EnBW takes over operational control of Bruchsal geothermal plant
Bruchsal geothermal plant, Germany (source: EnBW)
Alexander Richter
9 Dec 2012
German utility EnBW and local utility Stadtwerke Bruchsal announce that EnBW has taken over operational control and majority ownership in the holding company for the Bruchsal geothermal power plant in Germany.
In a release this week, German utility EnBW and local utility Stadtwerke Bruchsal announce that EnBW has taken over operational control and majority ownership in the holding company for the Bruchsal geothermal power plant in Germany.
Under the new arrangement, EnBW will hold 74.9 percent and Stadtwerke Bruchsal 25.1 percent.
“To utilize geothermal energy for the generation of electricity in (the state of) Baden-Württemberg, EnBW has worked for years with its partners in Bruchsal. Under the new arrangement, we will take over operational control, to continue research and development under the goal of a profitable operation. We are glad to be able to continue the trusted partnership with Stadtwerke Bruchsal under this new ownership structure.”, so Prof. Dr. Wolfram Münch, the lead manager for research and innovation with EnBW.
For further details also on the history of the project, see link below (only in German though).
For a few historic details it is interesting to state that the first well for the project was drilled already in 1983 with a second well drilled for re-injection in 1984/ 85. The project has an installed capacity of 0.5 MW (550 kW) and is a Kalina cycle binary plant. It started operation in December 2009, as the first geothermal power plant in Baden-Württemberg.
Source: EnbW press statement (pdf, in German), further details on the plant (in German)
