Prices awarded for especially efficient geothermal plants in Germany
Winners of the Praxisforum Geothermie.Bayern Awards (source: Enerchange)
Alexander Richter
8 Nov 2018
Awards for the most efficient geothermal plants in Germany have been announced during last month's Praxisforum Geothermie.Bayern geothermal conference. The winners were Stadtwerke München for its Sauerlach geothermal plant and to Geothermie Pullach for its geothermal heating plant.
At the Praxisforum Geothermie.Bayern geothermal conference in mid-October 2018, the best geothermal plants were awarded the Geothermal Energy Prize of Bavaria. There was also a prize for special achievements in the field of geothermal research.
Bavaria offers excellent geological conditions to economically exploit deep geothermal energy resources. This is also documented by the projects that have now been awarded the Geothermal Energy Prize of Bavaria.
Particularly efficient systems awarded
In Bavaria, 22 geothermal plants with an electrical output of more than 30 megawatts (MW) and a thermal output of 300 MW are currently utilising geothermal resources. Four more plants are under construction. Particularly efficient plants have now received the Geothermal Energy Prize of Bavaria. Crucial for the evaluation was the production in 2017.
In the electricity sector, the Sauerlach geothermal power plant, which went into operation in 2014, was awarded to Stadtwerke München, the city utility of Munich. Sauerlach has a good concept, good development and good planning, says Jörg Uhde, Managing Director of Pfalzwerke geofuture GmbH in his laudatory speech. The Sauerlach geothermal plant was built by Italian ORC provider Turboden (case study). The best plant in the category of heat is the Pullach heating plant.
“The results are impressive.” Jochen Schneider, Managing Director of Enerchange, at the award ceremony. “We have 8,754 full-load hours per year for the best heat projects, and 8,554 full-load hours per year for the best electricity project, more than any other power plant.”
However, in addition to the special performance of the now awarded facilities, it was also emphasized that the overall excellent interaction between the operators is to further advance the industry. In total, around 900 million kWh of heat were generated in geothermal heat plants in 2017. This is enough to supply more than 40,000 households and save 225,000 tonnes of CO2. In the five geothermal power plants of Bavaria, approx. 136 million kWh of base load electricity generated. This would provide almost 45,000 households with energy and save 70,000 tonnes of climate-damaging emissions.
Christian Hecht Prize honors junior scientists
For the first time this year, the Christian Hecht Prize was awarded, which distinguishes young scientists in the field of applied geothermal practice. The best applied junior scientific work was determined by a five-member jury from business and science. Elena Mraz was awarded for her work on reservoir characterization in order to improve exploration concepts in the upper Jurassic of the southern Bavarian Molasse Basin.
Source: IWR
