| Title | Conversion of Conventional District Heating Systems in the Ruhr-Metropolitan Area, Western Germany, by Stepwise Integration of Geothermal Sources |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lars K. KNUTZEN, Harro STOLPE, Rolf BRACKE |
| Year | 2015 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | district heating, conversion, geothermal, fossil fired, environmental planning |
| Abstract | To open a significant market share for geothermal energy a competitive technology for their application must be provided to the main potential consumers. The most densely populated and energy consuming regions in Europe are the metropolitan areas around London, Paris and the Rhine-Ruhr-Region with 12-15 Mio people each, followed by large single cities such as Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, etc. Around 50% of the total energy consumption of those is related to heat consumption over a range up to 100°C. Most of them use already existing district heating systems based on fossil fired power plants. Some of them are supported by waste incineration, very few by further industry sources (from steel, glass etc. –production). In Germany 13 % of the final energy is provided by renewable energy systems. The heat market consists 10 % of renewable generated thermal energy. The share of building heating represents 35 % of Germany's final energy demand (without process heat less than 100 °C). For that reason it is intended to convert conventional district heating systems towards renewable sources; geothermal energy systems are in favor to take a leading role. The Ruhr Metropolitan Area – an agglomeration of 50 cities with a population of more than 5 million at 4,400 km² – a district heating network exists with a total length of 4300 km. Shortly this network will get some additional connections for further redundancy. This will be one of the largest district heating networks in Europe, mostly served by fossil fired power plants. The challenge will be to: a)subsequently introduce geothermal heat resources on a temperature level of 90-130°C into the existing heating infrastructures while removing fossil sources; b)combine them with additional input from the industry and others into smart heating grids; c)develop EGS for sedimentary strata and structures; d)communicate this to the public. The authors will present a concept of the integration of geothermal sources into the existing district heating network of the Ruhr Metropolitan Area. Subject of this work is not only the geological conditions but the technical practicability. Since this project is supposed to be realized in the near future attention is paid to the integration of geothermal plants in urban, regional and environmental planning processes as well as the placement of geothermal plants in a densely populated area. |