Geothermal plants in Bavaria, Germany recognized for performance, efficiency

Source:ThinkGeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News
Original URL:https://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/geothermal-plants-in-bavaria-germany-recognized-for-performance-efficiency/

During the recent Praxisforum Geothermie Bayern event in Pullach, Germany, several geothermal power and heating plants in the State of Bavaria were recognized based on their notable achievements in performance and efficiency.

Geothermal energy continues to contribute significantly to the energy needs of Bavaria. “The overall performance is absolutely impressive,” said Dr. Jochen Schneider, Managing Director of Enerchange GmbH & Co. KG, organizer of the event.  “The 24 Bavarian geothermal plants produced around 2.8 terawatt hours of heat in 2023, which is as much as the entire demand of Nuremberg households.”

The seven geothermal power plants in Bavaria also supplied a total of 133,102 MWh of electricity over the previous year. Almost all systems achieved very high annual availability, which shows the reliability of the technology.

In terms of efficiency, no other heat generation can keep up with geothermal energy. The Bavarian geothermal systems achieved COP values ??of up to 36 – this means that 36 kWh heat are generated from 1 kWh of electrical energy. These are impressive values ??compared to heat pumps, where the conversion of 1 kWh of electricity into 3 to 5 kWh of heat is already considered efficient.

During the same event, KfW and Munich Re announced a joint development risk mitigation program that aims to support further geothermal growth in Germany.

Award-winning geothermal plants

Several geothermal heating and power plants in Bavaria were once again recognized during the event to highlight their excellence in efficiency and performance. The awards ceremony was led by Wolfgang Geisinger from Geothermie Unterhaching.

Stadtwerke München ‘s (SWM) plant on Schäftlarnstrasse received the title of “Golden Heating Plant” for its overall performance. “The plant has shown the highest availability of all heating plants, it ran virtually around the clock throughout 2023,” said Wolfgang Geisinger in his laudation. Stefan Birle, Head of Decentralized Generation at SWM, accepted the award: “I accept the award on behalf of my colleagues. The project shows that geothermal energy can be scaled. We are making a significant contribution to reducing CO2 in Munich.”

The “Golden Power Plant” award went to Geothermie Holzkirchen, which achieved the lowest injection temperature of just 36.92 °C in addition to high availability. “The operators have really worked their way up with this power plant. They use their resources optimally, and they absolutely deserve this award,” said Geisinger. Technical director Bastian Bremerich accepted the award: “This is a great recognition, both for our power plant and for our team. Thank you.”

Due to special achievements, the organizers have decided to introduce two new prizes this year: The “Golden Borehole” goes to Geothermie Traunreut. This award recognizes the highest geothermal heat generation, which in Traunreut last year was 305,312 MWh. “That is the heat of a small town; the people of Traunreut heat their town with a borehole 20 cm in diameter,” said Wolfgang Geisinger. Andreas Utz was delighted with the award and emphasized: “Of course, this is always a team effort. We do a lot of good here and are happy to share it with the outside world.”

The Waldkraiburg geothermal energy plant was awarded the “Efficiency Master” for the first time. “The efficiency of geothermal energy is 10 times higher than that of a heat pump and 100 times higher than that of hydrogen. With geothermal energy, we have a big key in our hands and we now have to turn it. The Waldkraiburg geothermal energy plant produced a sensational 36 MWh of heat per MWh of electricity used,” said Geisinger, praising the operators. “Congratulations for that.” The award was presented in absentia, as no one from the team was available.

Source: Tiefe Geothermie