The heating system in Munich’s Sendling has been running on gas for more than a century.
Munich, Germany:
The heating plant in Munich’s southern district of Sendling has been running on gas, which often comes from far away, for more than a century.
But more and more often it is the hot water from the deep underground of the station that supplies the energy.
To the side of the original 19th-century red-brick factory is a boxy new geothermal unit surrounded by a maze of pipes.
Work on the new installation began in 2016 and opened in 2021, before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine and closed the pipelines to Europe.
But the timely opening of the modern unit – one of the largest of its kind in Europe – is a happy coincidence for the city, which, like the rest of the country, faces the challenge of making up for lost Russian gas supplies.
‘Perfect location’
Munich is investing a billion euros ($1.1 billion) through 2035 to develop geothermal energy and make the city’s heating carbon neutral.
“We are sitting on a gold mine,” said Christian Peltl, director of geothermal energy at SWR, the operator of the Sendling plant.
“Munich has the perfect geological location” in a region known for its thermal baths, says Peltl.
Across Europe, interest in geothermal projects has increased in recent years as officials look for ways to decarbonise their energy systems.
The conflict in Ukraine has reinforced the trend. Last year’s invasion of Moscow brought Russian gas supplies to Europe to a shocking halt and caused an alarming spike in energy costs across Europe.
After a sharp spike, prices on the spot market have fallen in recent weeks. But the crisis has highlighted the continent’s energy vulnerabilities.
Reliable and sustainable geothermal energy seems to be the perfect alternative to gas.
Glowing hot thermal water is pumped up from three kilometers (1.9 mi) below the surface. The heat is transferred to the local network, which connects nearby houses to the installation, while the cooled thermal water is returned underground.
“Since the start of the (energy) crisis, there has been a real explosion of orders,” says Mr. Peltl.
At the end of 2022, the German government published a plan to increase the production of geothermal energy tenfold to 10 terawatt hours (Twh) by 2030.
To reach the ambitious goal, Germany, which uses gas for 50 percent of its heating, wants to launch “at least 100 new geothermal energy projects”.
Across the border in France, the government on Thursday published a plan to increase the number of deep geothermal schemes by 40 percent by 2030.
In Hungary, the government issued a decree in October to expand the use of the energy source.
The Italian government is also preparing to support expansion, while Denmark’s largest factory in Aarhus will open in Denmark in 2030, supplying 20 percent of district heating.
‘Tree’
Once fully operational, the new factory in Munich will be able to supply heat to up to 80,000 local homes via an extensive network of pipes.
The station is largely automated and controlled from a room in the older part of the building.
While geothermal energy is a boon to those who have access to it, “it’s only part of the solution,” said Thomas Gilg, head of the Munich plant.
Geothermal energy is not suitable everywhere. Above all, the energy extracted from below the surface must be used locally.
“We mustn’t fool ourselves. We can’t supply all of Munich with this factory,” says Mr Gilg.
Excavation works for the installation of a factory in Strasbourg, France, were responsible for two small earthquakes felt in the area in late 2020.
Nevertheless, the Sendling plant operators see the potential as “enormous”, according to Mr. Peltl.
Geothermal energy could provide carbon-free heating for “up to 25 percent” of EU residents, according to the European Commission.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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