House of the Holy Ghost in Copenhagen

Facts

District heating for Copenhagen

By Kathrine G. Bjerregaard, Cand.mag i historie og filosofi / Master of Arts, History and Philosophy (33 stories)

The City of Copenhagen began building the high-voltage power plant H.C. Ørsted Værket in 1916. It opened in 1920. A second section was added from 1924-26. And after a 3rd section was added, the plant was the largest steam power plant in the Nordic countries, delivering more than half of all power in Denmark. It had the largest diesel engine in the world for 30 years, built by the Danish company B&W. After World War II the decision was made to produce both electricity and heating, and from 1947, the plant was radically modernised. It is now mainly fired by natural gas and still supplies Copenhagen with electricity. Its diesel engine is in a museum.

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The sleeping giant

Story written by Kathrine G. Bjerregaard

Time / Periode 1304 1606

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H.C. Ørsted Værket is in the southern part of the Port of Copenhagen. From the day it started running in 1920 until 1994, coal was its most important fuel. Then the plant was converted to natural gas. Today, it is a modern combined power and heating station with the main purpose of supplying district heating to Greater Copenhagen. The huge B&W diesel engine from 1932 is now the main attraction at a museum called Diesel House. The engine is so big that the building housing it had to be built around it. In fact, for 30 years it was the largest diesel engine in the world and during a power cut in September 2003, it came out of retirement. It was the only power plant that could start under its own power.