Zwolle in the Netherlands receives exploration permit for geothermal project
Zwolle - Pelserbrugje, Netherlands (source: flickr/ Sjaak Kempe, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
19 Jan 2018
The municipality of Zwolle in the Netherlands has received a permit for geothermal exploration for a planned geothermal project in the region.
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has granted the municipality of Zwolle a license for drilling for geothermal heat. The permit gives the municipality the exclusive right to apply geothermal energy in the provincial capital.
The granted exploration license covers a large part of Zwolle with a total surface area of 75 square kilometers. The area that was considered promising by the municipality in December 2017, between the Dijklanden and the Stadskolk at the Zwarte Water, is also included.
Zwolle had to wait almost two years for the ministry’s promise. As early as March 2016, the municipality submitted the application. The TNO Advisory Board , the State Supervision of Mines, the Provincial Executive of the province of Overijssel and the Mining Council issued their opinions during this period.
The license granted applies for the next four years. Whether Zwolle will actually start drilling in the ground is not yet final. In December it became known that a location in Hanzeland was not suitable for drilling for geothermal heat. For years this seemed to be the most promising location because of an existing source relatively close to the earth’s surface.
However, the geological structure of the soil proved unsuitable. For the research in Hanzeland, a EUR 325,000 EU subsidy was provided to a partnership of the municipality, Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, school community Greijdanus, the company Ennatuurlijk and the province of Overijssel.
Due to the changed area, further research is needed to determine whether it is possible to pump up hot water. “It has not yet been decided whether, and if so, when it is going to be drilled”, the municipality said in a written response to local publication de Stentor. It is therefore not yet known whether, and if so in which place, there is a geothermal source in the area. ‘
The current research is financed from the funds already provided.
Source: de Stentor
