Deep Geothermal Energy Production in Germany

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 7; no. 7; pp. 4397 - 4416
• Main Authors: Agemar, Thorsten, Weber, Josef, Schulz, Rüdiger
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2014
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Aquifers; Assessments; direct use; District heating; Electric power generation; Electricity; Energy resources; energy statistics; Feasibility studies; Geology; Geophysics; Geothermal; Geothermal energy; Geothermal power; geothermal power production; Heat; hydrothermal doublet; Marketing; Markets; Nuclear energy; Nuclear power plants; project planning; Renewable resources; Sediments; Tariffs; Temperature; Germany
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en7074397

Germany uses its low enthalpy hydrothermal resources predominantly for balneological applications, space and district heating, but also for power production. The German Federal government supports the development of geothermal energy in terms of project funding, market incentives and credit offers, as well as a feed-in tariff for geothermal electricity. Although new projects for district heating take on average six years, geothermal energy utilisation is growing rapidly, especially in southern Germany. From 2003 to 2013, the annual production of geothermal district heating stations increased from 60 GWh to 530 GWh. In the same time, the annual power production increased from 0 GWh to 36 GWh. Currently, almost 200 geothermal facilities are in operation or under construction in Germany. A feasibility study including detailed geological site assessment is still essential when planning a new geothermal facility. As part of this assessment, a lot of geological data, hydraulic data, and subsurface temperatures can be retrieved from the geothermal information system GeotIS, which can be accessed online [1].