Webinar – Environmental evaluation geothermal plants, March 26, 2021

This  week’s webinar by IGC Events will feature a presentation by Dr.-Ing. Florian Heberle (Center of Energy Technology (ZET), University of Bayreuth)  on “Environmental evaluation of a Geothermal Power Plant in the Southern German Molasse Basin by a Life Cycle Analysis”

Date: Friday, March 26, 2021 – 14:00 CET

Every technology and anthropogenic activity affects the environment. This even applies to renewable, green energy forms, such as geothermal energy, which are often labelled as being climate neutral. Yet, a second glance reveals that this is not the case, as the construction, operation and decommissioning of geothermal power plants implies a consumption of materials and energy.

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) help to identify and quantify these impacts in order to ensure realistic comparability at different levels. Despite a growing number of surveys, however, either not all influencing parameters are explicitly considered, or the studies are only theoretical and based on generic data.

Therefore, this study explores the binary plant of Kirchstockach located in Southern Germany in a comprehensive LCA. Corresponding scenarios identify leakages of used refrigerants and allocations of energy consumption during construction and operation as relevant impact factors. Results show that using refrigerants with low global warming potential ensures minimal effects even in case of larger losses.

In addition, resource-saving drilling with electricity instead of diesel can effectively offset energy needs by later electricity production. In contrast, auxiliary energy usage from an electricity grid dominated by fossil sources has highly negative effects on the environmental performance.

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148120317699?via%3Dihub

To register for the webinar click here.