Kirchstockach geothermal plant starts supply of geothermal heat

Kirchstockach geothermal plant (source: SWM / Robert Haas)

With the heat extraction that has now taken place, the Stadtwerke München (SWM) have expanded their formerly pure geothermal power plant in Kirchstockach into a combined geothermal heating and power plant. At the same time, the company put a newly built, nine-kilometer long district heating line into operation. The municipal utilities can now use the infrastructure to supply customers in neighbouring Hohenbrunn, Ottobrunn, Putzbrunn, Riemerling and Neubiberg with heating from environmentally friendly geothermal energy. So far, the heat was generated by decentralized combined heat and power plants. These are no longer necessary and therefore they will be removed during the upcoming summer vacation. In the medium term, the connection to the Munich district heating network will take place.

District heating in the community of Hohenbrunn

The church administration of the St. Stephanus Hohenbrunn Church Foundation was one of the first to decide to connect the Stephani House to the newly created district heating network. The recently completed new building of the Stephani House not only replaces the old rectory, but will also serve as a meeting place in the center of Hohenbrunn in the future. The focus is on the barrier-free large hall on the ground floor. On the top two floors, new office space was built, which the Hohenbrunn community has rented.

District heating in the municipality of Ottobrunn

Ottobrunn has had a local district heating network for many years. So far, this has covered a good 10 percent of Ottobrunn’s heating requirements with climate-neutral district heating. The two and a half kilometers long district heating pipeline running east of the railway line has so far received heat from decentralized combined heat and power plants. With the connection to the geothermal cogeneration plant in Kirchstockach, these are now superfluous and SWM is dismantling them. From now on, geothermal energy will also be supplying the Ottobrunn and Neubiberg grammar schools, the Neubiberg secondary school (Southeast School Association) as well as the Carl Steinmeier Middle School, the Riemerling elementary school and the Riemerling sports campus with heat from the Kirchstockach underground. It also heats the “Josef-Seliger-Siedlung” of the Munich-Land construction company with its 150 apartments.

Expansion of geothermal use in Kirchstockach to a geothermal heating and power plant
SWM have expanded their geothermal site in Kirchstockach into a thermal power station that produces green electricity and heat. Originally, geothermal energy was used exclusively to generate green electricity.

In addition to new plant components, the municipal utilities had to set up transport and connection lines. The transport line runs from Kirchstockach via Hohenbrunn, under the A99 through to Ottobrunn and on to Neubiberg. It creates the prerequisites for connecting the island heating networks that have been built up in recent years to the geothermal system. In addition to supplying the neighboring communities, geothermal energy from the region will also flow into SWM’s district heating system in the future.

Source: SWM via solarserver