Bogafjell, where the vast forests in the region supply sustainable heat for the newly established community.

Nærenergi, the regional energy provider and devoted partner of Thermaflex after a successful pilot project in Lyngdal, is a strong player in the Scandinavian energy market. It has been effectively spearheading this energy transition through the development of sustainable energy solutions for residential, and industrial markets. Also the Bogafjell project perfectly demonstrated how local resources can be used to establish resilient, independent communities, while securing affordable energy at a stable supply.

The project would construct a new community in the Rogaland mountains for young families. The aim was to supply at least 40% of the area (68 houses) with biomass heating and domestic hot water, collectivized through a district network. A 300 kWh woodchip-based biomass installation could be easily supplied by the widespread forests around the area. A second 300 kWh gas alternate would act as a back-up for peak loads in winter, as required by Norwegian legislation.

The total trace length of the network was 2,241 meters, with an average service temperature between 60° and 80° Celcius. To ensure optimal installation speed and operational performance, mimizing the risk of leakages, all connections were made with Flexalink pre-fabricated housing connections.

The project proved to be a great success, both in terms of installation cost, and performance. Our flexible, pre-insulated Flexalen piping system, combined with Flexalink ready-made house and connections proved ideal in tackling the time, leveling and labor challenges during implementation. On the first day, an entire street of houses was already connected by just 2 of our fully trained certified system partners.

Pre-calculated dimensioning and network optimization by Thermaflex was done in close cooperation with Naerenergi and the contractor, to ensure high and sustainable efficiency. Since its realization in 2014, 0 network disruptions have occurred. The Bogafjell case now serves as an ideal example as to how a local, community-based energy supply can create value for all stakeholders involved through turnkey solutions. Both current, and future residents get to enjoy a stable level of clean comfort, while maintaining a low energy bill.