Munich’s publicly-owned utility company, Stadtwerke München, has completed the drilling of a second well for the city’s geothermal heating plant, reaching a depth of 3,044 m and temperatures of 108°C.
Drilling rig at Schäftlarnstraße, Munich, Germany
Drilling rig at Schäftlarnstraße, Munich, Germany (Credit: Erdwerk)
The successfully completed well, reports Stadtwerke München, was completed as part of a planned heat and power station for the city. At a depth of 3,044 m, boiling water was discovered. “At 108°C, the temperature is significantly higher than expected,” said Stadtwerke München’s Technical Director Helge-Uve Braun.
It was previously assumed when drilling for the geothermal plant’s second of six wells that the temperature at this depth would be around 102°C. With this unexpected higher temperature, meaning a higher output, now the well is complete, Braun is certain that the site on the River Isar will ultimately play host to the “most powerful and largest geothermal plant in Germany”. It was estimated that the plant could deliver up to 50 MW of thermal.
The plant will enable Stadtwerke München to supply over 80,000 of the city’s residents with green, sustainable heat within the next year. Drilling for the geothermal plant should be completed by the end of 2019. Meanwhile, a heating centre is under construction to house equipment. The plant is “another step on the way to generate carbon-neutral heating in Munich by 2040,” added Braun.
The city of Munich is regarded across Germany as something of a pioneer in geothermal energy. The city’s exhibition centre has had its heating requirements covered by the geothermal system in Riem since 2004. Stadtwerke’s energy concept incorporated the power plant at Sauerlach in 2014. And since autumn 2016, a nearby Freiham facility has been covering the base load of heat demand in districts in the west of Munich. Stadtwerke München also plans to build three more geothermal plants by 2025.
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