Langkazi, Tibet, 31 January 2019: In December 2018, a new large-scale solar district heating system, by Arcon-Sunmark Large-Scale Solar Systems Integration Co., Ltd began supplying citizens in the Tibetan town of Langkazi with energy, the companies announced in a Press communiqué. Arcon-Sunmark Large-Scale Solar Systems Integration Co., Ltd., which has been established as a joint venture company by Chinese Jiangsu Sunrain and Danish Arcon-Sunmark has designed, planned and developed the solar district heating system and supply grid, the communiqué said.

The 22,000 square metre solar collector field will, from now on, cover more than 90% of the heat demand in Langkazi, the communiqué said. The system also has a 15,000 cubic metre storage pit, in order to store the energy, so that it can be used when required, the communiqué further said. As part of the project, a 25,000 metre-long piping infrastructure has been constructed in the town, in order to connect 82,000 households to the solar district heating system, the communiqué also said. The majority of the households have not had proper heating installations prior to this project, but now they have access to heat throughout the year, the communiqué added.

Dr Aaron Feng Gao, Managing Director, Arcon-Sunmark Large-Scale Solar Systems Integration Co., Ltd., said: “This is a pioneering project within renewable energy in general and solar district heating in particular. The citizens of Langkazi now have one of the cleanest heating supplies in the entire world. We are proud to have been part of this project, which truly demonstrates what Chinese and Danish ingenuity collectively can lead to. We hope to be able to start up new projects in 2019.”

Langkazi is located on the Tibetan Plateau, which is 4,600 metres above sea level, the communiqué said. This high altitude location is also fairly remote and, therefore, represented a supply chain puzzle when organising the construction of the solar district heating system and supply grid, the communiqué further said. Despite the challenges, the whole endeavour has been completed in just nine months, the communiqué also said. Arcon-Sunmark has previously developed solar heating systems for mines located in remote areas of the Andes Mountain Range in South America, and know-how from these projects was also put into use in Langkazi, the communiqué added.

The communiqué said specialists from Arcon-Sunmark will train personnel from the local municipality in operating the SDH system, in the coming months, but until then the joint venture company will be responsible for the daily management of the system.