Geothermal heating in Grünwald, Germany to be expanded

Laufzorn geothermal heating plant in Bavaria, Germany (source: Erdwärme Grünwald)

Geothermal district heating in the municipality of Grünwald in Bavaria, Germany is to be expanded with the planned drilling of additional wells, a new heating plant, and an expansion of the existing heating network. This has been the response of utility Erdwärme Grünwald (EWG) to the sensational increase in the number of households that wish to be supplied with clean and reliable geothermal heating.

“Last year we had our peak year with just over 400 contracts concluded,” said EWG Geothermal Manager Andreas Lerle. The construction company Pfaffinger had to increase their staff to accommodate the expanded capacity and have completed 172 connections by the end of the year. At least 150 connections are optimistically expected to be completed this year.

With the increased demand, the drilling of additional wells for two doublets and a new heating plant are planned. The approval for the Laufzorn II location was granted in December 2022. Plans for a new heating plant had already been announced by EWG in partnership with Munich city utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) in 2022 following the positive results of a feasibility study.

An interconnection line from the Laufzorn location is also going to be built across the forest and to the site of the Bavaria Filmstadt theme park where it will be connected to the existing district heating network. The line can also be a good starting point for an eventual connection to Munich. The permits for this work have already been granted and preparatory work is ongoing until February. Construction of the interconnection line will start on March and will last for about a year.

Source: Merkur.de