| Title | Geothermal Energy Use in Germany |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rüdiger Schellschmidt, Burkhard Sanner, Reinhard Jung and Rüdiger Schulz |
| Year | 2007 |
| Conference | European Geothermal Conference |
| Keywords | Geothermal energy, geothermal power production, direct use of geothermal heat, ground source heat pumps |
| Abstract | At present, 140 geothermal installations for direct use of geothermal energy are operating in Germany. The installed capacity of these plants amounts to roughly 177 MWt. The installations comprise centralised heating units (district heating), space heating in some cases combined with greenhouses, and thermal spas. 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 372 MWt. By the end of 2006 direct thermal use of geothermal energy in Germany amounted to a total installed thermal capacity of 549 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. In 2004 the rate for geothermal power has increased from 0.089 ?/kWh to 0.15 ?/kWh. A successful development of the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (such as Hot Dry Rock technology) will make an additional contribution. 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. |