Drilling commences for Kirchweidach II geothermal project, Germany
Blessing of the drill bit during the inauguration ceremony for drilling at the Kirchweidach II geothermal project, Germany (source: Municipality of Kirchweidach)
Carlo Cariaga
25 Jan 2023
Drilling has started for the Kirchweidach II geothermal project which will provide supply heating for the district network of Kirchweidach in Bavaria, Germany.
Drilling for the Kirchweidach II geothermal project has officially started in the municipality of Kirchweidach in Bavaria, Germany. When completed, this project will supply geothermal heat to the greenhouses of the Steiner company and the district heating network of Kirchweidach, with plans of expanding with lines to Halsbach, Tyrlaching, and Feichten.
Preparations have been underway for about half a year in the drilling site next to Halsbacher Waldbühne. The drilling work being done by H. Anger’s Söhne is expected to take about three months with a target depth of 3200 meters. If the first well is successful, then the company will proceed with drilling a reinjection well.
Work for the Kirchweidach II geothermal project started in 2018 with the granting of the exploration permit. A 3D seismic survey was then conducted in 2020, resulting in the identification of the area around Halsbacher Waldbühne as the optimal location for drilling.
The permit for drilling was granted by the municipality of Kirchweidach in 2022. During this year, the project also received a grant for a subsidy of EUR 15 million from the Federal Ministry of Economics.
An inauguration ceremony was held to mark the official start of drilling operations for Kirchweidach II. In attendance were the municipal council members from Kirchweidach and Halsbach and the members of the neighboring communities. A short video of the inauguration ceremony can be seen below:
Kirchweidach is also the site of the first Kirchweidach geothermal project, a combined heat and power (CHP) that started with greenhouse heating operations in 2013. The project was then modified with geothermal power generation through modular power units in 2019 and a 4-MW binary system in 2020.
Source: Bundesverband Geothermie, Municipality of Kirchweidach, and GeoEnergie Kirchweidach
