Traunreut geothermal plant in Bavaria sold to British investment group

As reported locally, Grünwald Equity Geothermie GmbH (GET) was sold to British investment group Equitix this week, as reported by TiefeGeothermie. It was agreed not to disclose the purchase price. 

Equitix announced the completion of its first geothermal acquisition on LinkedIn. With the deal the company acquired Grünwald Equity Geothermie GmbH, the operating Traunreut geothermal plant with combined heat and power production. The plant was sold by Grünwald Equity, which was advised by Augusta & Co. The buyer , a London investor specializing in infrastructure projects, was advised by Rödl & Partner on the takeover of the geothermal power plant.

The geothermal plant is located northeast of Lake Chiemsee and has been in operation since 2014. Construction began in July 2011 under the direction of the Geothermal Power Plant Company Traunreut mbH. The first well was drilled in July 2012 and the second in early March 2013.

Since February 2014, the heat from the thermal water has been transferred to the district heating network of Stadtwerke Traunreut (SWT) via heat exchangers. The district heating is supplied to the city at a temperature of approx. 100 degrees Celsius, with SWT drawing up to 12 MW of thermal output from the geothermal plant as required, in order to supply over 2,000 private and industrial customers in the city of Traunreut.

During the last phase of the project, from August 2014 to December 2015, an ORC system (power plant for electricity generation) with an electrical output of up to 5 MW was installed in addition to heat generation. Since January 2016, the sustainably generated electricity has been fed into the general power grid. The amount of electricity produced of around 30,000 megawatt hours per year covers the needs of around 10,000 households.

According to Grünwald Equity, around EUR 80 million were invested in the construction of the facility. Today it is one of the most efficient geothermal power plants in Germany. According to Equitix, the geothermal plant has another 42 years of operation.

Founded in 2007, Equitix has grown its renewable energy portfolio to up to 50 investments over the past decade, including photovoltaic, onshore and offshore wind farms, as well as biomass and hydroelectric power plants. For the investor, the geothermal plant represents another important acquisition that expands the portfolio of plants with positive environmental properties. With the acquisition of the geothermal plant, Equitix is ??now the proud custodian of this renewable energy source and will thus make a positive contribution to the energy transition in the region in the future.