Geothermal heating a step closer for project in Flemish town of Balmatt, Belgium
Antwerp, Belgium (source: flickr/ Russ Bowling, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
31 Jan 2017
After successful drilling and tests with reinjection, a geothermal heating project in the Flemish part of Belgium is now ready for the installation of a geothermal heating plant in the Antwerp province.
Papers in the Flemish part of Belgium report that the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (Vito) has completed the first two phases of a planned geothermal heating project. In the next phase of the project will see the construction of a plant at the site at Balmatt.
On the site of the project of Vito in Mol in Antwerp province, wells have been drilled to a depth of 3,610 meters into an old limestone layer, which has a temperature of 138 degrees Celsius. When pumped up temperatures of 128 degrees Celsius can be retrieved and used for the purpose of district heating.
After the drilling, reinjection efforts showed that a closed water loop can be created. Water is reinjected to a depth of 3,830 meters and tests proved successful in September last year.
Now the installation of the heating plant can be started and is expected to be concluded by the end of this year.
There are other regions seen as having similar resources that could be utilised for geothermal heating projects. Estimates see the possibility for up to 80 geothermal plants in the provinces of Antwerp and Limburg that could supply heat for 800,000 households.
Source: Flanders Today
