| Abstract |
With the commissioning of a 5 MWe ORC plant in Insheim, geothermal power generation in Germany has now reached an installed capacity of 12.1 MWe. Further units for power generation are located in Bruchsal, Landau, and Unterhaching. Several new plants are expected to be put into operation within a few years. Geothermal heat uses in Germany reached a total installed capacity of 3,500 MWt at the end of 2011, with a pure geothermal contribution of about 2,400 MWt. The renewable heat produced amounted to nearly 4,600 GWh in 2011 and is estimated with 5,000 GWh in 2012. The largest portion of geothermal heat is provided by heat pumps. Their number reached about 244,000 at the end of 2011, with a heating capacity of about 3,000 MWt and a geothermal contribution of 2,250 MWt. The renewable heat produced by geothermal heat pumps in 2011 amounted to 3,870 GWh. Furthermore, about 170 centralised installations for geothermal direct use were in operation in Germany. In 2011, deep geothermal heat utilizations provided an installed capacity (geothermal) of 211 MWt. Common uses are district or space heating and thermal spas. Deep geothermal heat use reached nearly 730 GWh in 2011. The development of geothermal projects is supported by the German Government by project funding and subsidies for drilling costs. A loan program in collaboration with the KfW Banking Group helps to cover exploration risks. The feed-in tariff for geothermal electricity guaranteed in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) has been increased to 25 cents/ kWh, with additional 5 cents/ kWh for EGS systems. Furthermore, a market incentive program (MAP) offers financial support for geothermal developments. |