https://www.solarserver.de/2021/11/05/geothermie-kraftwerk-in-weisweiler-soll-fernwaerme-und-erkenntnisse-fuer-forschung-liefern/
Geothermal power plant in Weisweiler is to provide district heating and knowledge for research

11.05.2021 / / energy municipality / district heating / research / geothermal / heat and electricity networks

Photo: Fraunhofer IEG / RWE AG

The contract for the geothermal project has been signed. There were: Eschweiler's mayor Nadine Leonhardt, Dr. Rolf Bracke from Fraunhofer IEG Thomas Rachel, Parliamentary State Secretary in the BMBF, Fraunhofer Board Member Dr. Alexander Kurz, Dr. Lars Kulik, board member of RWE Power

The Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Energy (Fraunhofer IEG) and RWE want to jointly build a geothermal research power plant on the site of the Weisweiler coal-fired power plant.

A geothermal power plant at the Weisweiler site has been under discussion for a long time. Fraunhofer and RWE Power have now signed a corresponding cooperation agreement. A Fraunhofer research site for georesources is to be built on the RWE site. As a first step, a technical center for geothermal conversion technologies is planned. There should also be a “geological observatory”.

Research on system technology and underground

At the location, the partners want to improve the geothermal system technology in particular. This involves high-temperature borehole pumps, marketable processes for generating electricity, heating and cooling, and operating strategies. They also want to develop processes for storing heat.

The partners want to gradually explore the geothermal potential. The next step is to drill a hole up to 1,500 meters deep. This is planned for 2022. It is part of the EU project “DGE Rollout”, where DGE stands for “Deep Geothermal Energy”.

Together with the geophysical surface station, the borehole forms the observatory for monitoring the subsurface. The exact steps for the detailed three-dimensional measurement of the subsurface according to scientific criteria have yet to be planned. The actual deep borehole should then reach up to 4,000 meters underground - and, if successful, deliver warm thermal water.

Good area for geothermal use

The Rheinische Revier is an attractive region for deep geothermal energy . This is clearly visible, for example, at the Aachen thermal springs. The partners expect further layers of rock with large amounts of hot thermal water in the subsurface. In particular, they reckon with the so-called mass and reef limestone of the Devonian and Lower Carboniferous, limestone that is around 350 million years old.

Geothermal energy should be part of the replacement for coal heat

Geothermal energy is not only researched at the site, it is urgently needed. The new geothermal power plant is to dock with an existing infrastructure. According to Stadtwerke Aachen (Stawag), the Weisweiler lignite power plant now supplies 90 percent of the district heating in the Aachen-Weisweiler network. But with the coal phase-out, the supply of heat from coal will also have to end. Stawag calls the year 2030 the end of coal-fired heating. Deep geothermal energy is an important part of the replacement for coal heat. Their advantages are a small space requirement and the ability to continuously supply heat all year round. A solar thermal system is also planned .

05/11/2021 | Source: Fraunhofer IEG | solarserver.de © Solarthemen Media GmbH