The government for the German state of Baden-Württemberg confirms the role of deep geothermal energy as an important component of the energy transition for sustainable heat and power generation.
In order to achieve its climate goals, massive savings in greenhouse gas emissions from the provision of energy are also necessary in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
The state government confirms the role of deep geothermal energy as an important component of the energy transition for sustainable heat and power generation. It supports the expansion of deep geothermal energy in the country and will be committed to improving the framework conditions for the economic use of deep geothermal energy. This was decided in a cabinet meeting, March 24, 2020.
“Deep geothermal energy can make an important contribution to the energy transition,” said Environment Minister Franz Untersteller. “However, it has so far played an only minor role in heating and power supply in this country. There is very good potential in Baden-Württemberg. With the decision yesterday, the Council of Ministers advocates its utilisation. ”
Cornerstone for energy transition and climate protection
The expansion of deep geothermal energy is fundamentally important for the achievement of Baden-Württemberg’s climate protection goals, the minister emphasized.
“We want to master the associated challenges together with representatives from science, companies, engineering offices, associations and municipalities. To this end, we are anchoring various measures in a Deep Geothermal Energy Road Map.
“The focus is particularly on informing the public about the opportunities and risks of deep geothermal energy and on dealing with possible reservations of the population in a technically sound manner, explained Untersteller.
“It is also about examining the technical and economic potential for profitable projects, developing development concepts and establishing networks for the implementation of project ideas.”
The Ministry of the Environment has approved an appropriate research application for the development and testing of independent measures by the State Research Center for Geothermal Energy (LFZG). The LFZG is based at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
The use of deep geothermal energy offers many advantages, for example
climate-friendly provision of energy,
use of renewable energy locally without pollutant emissions,
permanent availability regardless of the season, time of day and weather or weather periods,
possibility of generating heat and electricity,
local added value through the use of heat via a heating network (regardless of fluctuating raw material prices) and
provision of a high energy yield with comparatively low space consumption.
Link: Ministry of the Environment: Geothermal
Link: Ministry of the Environment – Position Paper on deep geothermal energy, August 2019 (pdf)
