Permit granted for geothermal exploration in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (source: flickr/ ChrisYunker, creative commons)
Carlo Cariaga
20 Jan 2023
The permit has been granted to Vattenfall and Eneco to conduct exploration research to evaluate potential geothermal heating in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In a previous version of this article, we had erroneously attributed the permit granted to Vattenfall and Eneco to the drilling operations in Amsterdam. The permit is actually for exploration research. The drilling operations being done EBN and SCAN are conducted separately.
A permit has been granted to energy companies Vattenfall and Eneco to conduct exploration research for geothermal resources in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The research work will be contingent on the results of research drilling to be done at a location near the Johan Cruijf Arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Should the research wells have good result, geothermal heat can be supplied to a few thousand houses by 2030.
We had previously reported on the application of the exploration permit at the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate by the municipality of Amsterdam together with Vattenfall, Eneco, and the province of Noord-Holland. Meanwhile, research drilling will be done by government-owned Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN). If EBN evaluates the site as viable for geothermal heat production, Vattenfall and Eneco may conduct additional research towards building a heating facility.
If the exploration well is not successful, Vattenfall says that the search for geothermal resources may continue elsewhere.
The selection of the Amstelland search area for the exploration well was as recommended by the Seismic Geothermal Campaign Netherlands (SCAN) programme. From this location, SCAN can investigate several layers of the earth that may be interesting for the extraction of geothermal heat. Data from this well can also be valuable in providing information about the potential for geothemrla energy in Utrecht, Flevoland, and Gelderland. A detailed geological study by SCAN had previously identified several high-potential areas in the region of Noord-Holland and Flevoland.
Source: RTL Nieuws and SCAN Aardwarmte
