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Work has started on 50 MW geothermal heating project in Munich, Germany

Work has started on 50 MW geothermal heating project in Munich, Germany View over Munich, Bavaria, Germany (source: flickr/ Achim Lammerts, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 1 May 2018

Work has started on a 50 MW geothermal heating project in Munich, with drilling to commence on six wells in the middle of the city. The plant, when ready will be the largest geothermal heating plant in Germany.

Construction has started on the Thalkirchen geothermal heating project in the city of Munich in Bavaria/ Germany. With a planned 50 MW of thermal The plant when ready will not be only the largest geothermal heating plant in Munich, but also in Germany. The plant is planned to supply geothermal heating to up to 80,000 residents of Munich.

We previously reported on the six wells to be drilled for the project, which will now be worked on.

For the new geothermal plant, a total of six drill wells will be drilled in a star shape from a drilling site to a depth of 2,800 to 3,100 meters. After 900 meters, they are to be drilled horizontally. The aim is for the production and injection wells in the deep aquifer to be more than 1,200 meters apart. This distance prevents the so-called hydraulic short circuit from occurring, meaning that the cooled water returned to the subsoil is once again lifted above the production well.

The special feature of the facility on Schäftlarnstrasse is that Stadtwerke München (SWM), the local utility and developer, is drilling for the first time in the middle of Munich. Helge-Uve Braun: “That’s why we have developed a special noise prevention concept here. The impact on the environment should be reduced to a minimum. Among other things, the concept includes ongoing measurements in order to be able to locate and control noise sources immediately, noise barriers, a particularly quiet drilling rig and adapted construction site logistics. Thus, the noisy delivery and unloading almost exclusively during the day. ”

Josef Daldrup, CEO of Daldrup & Söhne AG: “As a Grünwalder deep drilling company operating throughout Europe, we are pleased to be working as a project partner for Stadtwerke München. This project is currently one of Europe’s largest geothermal projects for heat production. The six wells will be drilled by experienced drilling crews using one of our emission-optimized deep drilling rigs and a noise reduction concept adapted to local conditions. The geothermal wells for SWM, in particular due to their size in the inner-city area, have lighthouse character for the use of geothermal energy as a renewable energy source in Germany and Europe. ”

The drilling work should be completed by the end of 2019. Then the plant will be built. Subsequently, long-term pumping experiments and the fine adjustment of the system begin. By 2020, it will finally go online.

The SWM are one of the pioneers of deep geothermal energy. In Riem, they have been using this process to supply heat to the trade fair city and trade fair since 2004. Their geothermal co-generation plant (electricity and heat) in Sauerlach went into operation in 2013, and the geothermal heating plant in Freiham in 2016. In the same year, SWM acquired two more geothermal power plants in Dürnhaar and in Kirchstockach.

Helge-Uve Braun: “We are developing renewable energies holistically – in the electricity as well as the heating sector. And in the heat area, the most energy is consumed. Our goal is to make Munich Germany’s first major city by 2040, in which district heating is generated 100 percent from renewable energy sources. The essential contribution will be provided by geothermal energy. ”

Source: EE News