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Expert report published on geothermal potential in Bavaria, Germany

Expert report published on geothermal potential in Bavaria, Germany Aerial view of Taufkirchen, Bavaria/ Germany (source: TSV Taufkirchen)
Carlo Cariaga 1 Nov 2022

The Bavarian Geothermal Alliance has released an expert report on the potential for expansion of geothermal heating networks in Bavaria, Germany.

The Bavarian Geothermal Alliance (Geothermie-Allianz Bayern) has published an expert report on the master plan for geothermal energy in Bavaria. The report was commissioned by the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development, and Energy (StMWi), and contains an analysis for the optimization of geothermal potential in Bavaria through combined heat and power lines and examines the extent to which deep geothermal energy can contribute to the transformation of the region’s heating sector,

The full report (in German) can be accessed here.

About a third of Bavaria’s CO2 emissions come from the building sector, with a majority of the emissions caused by heating. Thus, supplying renewable heat from deep geothermal energy can play a major role in achieving climate neutrality.

Bavaria has 160 TWh of demand for space heating and hot water, excluding industrial heating. Based on the spatial distribution of this demand, around 100 district heating areas corresponding to 76 TWh of demand have been identified where district heating can sensibly be used for supply. Currently, only 8% of renewable energies have been used for district heating networks, representing a huge opportunity for decarbonization.

Subsurface conditions for deep geothermal energy are exceptionally good in the south of Bavaria or in the Bavaria Mollase Basin area. With 7655 MWth of technical potential, the geothermal energy in this region can supply 40% of Bavaria’s heating requirements. However, some of the areas with high heat demand are outside the area that is particularly well-suited for geothermal heating.

Geothermal potential map with heat clusters (circled in black) that are up to 20 km away from the region particularly suitable for deep geothermal energy. The potential area is limited to the north by lower existing production temperatures (source: Geothermie-Allianz Bayern)

This limitation can be overcome with interconnection lines between geothermal projects in South Bavaria. This will allow for optimal use of deep geothermal energy by increasing full load hours, reducing peak load generation, and providing redundancy to the system. Heating networks increase the efficiency for both the district heating supply and individual geothermal systems. Hence, strategic funding could significantly accelerate the expansion of interconnected networks.

With a targeted base load coverage of the heat demand via deep geothermal energy, almost two million tons of CO2 equivalent savings per year but this can be increased with greater coverage. Cascade use in industry and agriculture has also been proposed to increase the utilization of geothermal heat and make geothermal projects more profitable.

Deep geothermal energy potential is limited North of the Danube. More research, as well as execution of pilot projects, will need to be done for a comprehensive assessment of the deep geothermal potential in northern Bavaria, as well as in low-permeability rocks in South Bavaria. Technologies like EGS can also be explored.

Source: Geothermie Allianz Bayern