NEW GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS ON THE SOUTHERN WINE ROUTE?Companies...

NEW GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS ON THE SOUTHERN WINE ROUTE?

Companies want to look for geothermal energy and lithium in the southern Palatinate
WAS STANDING
2022-01-18 7:56 AM

The State Office for Geology and Mining has given two companies permission to search for geothermal energy and the raw material lithium in two areas in the Südliche Weinstrasse district.

One so-called permission field extends from Landau via Herxheim to Venningen and covers around 48 square kilometers. This area has been secured by the company "Deutsche ErdWärme". For the other area, the company "Vulcan Energie" received the license. It extends over 75 square kilometers from Landau via Burrweiler to Schweigen-Rechtenbach.

Geothermal power plant Insheim Pfalzwerke Geofuture (Photo: SWR)
Insheim geothermal power plant: So far, the conveyor system has only been used to generate electricity.
Permission field: what does that mean specifically?
The head of the State Office for Geology and Mining, Georg Wieber, reports that the two companies initially only have the right to search underground in their respective permit fields for hot water for power generation and for the light metal lithium for battery production . Other companies, on the other hand, should no longer look for these mineral resources there. However, that does not mean that the two companies can immediately start their search. They would first have to submit detailed plans to the mining authority and have them approved. Only then can they move up with special vehicles, for example, to measure the condition of the subterranean rock by shaking or to carry out test drilling.

Drill disappears into the ground for a geothermal bore. (Photo: SWR)
Southern Wine Route: First measurements in 2022
According to Vulcan Energie, it wants to start seismic measurements before the end of this year. For this purpose, the floor is sonicated with special trucks in order to obtain a three-dimensional image of the subsoil. The aim is to find out where drilling could be worthwhile, and the company is currently running a research project in the Landau geothermal power plant. There she is testing on a small scale how lithium can best be extracted from the hot water. The hot water is pumped up from a depth of around 3,000 meters in the power plant in order to generate electricity and heat.

Horst Kreuter and Francis Wedin from Vulcan Energy in the laboratory of the pilot plant (Photo: press office, Vulcan Energy GmBH)
Horst Kreuter and Francis Wedin from Vulcan Energy in the laboratory
Southern Palatinate: Big plans for lithium production

The company wants to get into lithium production in the Upper Rhine Graben area in order to sell the raw material for battery production in the automotive industry. Vulcan Energie therefore recently bought the Insheim geothermal power plant (Southern Wine Route district). It is also planning a larger demonstration plant for lithium production at the Landau power plant.

Focus on geothermal energy in the Southern Palatinate
The company "Deutsche ErdWärme", on the other hand, would like to concentrate primarily on the search for geothermal energy to generate electricity and heat in the southern Palatinate. According to a spokesman, she does not want to make her own measurements for the time being. Because they bought measurement data on the geothermal deposits in the southern Palatinate from the oil industry. She now wants to evaluate these measurement results.

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/ludwigshafen/unternehmen-sichern-gebiete-fuer-geothermie-suche-in-suedpfalz-100.html