Local utility in Freising, Germany urged to explore geothermal heating
Freising, Germany (source: Gerwin Sturm / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
22 Jun 2023
Members of the city council of Freising in Bavaria, Germany are urging the local utility company to evaluate the viability of geothermal district heating.
The city council faction of the Freie Wahler (FW) political party has submitted an application to the local utility of the city of Freising in Bavaria, Germany to consider the use of geothermal energy for heating. For their part, Freisinger Stadtwerke have already anticipated this development and preliminary work has already started.
The FW further writes in their application that “hydrothermal geothermal energy is an essential building block for the heat transition and climate protection” and that the success of geothermal heating in municipalities such as Erding, Poing, Unterschleißheim, Aschheim, Feldkirchen and Kirchheim warrant that the feasibility of drilling for geothermal in the city of Freising be explored.
Stadtwerke Director Andreas Voigt stated that the utility is already checking if there are any prospects of success for geothermal in Freising. This work is being done through the subsidiary Freisinger Fernwärmeversorgungs GmbH (FFG). In 2005-2006, there had already been a “permission field” granted by the mining authority for geothermal exploration. The water temperature was then found to be at a maximum of 60 degrees Celsius, entailing the use of heat pumps.
After almost 20 years, the scenario for geothermal heating may now be more economically viable with higher subsidies and improved technology. The FW are also aware that water temperatures decrease northward from Munich, but also believe that it can be profitable with modern technology. “At the very least, you have to examine this possibility in detail,” commented City Councilor Robert Weller.
Voigt also said the public utility company has already prepared a study entitled “Emergency heat supply in Freising.” This is in response to the request of the federal government for municipalities to draw up a heating plan by 2027. The plan has already established milestones to creating a completely regenerative supply for heating, so a lot of preparatory work has already been done.
“In order to be able to continue to make our citizens an affordable offer for heat, and at the same time to make ourselves independent of energy companies, we encourage switching to heat from a geothermal facility,” stated the application of FW quite succinctly.
Source: Merkur.de
