Drilling of geothermal doublet in Geiselbullach, Germany officially starts
Drilling of a doublet for geothermal heating has started at the site of a waste-to-energy plant in Geiselbullach, Germany.
Drilling work of a geothermal doublet has officially started at the site of the planned geothermal heating plant in Olching-Geiselbullach in Germany. The development envisions a 10MWth geothermal heating facility that will serve the existing district heating network, which is currently supplied by a waste incineration facility.
The geothermal project is headed by Amperland Thermalwärme GmbH (ATW), a subsidiary of Joint Municipal Company for Waste Management (Gemeinsames Unternehmen für Abfallwirtschaft / GfA), the company that currently operates the waste-to-energy plant.
The start of drilling comes just a few months after the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the drilling site. German drilling company Daldrup & Söhne Aktiengesellschaft (Daldrup & Söhne) had been awarded the contract for the drilling work.
Drilling will proceed to a depth of about 1700 meters, targeting a Jurassic aquifer that is expected to host thermal waters at about 73 °C. Drilling of the first borehole is expected to be completed by March. If the results of the first borehole are positive, then the drilling rig will be moved to drill the second borehole to complete the doublet.
ATW emphasizes that the drilling operations are being under exceptionally environment-friendly conditions. The drilling rig is powered entirely by electricity from the waste-to-energy plant. Moreover, part of the drill cuttings will be prepared for recycling at the waste-to-energy plant and recycled regionally. This eliminates long transport routes and reduces the carbon footprint of the project.
Source: Amperland Thermalwärme, Tiefe Geothermie, and Merkur