| Title | Geothermal Energy Use in Germany |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ruediger Schellschmidt, Burkhard Sanner, Sandra Pester & Ruediger Schulz |
| Year | 2010 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | Geothermal energy, geothermal power production, direct use of geothermal heat, ground source heat pumps. |
| Abstract | At present, 162 geothermal installations for direct use of geothermal energy are operating in Germany. The installed capacity of these plants amounts to roughly 255 MWt. The installations comprise centralized heating units (district heating), space heating in some cases combined with greenhouses, and thermal spas. Most of the centralized 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 decentralized geothermal heat pump units (ground coupled heat pumps and groundwater heat pumps). Their installed capacity exceeds 2230 MWt. By the end of 2009 direct thermal use of geothermal energy in Germany amounted to a total installed thermal capacity of about 2500 MWt with a pure geothermal contribution of 1800 MWt. Three geothermal plants for power generation are working in Germany, two of them combined with district heating. These plants are located in the North German Basin at Neustadt-Glewe, in the Rhine Graben at Landau and in the Molasse Basin at Unterhaching. The Unterhaching and Landau projects have triggered a boom in deep geothermal energy use in the Munich region and the Rhine Graben. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz, EEG) guarantees system operators fixed payment rates for electricity fed into the main grid. These are laid down over years, ensuring economical operation. The EEG will presumably stimulate the build-up of a geothermal power industry in Germany and will open new opportunities for geosciences and for the drilling and service industry. In collaboration with the “KfW Bankengruppe” (group of banks) the BMU has created a new loan programme for the long-term financing of deep geothermal drillings. The loan programme helps to hedge the discovery risk. |