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NRW, Germany updates online portal for medium to deep geothermal energy

NRW, Germany updates online portal for medium to deep geothermal energy Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (source: Jose A. / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga 30 Jan 2023

The State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany has updated the state's online geothermal portal with data for medium-depth to deep geothermal resources.

The State Government of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany has published a new version of the  online portal that summarizes information on the potential for medium-depth to deep geothermal energy in the region. The portal can be accessed here.

The online portal was a project done on behalf of the state government by the Geological Service NSW and the state company IT.NRW. The portal presents a map of NRW with data on the subsurface temperature, subsurface geological layers, location of boreholes, mining permits, protected areas, and a host of other relevant information. The new update extends the scope of the portal to include both medium-depth and deep geothermal resources in addition to shallow geothermal.

Screenshot of North Rhine-Westphalia online geothermal map (source: Geologischer Dienst NSW)

“Geothermal energy will make a very significant contribution to the climate-neutral heat supply of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is therefore important to set the right course now. The portal, which has been fundamentally revised with the help of the state government, is another important support offer from North Rhine-Westphalia, which will facilitate the use of geothermal heat – in particular for the heat supply of districts through to the feeding of clean geothermal heat into district heating networks,” said Climate Protection Minister Mona Neubaur.

“The portal now also provides information about the distribution, depth and thickness of limestone layers, regionally even down to a depth of more than 5000 meters. First, we provide data for the Rhineland area and the northern edge of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. Other regions will follow,” said the NRW Geological Service Director Dr. Ulrich Pahlke.

“The portal is thus an important bridge to the heat transition. With the expansion of the portal to include medium-deep and deep geothermal energy, we are making important geo-data available to municipalities, energy suppliers and companies with high heat requirements and are thus already taking part of the risk from the projects in the planning phase.”

In October 2022, the Geological Service NRW reported the completion of a seismic survey that aimed to characterize and identify formations that can potentially host geothermal resources.

Source: Land.NRW