Early exploration work starts on geothermal project in the Auvergne region, France
Puy-de-Dome, Auvergne, France (source: Flickr/ Mikel Ortega, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
29 Jan 2017
Companies Electerre de France and Fonroche Geothermal are planning the start of early exploration work for a possible geothermal power project in the Auvergne region in Southern France.
Two companies planning geothermal development in the Auvergne region in Southern France are now starting early exploration work.
Electerre de France and Fonroche Geothermal, are launching an ultrasound scan of Limagne, in the Puy-de-Dôme are, in the hope of finding geothermal resources. There are strong indications for geothermal resources to be found.
From mid-February, residents of the Riom area (Puy-de-Dôme) will see a very strange convoy of trucks pass by on their roads. Three or four trucks, in single file, will search the basement for a map. The goal: to know if the plain of Limagne could eventually accommodate a geothermal power station.
It is believed that the region has a strong potential for geothermal development with existing hot springs in the region giving clues about resources.
“The geothermal gradient of Limagne is more than the average,” explains Bruno Carton, geotechnical manager at Electerre. “Usually the temperature increases by 3 ° C every 100 meters underground. In the plain, it could be 6 ° C every 100 meters.”
The two companies have acquired an exploration license covering the areas of Riom and Clermont Maringues, but only the Riom area is the subject of research in the immediate future.
If the work planned shows positive results, Fonroche and Electerre plan to build a 5 MW geothermal power plant at an industrial park at Riom.
“It will be able to feed the industries up to Ladoux, to serve Riom for additional heating in homes and to feed greenhouses for agriculture,” said Lionel Bouchet, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Electerre.
It is expected that the “sounding trucks” will complete their ultrasound work at the end of March. It will take several months to process the data. Once the underground aspect is known, various permits will be required before the first surveys are launched in 2018.
It is only after that and the survey proving successful that further development can be confirmed for a possible start of operation in 2020. The total cost of the project is estimated at EUR 60 million ($64 million), financed in particular from private funds. This cost includes exploratory studies (EUR2 million), drilling (EUR30 million) and plant construction.
The exploratory phase is supported by the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and local authorities.
Source: La Montagne
