Plans for geothermal development announced in Vogtland, Germany

The Göltzschtalbrücke in Vogtlandkreis, Germany (source: Kora27, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons)

District Administrator Thomas Hennig has presented plans for developing a deep geothermal energy resource in Vogtlandkreis in the southwest of Saxony, Germany. The identified resource is centered in the municipality of  Schönbrunn, where thermal water at 40 degrees Celsius has been observed at 500 meters depth.

In the next few years, the district plans to connect a third of its resident to a geothermal district heating network. If the plans work out, around 80,000 residents in the district can benefit from geothermal heating and possible even electricity in 5 to 10 years. The nearby towns of Oelsnitz and Plauen, in particular, should be covered by the district’s plans.

However, scientists still have to carry out a series of investigations before the resource can be utilized. The district’s plans are supported by research projects done by the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture, and Geology (LfULG) as well as studies done by the Potsdam Geo Research Center.

“I’m very confident that we can harness the enormous energy potential from deep in the Vogtland,” said Administrator Hennig. “For the district and its citizens, this is a big step towards climate neutrality and energy independence.”

Efforts for large-scale geothermal development in the state of Saxony have not been very common, with the  “Geothermal energy in granite Saxony” (GIGS) being the last documented project from back in 2019.

Source: MDR