| Abstract |
At present, 30 geothermal installations for direct use of geothermal energy each with an installed thermal capacity in excess of 100 kWt are operating in Germany. The installed capacity of these plants amounts to roughly 105 MWt. The installations comprise centralised heating units, thermal spas combined with space heating and, in some cases, greenhouses and clusters of ground heat exchangers used for space heating or cooling. Most of the centralised plants are located in the Northern German Basin, the Molasse Basin in southern Germany, or along the Upper Rhine Graben. In addition to these large-scale plants there are numerous small- and medium-size decentralised geothermal heat pump units (ground coupled heat pumps and groundwater heat pumps). Their installed capacity exceeds 400 MWt. By the end of 2004 direct thermal use of geothermal energy in Germany amounted to a total installed thermal capacity of 505 MWt. The first geothermal plant for electrical power generation in Germany is on-line since November 2003 with an installed capacity of about 230 kWe. The economic situation in the electric power market is determined by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which sets a fixed rate for geothermal power sold to the utilities. Ratification of this law in 2000 has created a sound economic basis for the development of geothermal projects, and several have indeed been launched since then, mainly in the Upper Rhine Graben, the Munich area and Northern Germany. An increase of the rate for geothermal power from 0.089 Ä/kWh to 0.15 Ä/kWh is scheduled for summer 2004. Currently 6 new installations for power generation are being planned: Gro? Schˆnebeck, Bad Urach, Offenbach, Speyer, Bruchsal and Unterhaching. A successful development of the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (such as Hot Dry Rock technology) will make an additional contribution. The "Geothermische Vereinigung (GtV)" is promoting the ''1-GWe Programme'', which is targeted to achieve the installation of 1 GWe of geothermal power from Enhanced Geothermal Systems and deep hydrothermal resources within the foreseeable future. A study of the "Office of Technology Assessment at the German Parliament (TAB)" investigated the potential for geothermal power production in Germany. This study shows that the resources for geothermal power production in Germany amount to about 1021 J. |