Drilling ongoing for geothermal greenhouse project at Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland (source: Vasile Cotovanu / flickr, Creative Commons)

Carlo Cariaga 12 Dec 2022

Drilling is currently ongoing for a geothermal projects in the municipality of Yverdon-les-Bains in the district of Jura-Nord, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.  The project by Malménergie Naturelle aims to extract water at 45 degrees Celsius from a depth of about 1100 meters to supply heat to the vegetable-producing greenhouses of the family business Stoll Frères SA.

The project has an investment cost of CHF 17.5 million (approx. USD 18.75 million) and is expected to be commissioned by 2023.

Drilling for the project began in November 21 2022. The plan is to drill two wells to create a geothermal doublet. Both wells will target the middle Malm aquifer, a well-studied aquifer that has already been tapped by the thermal baths in Yverdon-les-Bains and has been productive for several years. Geothermal water is expected to be extracted from this aquifer at temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius and flowrates of 50 to 150 L/s.

The first well, Montagny-2, is a deviated well that is expected to be completed by the 20th of December. Tests will then be conducted on the well to determine its flowrate and temperature. Results from the tests will help refine the drilling strategy for the second well, Montagny-2, to be drilled by February 2023 from the same well pad.

Founded in 1982, the Stoll Frères vegetable farms produces around 10% of the tomatoes, cabbages, and carrots grown in Switzerland. The use of geothermal energy to heat the farms’ greenhouses is expected to save up to 660 million cubic meters of natural gas and avoid up to 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Source: Geothermie Schweiz