Magistrate of Aarhus, Denmark approves geothermal proposal

Aarhus, Denmark (source: flickr/ Michael Edson, creative commons)

Carlo Cariaga 1 Nov 2022

The planned geothermal heating project in Aarhus, Denmark has progressed with the approval in principle of the Magistrate of Aarhus of the proposal for a geothermal project that will supply the district heating network. The project is being developed by Danish company Innargi in collaboration with district heating utility Kredsløb.

In early 2022, Innargi signed a 30-year agreement to develop and operate a 110-MW geothermal heating plant in Aarhus. This is equivalent to about 20% of the heating demand in Aarhus and will reduce annual CO2 emissions by up to 165,000 tonnes.

“In Aarhus, we have an ambitious goal of being a CO2-neutral city in 2030, and in that account the heat supply to citizens and businesses plays a major role. It is therefore very gratifying and will be groundbreaking that we are now opening up geothermal energy, a green, inexhaustible source of energy inside the earth,” said Aarhus Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard.

“This is an ambitious and sensational project, which emphasizes that we in Aarhus have high ambitions with the green transition. We get a renewable heat source, which makes our heat supply greener, and this will bring Aarhus closer to the ambition of being climate neutral.” commented Councilor for Technology and the Environment Nicolaj Bang.

The project will be implemented in phases. Since the final location of the facilities has not yet been determined, it is necessary to divide the project approval into phases, so that the project is generally approved in the first phase in relation to societal, consumer and company economic assessments.

According to an earlier update by Innargi CTO Hildigunnur Thorsteinsson, the first geothermal heating plant is planned in the neighborhood of Skejby. Drilling is scheduled to start in the summer of 2023 and will take 35 to 60 days per well.

Source: Aarhus Kommune