Geothermal energy in Vaterstetten: Heat will soon come from the depths
Created: 07/02/2022, 07:20
By: Robert Langer
Drilling could soon begin around Vaterstetten – as in Poing (our picture) back in 2008. © MM Archive
The Vaterstetten municipal council has passed the basic resolution on geothermal energy.
Requirements are "excellent".
Vaterstetten – "Glückauf", the old miner's greeting, is on the last page of a presentation in the Vaterstetten municipal council on Thursday evening.
It is about a fundamental decision on geothermal energy, a major project to supply heat not only for the municipality, but for the district.
The schedule is ambitious: 2023, among other things, further planning, negotiations, clarification of grants, 2024 the first drilling, 2025 the first supply via the existing heating network.
Mayor Leonhard Spitzauer explained this to the Ebersberger Zeitung.
The hot water could be pumped from the depths at a location near the motorway service station.
Estimated financial volume: initially 75 million euros in a six-year plan.
About 40 million euros for the network, about 35 million euros for the drilling.
The municipality is now looking for an investor.
"We won't be able to do it alone," said Spitzauer.
This is also due to the fact that the municipality is already in debt and therefore has limited financial leeway.
After all, there are still many obligatory tasks that the municipality has to work through.
Zorneding, Grasbrunn and Haar are already in talks
Basically, the project is viewed very positively.
"The conditions are excellent," said the mayor at the meeting.
"Today we can say with certainty that we can supply the entire municipal area, and probably beyond that," says the municipal business developer Georg Kast.
The base case is economically viable and relatively stable in the face of negative deviations.
Kast also emphasized that economic considerations dated back to before the war in Ukraine.
So before the rise in energy prices.
That means: According to the current status, the project could be even more economical.
Higher heat sales volumes (e.g. a higher connection density) led to a strong improvement in profitability.
According to Kast, supplying third parties outside the municipality is possible and makes sense and improves the result in the long term – without restrictions for core areas.
"We have to make sure that we get big customers as quickly as possible." With regard to the participation of neighboring companies, there was talk of Grasbrunn, Zorneding and Haar.
"Promising talks are already taking place here," said the town hall.
Expansion step by step
One statement is also very clear: "There is no alternative to the implementation of the municipal geothermal project." The events surrounding the Ukraine war have shown how important it is to sustainably reduce dependence on international energy imports for a secure energy supply.
It is also clear that for the further expansion of the local heating network, the streets will have to be torn up in order to lay the pipes.
But this should be done step by step.
"We can't dig up the whole community in three years, because then no one can drive anymore," says Kast.
But the citizens would have to be prepared for a few things.
Of course, the question for every homeowner with a heating system that is getting on in years also arises as to when the local heating could be connected.
So far there is no concrete answer to this.
This is how it goes
What's next?
The town hall already lists the following points: Awarding of consulting services, detailed drilling planning, drilling site planning, planning, heat transfer, mining and water law permits, the legal organizational structure, the preparation of funding applications and a feasibility study as well as project financing and the involvement of investors and legal clarification.
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