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IGC 2013 in Freiburg with new highlights – registration deadline approaching

IGC 2013 in Freiburg with new highlights – registration deadline approaching Exhibition at ICG 2011, Freiburg (source: Enerchange)
Alexander Richter 3 May 2013

The 9th International Geothermal Conference to take place May 15-17, 2013 features new additions to the program and registration deadline of May 6th.

Since the initial publication of its program in March, this year’s International Geothermal Conference to take place May 15-17, 2013 in Freiburg Germany has announced additional program highlights.

The deadline for regular registration is now approaching with May 6th.

The comprehensive and outstanding programme offers the Forum on Geothermal Energy on the Upper Rhine on May 15, with simultaneous translation. Speakers include Guerric Villadangos from ÉS Énergies, who will present the first results of the ECOGI Project, Dr Ulrich Lotz from Geoenergy, who will report on the completion of the first drilled well in Brühl, and Xavier Arnoult from DREAL Alsace. He will present the current legal framwork for the use of geothermal energy in France.

The forum comes timely due to the fact that interest in geothermal energy along the Upper Rhine Rift valley bordering Germany and France has awakened anew.

“The Upper Rhine Graben has shown potential beyond Rhineland-Palatinate with the successful results of the geothermal projects in Brühl and Rittershofen in Baden-Württemberg and in Alsace with temperatures over 150°C eminently suitable for the exploitation of geothermal energy”, as Dr. Thomas Kölbel from EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg points out.

The congress programme has further been enhanced with several additional presentations. The organizers also have been able to gain Ralf-Roman Schmidt from AIT Austrian Institute of Technology as an additional keynote speaker. In his address on the morning of May 16th he will talk about Smart Cities, focussing on the opportunities for geothermal energy in the intelligent provision of district heating and cooling.

As another example, Dirk Kraaijpoel from Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisc Instituut has committed for Forum IV. He will report upon induced seismicity in the framework of gas production in the Netherlands.

A completely new element is the “Speakers Corner” on May 16th in cooperation with the Steinbeis-Transferzentrum Geoenergie und Reservoirtechnologie. In an informal atmosphere young scientists, from KIT and GFZ, will present newest research results, building a bridge from theory to practice. Topics are corrosion and scaling, energy supply via fuel cell for bore hole monitoring, fibreglass sensors to control cementing as well as new findings regarding bore hole stability.

Another rather current topic is the amendment of the German Renewable Energy Law (EEG), which is expected to be on the agenda after the upcoming German federal election. The Wirtschaftsforum Geothermie (WFG) will offer a workshop illuminating this subject from a variety of angles. Participation in the workshop for members of the WFG is without charge.

So far more than 150 industry representatives have registered for the conference. The regular registration period ends May 6. Later registration will be possible with a surcharge.

The programme for the IGC 2013 conference can be found here. Registration information can be found here.

Source: Conference announcement by email