The production phase of the proposed geothermal project in the municipality of Vaterstetten in Bavaria, Germany may start by 2025 t0 2026. This is according to a schedule presented to the municipal council following the passing of a resolutionfor the execution of the geothermal project.
However, expansion of the district heating network is likely to take more time. With drilling expected to be completed by 2025, expansion of the network is will likely take until 2030. As explained by Georg Kast, business promoter of the municipality and commercial director of the municipal works, heating pipes will have to be laid in more than 200 streets. The installation cannot be done with too many pipes at once in consideration of the project’s effect on traffic flow.
The expansion is currently concentrated primarily on the northern and western parts of the core municipality, starting from the smaller heating networks that are available there. This is connected to a combined heat and power plant that has been operational since 2017, and will then be replaced with a geothermal heating plant in the following years.
An official approval from the mining authority will be needed before any work on drilling or the network expansion can begin. The drilling must then be secured and provided with infrastructure for essential utilities.
Tobias Aschwer, climate protection manager and technical director of the municipal utilities, explained that the project is currently in its exploration phase. By the end of the year, an agreement will be reached with the neighboring communities of Grasbrunn, Haar and Zorneding on who will participate in the development company to be founded and in what form. The decision to set it up in the form of a GmbH or a GmbH & Co. KG was made back in March, which will allow investors and other municipalities to to join at a later date.
There are no official figures on the amount of capital needed by the development company. Mayor Leonhard Spitzauer had previously mentioned a total investment of EUR 75 million is anticipated to be needed for the project. The municipality alone cannot fund this, and will be needing investors.
Source: ThinkGeoEnergy