Authorities promote geothermal in Lower Saxony, Germany

The State Office wants geothermal energy from great depths to become an integral part of the energy transition in Lower Saxony. Last week, the office announced plans on a campaign with municipal energy providers and municipalities in Lower Saxony. “An energy source that can be used sustainably and in a climate-friendly manner regardless of the time of day and weather and that is already being used successfully in many places – that is what deep geothermal energy promises,” emphasized the President of the State Office, Carsten Mühlenmeier.

While, for example, showcase projects are being developed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg, but also in Bavaria and the Netherlands, or have even been running successfully for years, Lower Saxony’s energy suppliers are often not clear about the climate-friendly geothermal potential they have, the state office warned. “The development of sustainable, climate-friendly sources to cover our heating needs can become a major driver of the energy transition,” said Lower Saxony’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Bernd Althusmann (CDU).

The oil and gas industry should help project planners

The state office announced that it will be providing information on developments in connection with deep geothermal energy at information events. One question will be how the natural gas and oil industries can make their wells usable for deep geothermal energy. An online map series should serve as an information basis for the search for suitable locations. This would provide information on two geological formations from the Lower Cretaceous in Lower Saxony, which may be particularly suitable for generating geothermal energy at a depth of several hundred meters.