News

  1. Homepage
  2. Technology

Enel to exit geothermal project in Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany

Enel to exit geothermal project in Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany Weilheim, Bavaria, Germany (source: flickr/ Allie_Caulfield, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 29 Jan 2018

Enel Green Power has announced wanting to exit the geothermal power project in Weilheim, Germany due to lower than expected flow rates after initial tests of the first well drilled.

Reported locally, Italian Enel Green Power has announced wanting to exit the geothermal project in Weilheim in Bavaria, Germany. According to Enel, this is due to lower than expected flow rates from the first well drilled.

With too low productivity from the initial well, the investment of around EUR 80 million required for the power plant is not justified, so a four person delegation from the city council of Weilheim.

However, early results from well tests have only been recently available. A production test or acidification measures were not carried out. It is further stated in the article, a concrete possibility is to re-seal the well with cement and the terrain. This would take six to twelve months. However, a final decision to close the borehole has not yet been made.

Although the temperature of the thermal water from the 5,000-meter-deep well far exceeded expectations, instead of 140 degrees, 165 degrees Celsius were measured. But the flow rate was too low. In addition, there were repeated delays and shutdowns during the drilling which resulted in a drilling period of more than one year. A bigger problem then was natural gas, which was found and analyzed. In the end it had to be torched.

Source: TiefeGeothermie

Tags
Enel Green Power Geothermal Germany project Weilheim