Modular geothermal power units being installed in Kirchweidach, Germany

Orcan Energy Power Generation Units (source: company)

Alexander Richter 9 May 2019

A new modular geothermal power generation unit has been delivered to the site at Kirchweidach in Bavaria, Germany.

Delivered by German ORC player Orcan Energy, the modular plant can react flexibly to the changing heat requirements of the community.

As the Managing Director of Geoenergie Kirchweidach, Franz Heidelsberger, announced in a video message, the first module for geothermal power generation was delivered in mid-April. Electricity generation can start as soon as a new delivery pump is installed.

Heat requirement significantly higher than planned

The geothermal plant in Kirchweidach supplies more than 400 households and local businesses with renewable district heating. An important customer is the greenhouses of the Steiner company, which uses geothermal heat to produce local tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries all year round.

Both in households and in vegetable cultivation, the heat demand is higher than initially planned, reports Heidelsberger. In addition, the heat loss fluctuates seasonally and also throughout the day heavily.

Modular power plant can react optimally

Therefore, a modular power plant would be better suited for Kirchweidach than a larger inflexible power plant. The individual power generation modules of the Munich company Orcan Energy can be networked intelligently and then alternately approached individually or together – depending on current needs.

If a lot of heat is needed locally, then a larger power plant would have to be completely shut down in winter, since there is no energy left for power generation. “You do not have such a powerful net,” Heidelsberger wrote in his video message.

By the end of 2020, more modules in different sizes will be added gradually. The first step was done.

Source: Video message GeoEnergie Kirchweidach, via our German partner website TiefeGeothermie