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Details on planned heating development in Strasbourg, France

Details on planned heating development in Strasbourg, France Old part of the city, Strasbourg, France (source: flickr/ Marius Brede, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 18 Dec 2014

The geothermal project in Strasbourg, France we reported on earlier is actually a German-French joint venture between Fonroche Góethermie, Herrenknecht Vertical and H. Anger & Söhne and is called Foragelec.

In an article earlier this week, we reported on a geothermal project of Fonroche Géothermie in Strasbourg, France. The project actually is a joint venture called Foragelec, in which Fonroche Géothermie is a partner. The JV includes Herrenknecht Vertical GmbH and H. Anger’s and Söhne.

The companies plan to have invested up to EUR 240 million ($300 million) by 2024 in the construction of up to four geothermal plants.

The plants are planned to be built in the greater Strasbourg area, as well as in communities bordering Germany and in the North.

The planned heating plants are expected to deliver 160 to 200 degrees centigrade hot groundwater from a depth of 3,500-4,500 meters. Electricity generation will also be an option, as the managing director of Fonroche Géothermie Jean-Philippe Soule reported at a meeting in late November in Strasbourg.

The first drilling is expected to commence in January 2015 with public participation process to start around the same time.

The project partners also commented on the technical problems of deep geothermal energy project. Mr. Martin Müller Ruhe, Managing Director of H. Anger & Söhne emphasized that the newly developed Herrenknecht Vertical and H. Anger & Söhne drilling rig has been specially designed for use in urban or near-urban area. The drilling rig operations with no vibration, no dust and no noise, “100 meters away, the noise level is 50 decibels, which is as loud as a conversation.”

The operation does not constitute risks related to exposure to local residents. Mr. Soulé emphasized as well that geothermal energy extraction by hydraulic pressure (fracking) was banned in France and the project has planned from the very beginning to work with a pressure  of less than 100 bar. It is expected that the project will work with pressures of between 10 and 20 bar. Therefore there will be no mini-earthquakes, so Soulé. 

These projects can be provide up to 80 percent of the heating demand in the Strasbourg area. “The heating costs would be 30 to 40 percent below today’s gas prices,” promised Soulé.

Source: Tiefegeothermie.de