CPH City & Port Development owns the land on which Svanemølle Power Station is situated, so Ørsted is terminating the lease prematurely to enable CPH City & Port Development to assess whether the power station buildings could be converted to house cultural activities, for instance. The parties have therefore agreed that the power station will be transferred to CPH City & Port Development in 2023. CPH City & Port Development will now conduct an extensive assessment of the suitability of the buildings as a new Danish Museum of Science & Technology.
Svanemølle Power Station as a new and better museum?
The Confederation of Danish Industry and the Danish Museum of Science & Technology see a considerable potential in moving the museum from the outskirts of Elsinore to Svanemølle Power Station as part of the modernisation of the museum.
“There’s no doubt that Svanemølle Power Station would be a fantastic location for the Danish Museum of Science & Technology, and we look forward to investigating the feasibility of moving the museum to the harbourfront in Copenhagen.
It would enable the museum to present new and vibrant exhibitions of the long history of technology, industry and science as the foundation for our modern high-tech society. Our goal is to create a fantastic technical museum in a unique setting, helping the museum to tell the many stories of Danish inventors, crafts and industry in surroundings matching those of the best international museums of science and technology,” says Jørgen Lindegaard, Chairman of the Danish Museum of Science & Technology.
Anne Skovbro, CEO of CPH City & Port Development, says about the project:
“Svanemølle Power Station is an iconic building. Given its close links with Copenhagen’s industrial past and its location close to the new urban districts and the harbourfront, it represents a golden opportunity for revitalising the whole area. We’re now going to make an extensive assessment of the feasibility, among other things, of finding room for the Danish Museum of Science & Technology in the building, which we very much hope will be possible.”
Continued heat supply
Today, Ørsted supplies district heating from Svanemølle Power Station to the utility companies CTR and HOFOR in Copenhagen, and it will therefore be necessary to establish new heat generation capacity to replace the current generation capacity at Svanemølle Power Station. The exact location and size of the new facility have yet to be decided. CTR and HOFOR wish to establish their own heat generation plant and to manage the heat generation activities themselves.
“We’ve granted a wish on the part of CPH City & Port Development that we vacate the premises earlier than planned, because it makes perfect sense to us for an iconic building like Svanemølle Power Station to be used in future, among other things, for cultural purposes for the benefit of both Copenhageners and tourists. At the same time, we'll enter into an agreement with CTR and HOFOR which ensures the security of heat supply in the area,” explains Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President, Ørsted.
“We look forward to being able to build a small, but high-tech and environmentally friendly peak-load plant, which will be able to deliver a high level of security of supply for consumers,” says Lars Therkildsen, CEO of HOFOR. “Consumers will not be faced with increasing district heating prices as a result of the new plant,” he adds.
“The capital’s district heating supply and the capital’s urban development must go hand in hand. Therefore, CTR is, of course, eager to support projects that develop our city without any additional costs for district heating customers,” says Kamma Eilschou Holm, Managing Director of CTR.
The agreement between CPH City & Port Development and Ørsted is, among other things, conditional upon the approval of a new district plan for the area.
