News

St. Gallen with geothermal power project

Alexander Richter 16 Dec 2008

The city of St. Gallen in Switzerland, a small city with 70.000 people, is looking at covering up to 50 percent of its energy supply through geothermal energy. For the project the city will invest about 120 million Swiss Francs (US$ 103 million).

The city of St. Gallen in Switzerland, a small city with 70.000 people, is looking at covering up to 50 percent of its energy supply through geothermal energy. For the project the city will invest about 120 million Swiss Francs (US$ 103 million). This amount is about 30 million less than is spent on fossil resources for energy generation. So the city strongly believes this to be a smart investment.

A feasibility study, which was paid for by the federal and state (Kanton) government, shows that there are ideal conditions for geothermal energy utilization in the city. With the experiences of the EGS project in Basel, which has been put on hold ever since an earth quake shook that city, it is important to state that the drilling campaign necessary for St. Gallen wouldn´t face the same issues. The crystaline base geology lies in a depth of 5,000 metres, which excludes the possibility through induced earthquakes. The Geologists believe that thermal water of 170 degrees centigrade can be found at a depth of 4,000 meters.

A drilling campaign could start as early as 2010, when a credit proposal can be put forward into the decision channels. A peer petition in the city, which wants to force the city to refrain from buying power from nuclear power stations, could help the project even further.

Source: Tagesanzeiger