Geothermal Energy in Bavaria PROFILES PORTRAITS PERSPEKTIVES

GLOBAL PARTNER The Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria: Research to strengthen the geothermal sector

According to the Bundesverband of these Bavarian projects along- jects are successful, there is always Geothermie, 36 operational deep side projects, which are not used room for improvements in all geothermal projects are currently to produce power or heat, but for operative areas for this relatively located in Germany, of which two balneological purposes. Therefore young technology. are in the construction phase and 90% of thermal energy and 80% Since 2016, the Bavarian State five are purely utilized for re- of electrical energy generated in Ministry for Science and Art search purposes. In addition, 30 Germany is produced in Bavaria – funds the interdisciplinary re- projects are being planned. Of the a handsome sum. All the more search project “Geothermal-Alli- 36 projects, 26 are located in reason for the Bavarian govern- ance Bavaria” (GAB), which is Bavaria. This includes 22 opera- ment to unite and financially sup- being coordinated by the Munich tional projects, two planned pro- port the research of the deep geo- School of Engineering at the jects and two research projects thermal sector. Although the Technical University of Munich. [1]. Figure 1 shows the locations majority of deep geothermal pro- In total over 30 researchers from

Fig. 1: Deep geothermal projects in Bavaria (blue: balneological use, red: district heating, green: district heating & balneology, yellow: district heating & power, grey: power). Source: Flechtner/TUM. The Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria The Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria

Fig. 2: Research areas of the Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria. Source: Aubele & Flechtner/TUM. the Technical University of Understanding of interest. In this context, parti- Munich (TUM), the Friedrich- of the reservoir cularly worth mentioning is that Alexander-University Erlangen- The focus of this research field is for the first time a fiber optic Nürnberg (FAU) and the Univer- to characterize the Upper Jurassic cable is being installed in a deep sity Bayreuth work on solving aquifer system, which underlies geothermal borehole for research many different research questions the sediments of the South Ger- purposes, to further understand with the aim to improve the eco- man Molasse Basin as well as the process within the hydrother- nomic efficiency and minimize investigate the deep geothermal mal reservoir. Through constant the risks of deep geothermal pro- potential of the unexploited Nor- and depth dependent monitoring jects. This shall subsequently thern Bavaria region. In the mat- by means of fiber optics, one can improve the competitiveness and ter of the reservoir understanding, detect and record temperature- the acceptance of this local energy the research concentrates on and flow-zones within the aquifer source.The significant character- reliable predictions of flow rates as well as measuring shock waves. istic of this collaborative research and temperatures and the long- The latter is in particular signifi- project GAB is the comprehen- term behavior of an exploited cant for a better understanding of sive approach, combining all reservoir. Hereby it is not only the processes that could lead to aspects of a deep geothermal pro- important to make backed state- seismic events and their connec- ject, from the exploration and ments for the operational projects tion to deep geothermal projects. characterization of the reservoir but especially for projects in plan- Furthermore, work is being car- to the operation and monitoring ning. The hydraulic evaluation of ried out to analyze and further of the power or heat plant. The fault zones in comparison to the understand the stress regime of individual fields of research are mass facies regarding crucial para- the area, which can contribute to illustrated in Figure 2 and de- meters such as permeability and assess the risk of seismicity. A scribed in detail below. porosity is one of the core areas comprehensive seismic campaign The Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria

Efficient and flexible power plants One of the main research fields within the GAB focuses on increa- sing the efficiency and flexibility of geothermal power plants aiming to improve profitability. The topics of thermodynamic optimization and flexibility of power-heat-cogenera- tion will be experimentally analyzed using a self-constructed 20 kWel Organic-Rankine-Cycle (ORC-) test rig (Figure 3) . Experiments regarding the evaluation of different Fig. 3: 20kWel ORC-test rig. Source: Eyerer/TUM. working fluids can also be carried out using the test rig. Alongside the is planned for Northern Bavaria, The goal is to reduce or stop the experimental approach, the opti- which will enable researchers to formation of scalings by looking at mization of the power plant will also get an insight into the deeper the plant set-up and adjusting the be worked on using simulations. underground and the existing operating strategy. Therefore re- Throughout the ongoing activities, a geothermal anomaly. earchers will and have undertaken study was published which estimated Thermal water cycle: extensive sampling campaigns at the potential of geothermal power scalings and existing boreholes, laboratory generation in Germany [3]. submersible pump analysis of the thermal water and The research fields regarding the geochemical modelling. In addition, Monitoring thermal water cycle focus on the a tool to predict malfunctions of The aim of this subproject is to operational problems caused by the submersible pump will be develop and validate a monitoring scalings as well as the technical developed, which can contribute tool for geothermal plants. The requirements of the submersible to optimize maintenance intervals monitoring tool will monitor pump. Many plants and pumps and therefore reduce costs regard- components within the plant and suffer under the high wear and ing this component. This will be help detect the formation of scal- tear caused by scalings. The GAB achieved by developing mathemati- ings. The detailed knowledge of will develop a prognostics-tool to cal models for the individual com- the processes within the plant optimize maintenance as well as ponents of the submersible pump. result in a higher availability of the better understand the kinetic for- Building on that, a suitable control plant and help optimize the plant mation conditions of the scalings. method will be developed [2]. efficiency. Ultimately, the re-

Fig. 4: Position of the geothermal system within the energy system. By means of heat-power-cogeneration, the geothermal system can contribute to the power and heat production. Source: Aubele/TUM. The Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria

search is aimed to improve eco- geology and petrology, rock Potential zur Stromerzeugung. nomic efficiencies of deep geo- mechanics, tectonic and stress field Geothermische Energie, thermal power plants. analysis, basics of drilling and pump- Heft 87, 2017/2, S. 26-27 ing technologies as well as power Geothermal energy engineering, business administrati- [4] Homepage der Friedrich- within the power grid on, public relations and mining and Alexander-Universität (2018): One particular challenge is the environmental law [4]. https://www.gzn.nat.fau.de/studium/ integration of the geothermal sec- im-studium/master-geothermiegeo- tor into the current energy Seedfunding energie/, system, which is increasingly The GAB has an allocated fund- Date: 07.05.2018 dominated by volatile renewable ing budget to support smaller energies. The GAB is trying to research projects, which relate to [5] Homepage der Geothermie- answer questions regarding the the ongoing research topics. The Allianz Bayern (2018): costs and potential of deep geo- funding is limited to Bavarian uni- https://www.mse.tum.de/gab/ thermal systems as well as evaluat- versities and distributed yearly forschung/seedfunding/, ing the contribution of deep geo- based on a selection process [5]. Date: 07.05.2018 thermal energy towards the ener- Communication, gy supply reliability. Deep geo- Networking and thermal energy can play a signifi- Information cant role for a greenhouse gas Next to completing the above neutral energy supply, especially mentioned research topics, the for urban areas. Figure 4 shows GAB poses as a communication how the geothermal system fits and networking platform for within the energy system of the stakeholders of the deep geother- future, which itself will rely less mal community. The GAB offers on fossil fuel supply. a unique point of contact for the All research carried out within the research community, to identify GAB can fall back on a growing and combine research questions, data pool, thanks to collaborations connect scientists, provide a with many Bavarian geothermal home for young scientists and plant operators. This clearly engage in concerns of operators shows the cooperative nature bet- and authorities. In addition, the ween research and industry. The GAB team provides information results of the scientific effort can for citizens and educational work be directly implemented and con- on the subject “deep geothermal tribute to strengthen this young energy” in a scientifically sound technology. and neutral way.

Education, education, References education [1] Bundesverband Geothermie Of great importance for the GAB (2018): www.geothermie.de/ is the education of young re- fileadmin/useruploads/wissenswelt/ searchers in the field of deep geo- Projektliste_Tiefe_Geothermie_ thermal systems. By implementing 2018.pdf, Date: 07.05.2018 a separate study program called Geothermal Energy, which is [2] Kullick, J.; Hackl, C. M. (2017): jointly undertaken by the FAU Dynamic Modeling and Simulation Point of Contact: and TUM and supported by many of Deep Geothermal Electric Dr. guest lecturers coming from in- Submersible Pumping Systems. Katharina Aubele dustry or research, the GAB lays Energies 10 (10), 1659, Project Manager – the foundation for an upcoming doi:10.3390/en10101659 Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria generation of geothermal profes- sionals. The study program of this [3] Eyerer, S.; Wieland, C.; four-semester master study includes Schifflechner, C.; Spliethoff, H. modern exploration methods, (2017): Hydrothermale [email protected] fundamentals of the reservoir Geothermie in Deutschland - Energy revolution in the fast lane

Erdwärme Grünwald is continuing on its path to becoming a holistic energy supplier.

Erdwärme Grünwald GmbH (EWG), a wholly owned subsidi- ary of the municipality of Grün- wald, has completed a district heating network of around 100 km in just seven years - including the service lines for more than 2,000 residential and commercial units already connected to geothermal district heating and the inter- connector to Geothermie Unter- haching. Grünwalder’s heating customers, the environment and the ecological footprint of the community benefit from this The geothermal system of Erdwärme Grünwald in Laufzorn: right: the geothermal heat- speed. ing plant, in which the combined heat and power plant for own power generation and the power-to-heat plant are placed, in the foreground the information pavilion, rear left the ORC power plant Extensive energy portfolio In addition, EWC produces green thermal activities in the south of ensure this sustainably at a high electricity in its own ORC power Munich and in the southern level is only possible in a strong plant, operates a combined heat district of Munich. team.” and power plant for its own This success story is based on the power generation and a power-to- forward-looking decisions of the 10 years of heat plant to compensate for volt- Grünwalder city council and the Erdwärme Grünwald age differences in the public competent commitment of the In 2018 the EWG celebrates its power grid. EWG has increased 12-member EWG team: with tenth anniversary. On October 8, their participation in the Geother- Andreas Lederle and Stefan 2008, the community Grünwald mie Unterhaching Produktions Rothörl in the management, the acquired 100 percent of the geo- GmbH & Co KG in agreement technical team led by Horst Wag- thermal project initiated by the with the neighboring community ner for the stable operation of all company Astherm GmbH in the Unterhaching mid-December energy-technical systems and the neighboring community of Ober- 2017 from 50% to about 95%. In Sales and Customer Advisory haching-Laufzorn and launched a addition, in February 2018, in a Team. “In the case of EWG, the successful duplicate bore the fol- joint seismic campaign with Stadt- spirit is right,” says EWG Man- lowing year. The strike was con- werke München and IEP Innova- aging Director Andreas Lederle, firmed in June 2010: up to 140 tive Energie Pullach, EWG paved “renewable energy generation and liters / second with a temperature

Erdwärme Grünwald Erdwärme the way for an expansion of geo- distribution is a complex topic. To of 127 degrees Celsius. Two Erdwärme Grünwald

green electricity even at peak loads of the district heating net- work, for example, in the morn- ing, only much less than in the course of the day. Of course, the heat supply has pri- ority - so only produces as much green electricity as the heat supply allows. So the leftover thermal energy after that goes into the electricity production in the ORC power plant - and automatically. Because the plant control in Lauf- zorn is designed in such a way that district heating and electricity pro- duction are always exactly coordi- nated, depending on the time of the day and the season.

The power plants in Laufzorn ...... include various modules: Pro- duction and injection well, each The geothermal system of the Erdwärme Grünwald in Laufzorn is harmoniously embed- about 4,000 m long, the subsur- ded in the landscape. To the left of the heating plant and in front of the ORC power plant is the duplicate bore: Production and re-injection wells are each over 4,000 feet face pump at about 780 meters deep; EWG is producing a robust 120 liters / second with a temperature of 127 degrees depth, the frequency converter Celsius from ABB, the geothermal heat- ing plant with reserve and peak months later, the construction of Grünwalder cooperative and all demand oil boilers, the CHP for the district heating network municipal real estate such as town own power generation, the ORC began, in October 2011, the first hall, schools, kindergarten, the power plant, that generates green geothermal district heating flowed amusement park and the House of electricity and feeds into the in the Struwwelpeter Kindergar- Encounter. general power grid, as well as the ten in Grünwald. As early as the power-to-heat system, which summer of 2012, EWG also Supply security a top priority removes excess electricity from connected major customer Bavaria The ultimate goal of Erdwärme the grid and thereby contributes Film to geothermal district heat- Grünwald is the security of sup- to the stability of the power grid. ing - the world's first film studio ply in Grünwald - and thus the “The entire system is comparable to source its heat exclusively from permanently stable and robust to an orchestra,” says the EWG geothermal energy. operation of the power genera- Managing Director Andreas Lederle, Since the end of 2017, after the tion plants in Laufzorn. This con- “Every instrument does its best, last metres of the Grünwalder cerns both the production of heat so - to take the metaphor further district heating network was laid, in the geothermal heating plant - the sound is right. Our team every household in Grünwald and the production of green elec- around the technical director now has the opportunity to tricity in the ORC power plant. Horst Wagner does an outstand- connect to geothermal district EWG therefore relies on contin- ing job here; he succeeded in heating in addition to the districts uous operation in all parts of the harmonising all the modules in of Wörnbrunn, Oberdill and plant - at any time of the day or Laufzorn so that they work Gasteig. Of course, there is no season. Because this continuous robustly and reliably. Thus, we obligation to connect - the district operation, in the optimal operat- ensure the best possible availa- heating network is growing grad- ing window with continuous 120 bility of the technical equipment ually and, as of May 2018, has aro- liters / second, means the least through professional operational und 1,100 Grünwalder heating possible load on the system parts management. This permanently contract customers with a total of e.g. through thermal fluctuations. guarantees the security of supply over 2,000 connected residential Thus EWG produces green elec- in Grünwald. “So the first EWG and commercial units: including tricity even in winter, only much submersible pump ran for 30 private customers, companies, the less than in summer, and produces months in continuous operation, Erdwärme Grünwald

the second, as of the editorial deadline May 2018, already 25 months.

Cooperation with science Because the energy industry is developing rapidly, the technical possibilities and legal requirements are also developing. This is the re- sponsibility of EWG through close cooperation with science among other things. EWG works closely with the “Geothermal Alliance of Bavaria”, an interdisciplinary re- search project of TU Munich, Uni- versity of Erlangen-Nuremberg and University of Bayreuth on Meeting place for energy experts, students, interested citizens and delegations from all over the world - the Information Centre of Erdwärme Grünwald in Laufzorn. aspects of deep geothermal energy. Copyright Sascha Kletzsch EWG MD Andreas Lederle is also involved in the advisory board of a and foreign delegations including being a flagship organisation project of the Federal Ministry of from schools, colleges and the ener- through our proactive overall Education and Research on deep gy industry. Guest at WGC have approach and long-term stable oper- geothermal energy. “We are at the already included delegations from ations. We are happy to share our forefront of being able to meet the Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Finland, experiences.“ ever-changing requirements at an Ukraine, Belarus and Switzerland, early stage,” says Andreas Lederle. Indonesia, China, Japan and Central Grünwald's answer to climate “We attach great importance to the America. They all share an interest change further development of our in a geothermal plant, which shows With the use of the Laufzorn systems, keyword digitisation, and how professionally a municipal utili- geothermal spring, the Erdwärmer to tangible benefits for our custom- ty company can harness the earth's Grünwald takes the energy revo- ers. This will allow us to sustain- renewable energy. lution into its own hands and pro- ably grow in the face of the diverse “The use of geothermal energy is vides a clear answer to climate demands placed on us as an energy a hot topic worldwide,” says Erd- change. Grünwald took the citi- supply company. ” wärme Grünwald MD Andreas zens early on the path of the EWG is constantly engaged in dia- Lederle, “we are very pleased that energy revolution. The accept- logue with Grünwalder citizens, the global geothermal industry ance of geothermal energy in companies, associations and organi- wants to learn from EWG. We Grünwald is high. sations, as well as with domestic have earned the reputation of Beteiligung an der Geothermie Unterhaching è

Author: Andreas Lederle Spokesman of the Management

Erdwärme Grünwald GmbH

Tölzer Straße 19, 82031 Grünwald Phone: 089 / 620 30 85 16 Around 50 prospective geothermal PhD students from all over the world visited Erdwär- Fax: 089 / 620 30 85 20 me Grünwald on the occasion of the “European Geothermal PhD Days“ at the renowned E-Mail: ETH Zurich [email protected] Erdwärme Grünwald

“The energy revolution does not end at the edge of the community“

EWG increased their participation in the Geothermie Unterhaching Produktions GmbH & Co KG in agreement with Unterhaching mid-December 2017 from 50% to about 95%.

heat energy should be promoted together. As municipalities Grün- wald and Unterhaching both think long term. Both communities benefit from inter-municipal co- operation. For us, the security of supply to our citizens comes first - and this is increased by the fact that the communities network. We see the expansion of the district heat- ing network as a long-term infra- The team for a strong, solid foundation of geothermal energy Unterhaching Produkti- ons-GmbH & Co.KG: from right Andreas Lederle, Managing Director of Erdwärme structure project.” Grünwald and Geothermie Unterhaching Produktions-GmbH & Co.KG, Grünwalds 1st Mayor Jan Neusiedl, Unterhachings 1st Mayor Wolfgang Panzer and Wolfgang Geisinger, Security of supply in the Managing Director of Geothermie Unterhaching Produktions-GmbH & Co.KG and district heating network Geothermie Unterhaching GmbH & Co KG.s Unterhaching Since 1 January 2014, Erdwärme cided to finally switch off the Kali- The basis for the security of Grünwald GmbH (EWG) has na power plant in Unterhaching. supply in the district heating held a 50% stake in Geothermie “The geothermal heat network network Unterhaching is and Unterhaching Produktions-GmbH between geothermal Unterhaching will remain the December 2013 & Co. KG (GUHP); the other Produktions GmbH & Co. KG and heat supply contract between 50% were owned by Geothermie Erdwärme Grünwald existing since the GUHP and Geothermie Unterhaching GmbH & Co KG April 2013 has proven itself,“ agree Unterhaching GmbH & Co. KG (GUH). The heat network of the Unterhachings 1st Mayor Wolf- (GUH), which is responsible two municipalities began in spring gang Panzer and Grünwalds 1st for the grid, with a term of at 2013 - for mutual benefit. Since Mayor Jan Neusiedl, “because we least 30 years; it applies then, the two geothermal compa- give each other regenerative unchanged. nies have been able to meet their redundancy during maintenance Geothermie Unterhaching al- heating needs during maintenance work. In addition, geothermal ready supplies more than 50% of work on the submersible pump or energy from Unterhaching can also Unterhaching households and at the heating plant using geother- be used by the EWG. With the businesses with geothermal mal energy from the partner. This new shareholding arrangements district heating. In 2018, the mark saves expensive heating oil and since mid-December 2017, we have of 14,000 inhabitants, which are protects the environment. In addi- placed Geothermie Unterhaching supplied from deep geothermal tion, the EWG also uses geother- Produktions-GmbH & Co.KG on energy, will be passed. “This is mal energy from Unterhaching for a strong, solid foundation. This how we operate Germany’s larg- its heat supply or electricity gen- secures the future viability of geo- est geothermal district heating eration in the ORC power plant thermal energy and is another big network,” says Wolfgang Geisin- Laufzorn. step towards a climate-friendly heat ger, Managing Director of Geo- In mid-December 2017, EWG and supply in both communities.” thermie Unterhaching GmbH & GUHP reorganised their owner- “The energy revolution does not Co KG. ship structure: Since then Erdwär- end at the edge of the community” Operation, maintenance and serv- me Grünwald GmbH owns says Grünwalds 1st Mayor Jan icing of the heat network from 94.96% of Geothermie Unter- Neusiedl, “and the valuable, the Laufzorn to Unterhaching are haching Produktions-GmbH & Co. energy resource under our feet, carried out by the EWG team KG. At the same time, it was de- definitely not. This geothermal around Horst Wagner.

Broad knowledge on shallow geothermal energy at the GeoCentre of Northern Bavaria

In the heart of Franconia, located in the Metropolitan Region of Nuremberg, the GeoCentre of Northern Bavaria is well known for their scientific expertise in the field of shallow to very shallow geothermal energy. Included in the Department of Geology, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Harald Stollhofen, the working group of Dr. David Bertermann deals with scientific research on shallow geothermal ener- gy. The research projects range from basic research to applied industrial projects.

In the field of shallow geothermal In two other EU-funded research energy, the “shallow geothermal projects under the umbrella of working group”, headed by Dr. Horizon2020, the shallow geo- David Bertermann, accomplishes thermal working group is en- an important contribution to the trusted with the management of (www.cheap-gshp.eu) is to reduce portfolio of the Chair of Geolo- more geologically based work the installation and operating gy at the GeoCentre of Northern packages. costs for shallow geothermal Bavaria. National research projec- systems across Europe. This cost ts, in close collaboration with The aim of the E 5,804,849 fund- saving is to be achieved by the industrial and academic partners ed EU project Cheap-GSHPs development of new drilling within Germany, as well as inter- national EU-funded research pro- jects of the Horizon2020 funding line are among the day-to-day work of shallow geothermal working group. By modern labor- atory equipment, as well as meas- uring instruments for the use in the field, physical soil and rock parameters can be determined and included in (economically) scientific evaluations. Current research projects are both focused pedological and geological. With- in an industrial project, physical soil parameters are determined and meaningfully linked to eva- luate the thermal conductivity, compaction sensitivity and cli- matic water balance of the under- New designed composite pipe spiral probe

GeoCentre of GeoCentre Northern Bavaria ground. GeoCentre of Northern Bavaria

Demonstration site of the EU-funded project "Cheap-GSHPs" in Erlangen-Eltersdorf techniques up to 15 m depth, thermal properties are defined. Contact: together with the further devel- The FAU also participates in the opment of various ground source monitoring of the test field Dr. heat exchangers. New installation Erlangen-Eltersdorf. David Bertermann methods for unique coaxial and Arbeitsgruppenleiter spiral probes are developed, There, newly developed spiral Oberflächennahe Geothermie tested and monitored. Climate probes were installed and tested data and underground informa- in close cooperation with the tion are collected within the proj- company REHAU AG + Co. ect and included in the evaluation. The new design of the probes has GeoZentrum Nordbayern - Thus, the application possibilities been adapted to fit with large- Lehrstuhl für Geologie in buildings and residential com- dimensioned hollow augers. The plexes of the developed systems site handling is extremely user- Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg are optimized for heating and friendly and the probe is easy to Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen cooling purposes - adapted to the install due to material properties, [email protected].: +49 9131 85 25824 respective climatic zone and geo- a composite pipe out of PE, Mobil: +49 160 4246587 logical underground conditions of aluminum and PE-Xa. Fax: +49 9131 85 29295 the respective installation site. In addition, the laboratory and The staff of the GeoCentre of thermal response tests will inves- Johannes Müller Northern Bavaria, Dr. David tigate whether different backfill Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter AG Bertermann & Johannes Müller, materials can improve or support Oberflächennahe supporting this European project, the performance of this new type Geothermie provides essential know-how for of geothermal probes. Further, shallow geothermal energy and measuring technology will be the geological understanding in installed on all four spiral probes general. Geological information in order to monitor the test field GeoZentrum Nordbayern - from literature and fieldwork are in detail for about two years and to Lehrstuhl für Geologie collected across Europe and, obtain valuable data on the entire Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, together with measured values system. The project „Cheap Erlangen-Nürnberg from laboratories, they are collec- GSHPs“ received funding by Schlossgarten 5, 91054 Erlangen [email protected] ted and summarized digitally. In European Union’s Horizon 2020 Tel.: +49 9131 85 23331 addition, a database is created out research and innovation program Fax: +49 9131 85 29295 of selected samples and their under Grant No. 657982. Corrosion resistance and rapid construction progress

New all-GFRP district heating system handles aggressive thermal waters in the Netherlands

gec-co planned and implemented the Netherlands' first all-GFRP geothermal district heating plant for greenhouses in February 2017. The plant is designed to significantly extend the inter- vals between maintenance due to thermal water-related corrosion. Now, long-term operational experience can be examined.

The Project Partners and construction to full opera- Handelskwekerij, Kwekerij Barendse Engineering company gec-co tion of a geothermal plant. The and Zuidgeest Growers) in the applies its experience and expert experts of gec-co handle com- Westland region. Now, these knowledge to plan and upgrade munication tasks and are actively operators have upgraded their geothermal plants for heat and involved in several research pro- greenhouses to use heat from power generation. gec-co exe- jects for the German govern- deep geothermal energy. Pre- cuted the entire planning of the ment and the EU. Additionally, viously, the greenhouses were surface installations for the geo- the company is also active as part heated with natural gas. thermal project of Aardwarmte of the administrative office of The connected greenhouse com- Vogelaer. The hot side of the the German Geothermal Asso- plex produces primarily vegeta- plant, exposed to thermal water, ciation (BVG e.V.). bles (including bell peppers) and consists entirely of glass fiber For over 80 years Verkade Klimaat flowers. Since the expiration of reinforced plastic (GFRP). To has been an active player in branch- subsidies for natural gas heating complete the facilities, the Dutch es like air conditioning, green- in the Netherlands, heat supply contractor Verkade Klimaat built house building, non-residential based on geothermal energy the plant including transfer sta- building sectors as well as energy have become more and more tions to the greenhouses and the conservation and user conveni- economically feasible. As a district heating network. ence. Founded in 1933 by Marti- result, deep geothermal energy is gec-co Global Engineering & nus Verkade, Verkade Klimaat's a competitive market alternative Consulting-Company GmbH focus region is the Dutch mu- to other technologies, offering a of Augsburg, Germany was nicipality of Westland, south of better cost/benefit ratio. In a founded in 2007 by Dipl.-Ing. The Hague. Verkade Klimaat's depth of 2,400 meters, a thermal Thorsten Weimann, MBA. The solutions are characterized by water aquifer in sandstone with company is leading in Germany reliable technology, compliance temperatures up to 85 °C was in planning and project manage- with standards and decades of tapped and is now utilized with ment of deep geothermal plants experience. injection and production wells. and drilling technologies. gec-co The project is located in Poeldi- plans power and heating plants, The Project jk in the immediate vicinity of performs profitability calcula- Aardwarmte Vogelaer is a con- residential areas, which meant tions and accompanies investors, sortium of seven Dutch green- that noise protection played an municipalities and builders around house operators (Optiflor, Fach- essential role during the entire the world through all project jan, Kwekerij Apartus, Amazone planning and realization phase.

District heating system phases, from the official permit Pflants, Gebr Grootscholten Now, Aardwarmte Vogelaer District heating system

Based on the technical due dili- gence formulated by gec-co (fea- sibility and costs), basic and detail engineering were created using AutoCAD Plant 3D. In particular, the basic engineer- ing included: Conceptual design based on technical due diligence Technical specifications (P&ID / configuration and production data) Fundamental definition of dimensions for equipment Layout planning Establishment of basic docu- ments for approval planning

The detail Engineering included the following specific aspects: Pipe layout planning Installation and layout Fig. 1: Section of the 3D-drawing for the geothermal heat plant in Poeldijk, planning showing exceptionally well the heat exchanger and the degasser. Configuration, design and Source: gec-co Global Engineering & Consulting-Company GmbH specification of components Instrumentation and control saves approximately 13.5 million mics association TNO were engineering cubic meters of natural gas taken into account. Small metal Startup planning annually because of the imple- sheets or "coupons" are used to As-built documentation mentation of the geothermal continuously measure corrosion heating plant. This means a levels in the thermal water for 3D plans, pipeline isometrics and reduction in carbon dioxide various types of metals. Further- 3D models were generated generation of approximately more, the plant features an in- according to process engineering 24,000 tons per year (correspon- hibitor dosing system in order to standards (Figure 1) . To date, 3D ding to the output of about 9,000 prevent corrosion. plans for the construction of households).

Basic Data - Heating Plant Plant operating temperature: 85 °C Plant operating pressure: 10 bar Flow rate: 150 l/s

Thermal output: 35 MW th Borehole: Geothermal doublet (each with approx. 2,400 m true vertical depth)

The Plant / Plant Planning Because of the extremely high amounts of sodium chloride in the thermal water, large parts of the above-ground facilities were conceived and constructed com- pletely using glass fiber rein- forced plastic. On top of that, mea- Fig. 2: Section of the completed plant with successfully installed heat exchangers surement technologies recom- (Height: 4,5 m; Weight: 6,5 t). mended by the Dutch geother- Source: gec-co Global Engineering & Consulting-Company GmbH District heating system

unprecedented in the Nether- heat exchangers are still availa- lands. This novel concept ble. And not only the way the employs a new heat exchanger heat exchangers are used is inno- design different from those con- vative compared to the formats ventionally used in the past. of the past; each heat exchanger Until the realization of the geo- is equipped with double-block- thermal energy project in Poeldijk, and-bleed valves on both the three-pass heat exchangers thermal water and fresh water were most commonly used; sides. A bleeding connection is however, these exchangers fre- built in between these block valves, quently suffered from leaks as a so that the respective heat result of the aggressive thermal exchangers can be securely water. The single-pass heat blocked off and repaired during exchangers now being used, each ongoing operations. The heat weighing 6.5 tons, have fewer exchangers are designed into the plates, helping avoid excessive plant building in an easy-to- expansion and leaks. In addition, maintain manner and are accessi- they reduce maintenance and ble from three sides using lift idle time, since no piping has to platforms. be uninstalled. The piping Another innovation concerns the connections are all located on use of booster pumps . In com- one side (Figure 4) . Instead of parable projects in the Nether- Fig. 3: One-pass heat exchangers under installation condition. five parallel three-pass heat lands, these pumps are used to Source: gec-co Global Engineering & exchangers, two parallel heat increase pressure after the de- Consulting-Company GmbH exchanger lines were installed, gasser. Experience has shown that each consisting of three devices the rigid connection of booster geothermal heating plants were in series. Compared with parallel pumps and injection pumps unknown in the Dutch market. three-pass heat exchangers, the results in difficulties and pres- The new quality of the planning serial single-pass heat exchang- sure peaks. The intelligent plant documents allowed the plant ers create a redundancy and design in the Poeldijk project facilities to be fitted perfectly make it possible to maintain the avoided the use of such pumps. into an existing building, speci- exchangers one at a time. Thus, gec-co's planning ensures secure fied and designed by an architect. when one heat exchanger is outgassing with slightly higher gec-co played a key role in the non-operational for cleaning or system pressure in the degasser. specification and selection of the maintenance purposes, five other As a result, the failure-prone heat exchangers and other main components (for example injec- tion pumps). On-site parameters led to the recommendation of robust single-pass plate heat exchangers instead of conven- tional multi-pass heat exchan- gers. Furthermore, because of the high natural gas concentration in the thermal water at Poeldijk, a gas separator was installed fea- turing a gas-fired boiler gener- ating 6 MWth. The heat gener- ated by the gas is now also fed into the geothermal-powered district heating network. The plant has been in operation since February 2017 (Figure 2) . In particular, the use of single- Fig. 4: Piping connections of the heat exchangers are located on one side, which ensures pass heat exchangers (Figure 3) the ease of maintenance. in geothermal heating plants is Source: gec-co Global Engineering & Consulting-Company GmbH District heating system

particles. Filtration takes place between the degasser and heat exchanger using both, cartridge and basket filters. The cartridge filters were configured to be par- ticularly fine (down to 0.5 micrometers) for the specific purpose of maintaining the inject-ability of the injection well. Filtration design also took ease of maintenance into account. Fig. 5: GFRP pipes delivered on the construction site of the geothermal heat plant in Plant components such as the air Poeldijk. bleeding system and overpres- Source: gec-co Global Engineering & Consulting-Company GmbH sure protection as well as the booster pumps can be omitted; compared to conventional carbon automation and control systems cutting costs and increasing the dioxide feeds. have also been specially configured system's operational stability. Another special feature is the to meet the requirements of the This innovative configuration construction of the entire plant project and the heating plant. and realization is at the same using glass fiber reinforced time a pilot project for all plants plastics (GFRP) (Figure 5) . The Operational Experience of this type to be built in the thermal water analysis for the In the meantime the geothermal future. Aardwarmte Vogelaer project Aardwartme Vogelaer heating The degasser separates the ex- indicated that the thermal water plant has been in operation for tracted thermal water into its contains corrosive substances, approximately a year and a half. various phases. In the case of the lead and radioactive elements. The district heating network, Aardwarmte Vogelaer greenhouse Possible lime deposits, as found with its maximum connected project, the thermal water yields for example in Bavaria's Molasse rating of 35 MWth, has been about one cubic meter of natural basin, occur only peripherally. As expanded to a total of 20 kilo- gas for every cubic meter of a result, the aggressive thermal meters in length (flow tempera- water extracted. The hot water is water dictated the selection of ture 85 °C, return temperature then fed into the heat exchanger, materials: glass fiber reinforced 30 °C) and completely fulfills all while the gas is routed to a gas- plastics are particularly resistant expectations placed on the all- fired boiler and used to generate to the corrosive substances GFRP plant. After 16 months in additional heat. The current found in the thermal water. Fur- use, none of the GFRP plant extraction rates allow for a gas thermore, a piping configuration components used (especially yield of up to 350 cubic meters was chosen which is especially piping and instrumentation) per hour. favorable to the flow in order to show any signs of wear or corro- In order to keep the plant stable avoid corrosion as well as pres- sion. during filter cleaning, the system sure-induced precipitation and The innovative heat exchanger and the associated waste water deposits. GFRP pipes are also concept with its modular single- are diverted into a separate less expensive to install and pass system in particular provides blow-down tank in order to maintain, since they are not sus- significant cost savings. The increase operational stability and ceptible to corrosion and exhibit modular heat exchanger configu- allow filter cleaning at low pres- fewer signs of wear. Moreover, ration made it possible to repair a sure. Air bleeding is thus secure- the individual GFRP compo- heat exchanger section impacted ly decoupled from the main nents have a generally longer by corrosion and replace it with system, with a correspondingly service life. higher-quality material without lower pressure for rinsing the Other plant-typical components, shutting down the entire plant. filters with nitrogen, meaning a for example the filter system Further, the combination of the significant increase in workplace (Figure 6) , are also custom-tai- thermal water system with a safety. In practice the plant is lored to meet the needs of the degasser is also performing well also capable of depositing carbon thermal water system. The filter beyond expectations. In the dioxide for subsequent use in system's two-step configuration meantime the ongoing high- the greenhouses. However, this protects the heat exchanger from quality filtration by the filter technology is still too expensive sand, small and even miniscule systems shows that it is possible District heating system

Dutch model (early planning, construction of the plant during drilling operations) is the answer to increased cost-efficiency in the future. In the meantime, as local and regional vegetables become increasingly popular, deep geothermal heat has also grown more attractive for green- house operators in Germany. Thus for example in the Bavari- an town of Kirchweidach near Munich, vegetables for the re- gion are being grown and har- vested in a greenhouse that uses geothermal heat – another pro- Fig. 6: Filter system with cartridge filters in the heat plant. ject featuring the involvement of Source: gec-co Global Engineering & Consulting-Company GmbH gec-co. to deactivate the installed re- due to wear. The project pro- injection pumps. This reduces cess, unusual in Germany, is the plant's own energy con- becoming more widespread in sumption and cuts costs. the Netherlands as well. In the In general the innovative plant Netherlands the plant is as a rule concept has proven itself in all already constructed during the respects (operations and mainte- drilling phase, while in Germany nance). The plant components the planning and construction of are optimally matched to one the plant usually doesn't begin another thanks to early planning until after the results of the activities. pump tests are obtained. By dril- ling and building in parallel, The Future Aardwarmte Vogelaer/Verkade In the future all geothermal Klimaat and gec-co were able to heating plants are to be equipped achieve considerable cost savings Authors: in the same manner as the Aard- in the planning and construction warmte Vogelaer plant. Here, of the heating plant, since com- Thorsten Weimann especially the elimination of plicated re-planning processes booster pumps is decisive. The were eliminated and no waiting (CEO) objective is to keep geothermal periods were necessary. The low heat generation costs low in heat generation costs of the geo- order to ensure that geothermal thermal plant are leading other power is competitive with natu- greenhouse operators to rethink ral gas and other technologies. their approaches. Potential inde- Markus Ruff The particular advantage of deep pendence from energy imports, geothermal in causing low or no benefits associated with produc- energy costs has to be mani- ing their own methane gas and fested in terms of appropriately carbon dioxide as well as the durableable plant technology. resulting low heat generation Fewer components means lower costs make it possible for Dutch maintenance costs and shorter greenhouse operators to remain gec-co Global Engineering & idle times. GFRP elements have competitive in terms of price and Consulting-Company GmbH also been used in German geo- performance in the international Bürgermeister-Wegele-Str. 6 thermal projects for some time foodstuffs market. In particular, D - 86167 Augsburg, Germany now with the objective of reduc- in the context of the cost discus- Tel.: +49 (0)821 5699300-0 [email protected] ing costs and extending the sion in Germany concerning www.gec-co.de intervals between maintenance deep geothermal plants, the Power and heat for “Holzkirchen“– the long road to success

Failure and getting back up Munich Re, which was the only mining law. The geological In order to ensure a climate provider in the market. For poli- review of these documents how- friendly and independent energy cies like these you need to be ever showed that the borehole supply, the municipality Holzkir- proficient with the interfaces be- was unsuitable for the intended chen decided to take on the chal- tween geology, drilling techno- purpose. In the end, all profitabi- lenge of geothermal energy and logy, power plant efficiency and lity analyses and scenario compa- they received their geothermal insurance law. The insurance risons generated by [GGSC] exploration permit back in 2006. policy had almost been complete- favored an approach with reduced Despite all the adversities that ly negotiated, when the insurance drilling diameter, in order to re- had to be faced, the project is well provider pulled out of the market alize geothermal supply despite on the way to become a complete in summer 2013, after he was the limited available risk capital. success. As a geothermal project struck by two events of loss in This approach with “lean” drilling of the second generation Holz- other projects (Traunreut and doublet and smaller power plant

kirchen always drew on the expe- Geretsried). (~ 3 MW el ) was – after thorough rience gathered by the early review and extensive debate – pioneers in the greater Munich Without insurance Holzkirchen agreed upon by the market town region and relied on in-depth faced the risk of losing well council in April 2015. planning preparations. In 2011 beyond 20 Million E in case of the geological expectations were reduced or complete absence of The team from [GGSC] was validated with 3-D seismic im- the drilling success; this was not counseling Holzkirchen in all eco- aging. The profitability analysis sustainable for the municipality nomic, financial and legal matters had been positive and they had and the carefully planned project – of the geothermal project for more also convinced the banks, thereby the drilling contracts were ready than ten years. This includes the securing the loan financing. The to be signed – had (de facto) failed. highly successful collaboration with use of municipal equity capital The search for alternative insu- all the employer‘s advisors, in parti- was supposed to be protected rance concepts was without suc- cular “Erdwerk GmbH” in the field from total loss by obtaining cess. Holzkirchen had to develop of geology and drilling technology, exploration risk insurance. In a completely new approach. “enpros consulting GmbH” during accordance with the energy con- Without exploration risk insur- the procurement of the power cept, all of Holzkirchen could ance it was absolutely essential to plant and the insurance broker have been supplied with district reduce the risk investment (i.e. “NW Assekuranz”. The same heat and a power plant with costs for drilling) to an acceptable applies in regards to “renerco plan approx. 6 MWel could have been level. For this purpose it was even consulting GmbH” or rather “Süd- built. This undertaking was ag- evaluated to workover a former deutsche Geothermieprojekte reed upon unanimously by the hydrocarbon borehole. In this GmbH & Co. KG” (the former market town council (“Marktge- context [GGSC] counseled on joint venture partner). meinderat”) in March 2012. The questions of mining law (i.e. exploration risk insurance was its acquiring backfilled boreholes) Project status and foundation. [GGSC] – support- and supported the purchase of upply strategy ed by geologists and the insur- documents from the person who In 2016 the selected drilling rig

Markt Holzkirchen ance broker – negotiated with the was previously responsible as to (which had already previously Markt Holzkirchen

cover the own power requirements with energy purchases from the local utility. The long term market potential in Holzkirchen is approx. 60 GWh p.a. It is planned to pro- vide approx. 35 GWh p.a. for district heat after final expansion stage of the drilling doublet.

The drilling doublet provides approx. 24.5 MWth for the supply with electrical energy (water flow Fig. 1: Quelle: Hoch 3 GmbH, München of 55 l/s, pumping temperature of 152°C with a loss of 2 Kelvin at the been used for the first Bavarian autumn 2018. The power plant is heat exchanger and a return flow geothermal project in Pullach) currently being built by Turboden. temperature of 40°C at the started its operation. The drilling First feed-in is expected for wellhead). The illustration shows had been concluded in 2017. It was February 2019. The employer fully the energy / supply concept possible to extract geothermal relies on companies with experi- (including i.a. the annual load water with a water flow of 55 l/s ence in the geothermal sector and curve) at the final expansion stage: and a temperature of 152°C at a on proven technology. They did depth of approx. 5,000 meters. The choose an ORC-plant (Organic The geothermal energy theoreti- conservative planning (140°C) has Rankine Cycle); a Kalina-plant had cally available at a performance been greatly exceeded. consciously been ruled out during level of 24.5 MWth greatly sur- the EU-wide tender process in passes the peak demand for heat This made it possible to operate a spring 2016. supply. The required heat is indica- power plant with an annual average ted by the turquoise and orange output of approx. 3.3 MWel and a The new supply concept revolves area. The unused geothermal ener- peak output of approx. 4 MWel, as around the supply of heat. Un- gy potential is indicated by the dark well as to ensure the long-lasting used / surplus heat is being uti- blue line; in relation to whole year supply of approx. 35 GWh heat lized for the generation of elec- approx. 81 % of the available amount p.a. to the “Gemeindewerke Holz- tricity. During the term in which of energy is not used for heat sup- kirchen GmbH” (i.e. the local utili- the feed-in tariff is legally se- ply, but rather fed in to the down- ty company), in order to provide cured by the German renewable stream energy cycle. the local residents and businesses energy sources act (“Erneuerbare with environment-friendly district Energien Gesetz – EEG”) the Profitability heat. The start of supply with energy will be supplied to the grid Already back in 2009 [GGSC] – in district heat is scheduled for for as long as it is less expensive to cooperation with planners and pro- ject engineers – created a complex dynamic project simulation with integrated budget / forecast (“Pla- nungsrechnung”, the [GGSC] financial model), depicting all financial flows, based on MS-Excel and with consideration of various scenarios over a term of 30 years, in order to evaluate the profitabili- ty and to subject all conceivable scenarios to a stress test.

This sophisticated simulation model – integrating economically, technically and energetically sig- nificant parameters – with varia- bility of all relevant project para- Fig. 2: meters was used as the basis for the Markt Holzkirchen

until the final financing decision for the drilling doublet and the thermal power station was made. It should be noted that Holzkir- chen was the first time ever that funding from the KfW Develop- ment Bank (program EE-Premi- um) could be utilized for a com- bined heating and power project.

The project will be able operate profitable after its commissioning date in 2019. Its revenue (the dark blue line) will essentially be tied to the development of the heat Fig. 3 supply. The cash flows are always able to cover the debt service, which was of great importance to the financing banks. The assets at disposal are always above the red line which shows the debt serv- icing to the banks. The following illustration shows the anticipated development of earnings in the heating and power project Holz- kirchen during the next 26 years:

The project return is appropriate for a combined heating and power project. Such projects typi- cally show a total return on investment between 5 to 8 %. The profitability can be increased Fig. 4 further with additional drillings due to lessons learnt and econo- project implementation decision, work but delivers heat to the mies of scale. negotiations with banks and ap- parent company “Gemeindewer- plying for public funding for finan- ke Holzkirchen GmbH”. They As everything is on track, all cing the project. The simulation already have a network of 25 kilo- involved parties are expecting model is being regularly updated meters at their disposal which that the profitability forecast will and adapted to the current project they are planning to expand even be confirmed in reality. situation / demands to this date. further. Private Investor Test The project finance volume a- [GGSC] has assisted Gemeinde- Certainly the economic aspects are mounts to approx. 62 million E werke Holzkirchen and its project paramount when handling a geo- (35.5 million investment for the company with structuring the thermal project but there are also drilling doublet, 23 million E for project financing from public numerous legal issues. This already the power plant and 3.5 million E banks. The project is being financ- begins with the financing. There for additional technical compo- ed with loans from a consortium are strict requirements by Europe- nents, including negative cash of three partners – BayernLB, an law, in order to utilize “govern- flows and interest during the con- LfA and Kreissparkasse Mies- ment” funds for financing (in this struction phase). The investments bach-Tegernsee (36 million E). case equity injection for the proj- can be broken down as follows: The remaining 20.5 million Ä are ect). To check the compatibility provided by the municipality and with European state aid law – or The project company doesn‘t the Gemeindewerke. [GGSC] rather ensure to prevent non-con- build its own district heating net- led the talks with the consortium formity – an in-depth audit is Markt Holzkirchen

Fig. 5 necessary to check whether or not After the drilling doublet with ported Holzkirchen with the pro- the finance injection is in accordance wide diameter was canceled, a curement of the power plant. with standard market conditions (so new opportunity showed itself in [GGSC] had already played an called Private-Investor-Test). This autumn 2014: historically low important role during the market task was performed by [GGSC] for drilling costs were the foundation exploration to select the con- the old project as well as for the new for a project concept with re- sulting engineers. Thereafter one. This includes i.a. the determi- duced dimensions. Already in [GGSC], together with the nation of the costs of capital and spring 2015 the tender documents selected engineer firm enpros, returns, which are then compared had been finalized and the tender conducted the market exploration based on various economic metho- process was initiated. It was again for prominent suppliers of geo- dologies. [GGSC] and Erdwerk who bro- thermal power plants, in order to kered the deals with contractors tailor the contract model and ten- Drilling contract model and service providers, handled the der documents the best way pos- and tendering content of reports for the tender sible to meet the main objective: In spring 2012 [GGSC] together process, evaluated the bids and – commissioning completion befo- with Erdwerk developed a tender- as early as summer – awarded the re 1st of January 2018. According ing model which (contrary to the first lots with long lead items. to the legal situation at that time, previously common practice) Meanwhile the negotiations for missing this deadline would have wasn‘t based on a main contractor the remaining lots were being resulted in an annual decline of but rather stipulated the EU-wide finalized and awarded, so that this the feed-in tariff (so called procurement procedure of 15 time the drilling works could be “Degression” under the German separate lots. started already nine months after renewable energy sources act) the official call for tender. During which would have meant a loss of The underlying contracts as well the drilling phase [GGSC] coun- approx. 5 million E for the proj- as the tender documents (includ- seled and supported the employ- ect. After successfully exploring ing the contract award criteria) er against unjustified contractor the market, it was decided no had been a novelty in the drilling claims and assisted with claim neither use a main contractor nor industry but are now established settlements, thereby realizing to award 20 separate lots. Holz- and have found their way into high six-figure sum savings for kirchen chose the middle ground other projects. Negotiating this the project. and opted for a cost, time and new concept – which was unusual interface sensitive approach. To to the industry – was a long pro- Supply contract for the achieve this goal, enpros and cess. The contract award recom- power plant and tendering [GGSC] drafted the EU-tender mendation was finished in sum- In parallel with the drilling documents for the four most mer 2013. [GGSC] also extensively sup- urgent lots: ORC, thermal water Markt Holzkirchen

cycle as well as process control tender documents which had optimal legal form, to enable the and electrical engineering. They anyway been revised. The new innovative financing model which also custom tailored the contracts approach led to approx. 200,000 E was used for the very first time for to include severe penalties for savings for the employer. a project like this. Furthermore, missing relevant deadlines and [GGSC] designed the heat supply performance values which are Insurance concept contract between Geothermie relevant to the generated revenue During every step of the project Holzkirchen GmbH and Gemein- (i.a. availability, power-plant out- [GGSC] together with NW- dewerke. Questions in the area of put, auxiliary power requirement, Assekuranz advised the employer mining law and renewable energy pressure loss). on different insurance matters. law also played an important role. This included questions regard- [GGSC] for example provided a All this was interrupted by the ing liabilities in accordance with legal opinion regarding the gross new German renewable energy federal mining law during the power remuneration (“Brutto- sources act, which among others drilling phase and the operation stromvergütung”) and the defini- postponed the “Degression” to of the power plant. During the tion of commissioning completion the year 2021. Together with the drilling phase the employer‘s all (“Inbetriebnahme”) as to the Ger- employer it was decided to put all risk insurance (including lost-in- man renewable energy sources act. negotiations on hold until the hole) was of paramount impor- testing results from the secondary tance. The insurance broker After all these efforts, all those drilling were in. The results NW-Assekuranz and [GGSC] involved are looking forward to the attested a geothermal water tem- negotiated the policies hand in successful commissioning comple- perature of 152°C and therefore a hand and supported the employer tion of the power plant in 2019! pleasantly high thermal output of during the construction supervi- Author: the drilling doublet. Based on sion and claim management. Mul- Dr. rer. pol. this, the tender documents were tiple claims were settled; in sum- Thomas Reif extensively adapted to the new mary highly satisfactory for the Dipl.-Volksw., situation and negotiated with the employer. The construction, Rechtsanwalt, bidders one more time. The plant transportation and erection all- FA für Steuerrecht was ordered in August 2017; the risk insurances were being nego- remaining lots were awarded tiated simultaneously with the step-by-step until April 2018. In power plant supply contract. this phase [GGSC] also repre- [Gaßner, Groth, Siederer & Coll.] Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten mbB sented the employer‘s interest in Other legal topics front of the Public Procurement [GGSC] also counseled Holzkir- Provinostrasse 52 Tribunal (“Vergabekammer Süd- chen on various individual issues at D-86153 Augsburg bayern”) due to a complaint by all stages of the project. This in- Phone.: 0821/74 77 82-0 Fax: 0821/74 77 82-10 one of the bidders for the thermal cluded the choice of an “Anstalt des [email protected] water system. The proceedings öffentlichen Rechts” (a special legal www.ggsc.de www.geothermiekompetenz.de had been stopped due to the new form for municipal companies) as