GRC Transactions, Vol. 38, 2014 Development of Geothermal District Heating in Germany Eckehard Büscher, IGO International Geothermal Centre, Bochum, Germany
[email protected] Keywords permit. As the use of local heat is the fundamental idea behind Green district heating, deep geothermal energy, renewable modern district heating systems DH becomes more and more heating and cooling, Germany relevant. Heat, cold and fuel sources that normally would be lost, remain in the local systems for both: the residential as well for the non-residential sector including industries. Another important ABSTRacT aspect is the political target to become more and more independent from external gas and oil resources. The heating and cooling sector plays an important role with In Germany in April 2014 27 deep geothermal projects are respect to the primary energy demand, as in the EU and all over operational, 10 are under construction and more than 30 are in the world heat and cold demand accounts for about 50% of the the planning phase [Table 1]. All the operational projects are final energy consumption. The potential of geothermal energy providing heat, seven of them producing electricity as well. These for this sector and not just for electricity supply is vast: the RHC figures show a strong and rising interest in GDH in Germany. (Renewable heating and cooling panel – European Technology This projected development has the advantage, that geothermal Platform) estimates in 2020 over 25% of heat consumed in the EU district heating are efficient ways concerning costs, and that could be generated with renewable energy. By 2030 RHC technolo- Table 1.