Advancing geothermal energy quickly: District founds consortium for heat transition

Created: 12/03/2022, 11:30 am

By: Charlotte Borst

If the district wants to implement the energy transition, supplying other communities with geothermal heat is an important project.

© Boris Roessler

If the district of Munich wants to implement the energy transition, supplying other communities with geothermal heat is an important project.

The district is now founding the alliance "Working Group on Heat Transition".

District

- The initiative came from the municipality of Hohenbrunn in April.

Together with the neighboring Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, Hohenbrunn asked the district for support and got them on board.

The conditions are favourable.

Due to their location in the southern German Molasse Basin, the communities here have excellent chances of being supplied with deep geothermal heat.

The energy committee of the district council unanimously decided that the district should join.

The role of the district is to set up the consortium and to finance the organizational support so that possible expansion paths can be examined quickly.

A first meeting should take place at the beginning of January, says Hohenbrunn's climate protection manager Ilona von Schaubert, who initiated the consortium.

District Administrator sees great advantages in the merger

District Administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU) sees great advantages in the solidarity of the district municipalities.

Because despite the good geological conditions, there are high hurdles: the technical know-how, the financial risk and finally the large scope of the project.

“We are suggesting something where no geothermal project has yet been implemented.” Municipalities that generate too much heat could give heat to those that have too little.

Critical view of the public utilities

In addition, there are the intentions of Stadtwerke München (SWM), which is trying to cover the heat requirements of the state capital by purchasing district heating from the district.

FDP district councilor Manfred Riederle is skeptical about this: he described the SWM "with its great financial power" as "the Goliath in the middle, compared to which we are all just dwarfs".

The municipalities would lose out if the SWM "dictate the conditions".

The district should provide advice and “broaden its protective mantle around the municipalities”.

As soon as municipal law changes, the district should “enter into entrepreneurial activity” itself.

These municipalities are there

Ilona von Schaubert looks to the future in a pragmatic and sober manner.

When asked, she says: “We want the heat transition.

We have potential that we want to analyze.

With the consortium we want to advance the projects.

Stadtwerke München can also become a contractual partner with a transfer station.” So far, in addition to Hohenbrunn and Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn, Brunnthal, Grasbrunn and Taufkirchen have also participated in the consortium, Putzbrunn, Neubiberg and Ottobrunn could follow.