The Athos company would like to generate energy from Lake Tegernsee for the Hotel Seegut. The municipality of Bad Wiessee is also toying with the possibility. But for whom is sea thermal energy an option? And under what conditions?
Bad Wiessee
- The municipality - this much became clear at the Wiessee local council meeting at the end of February - would like to have a piece of the cake: That's why, at the request of the Greens, it decided to have the potential of thermal lake water use at Tegernsee examined and to consult a specialist office . Recently, Wolfgang Spiegl from the Munich engineering firm IB-Spiegl, which is also on board with the Athos project, explained the options to the local council. It also became clear: the potential that can be exploited from Lake Tegernsee for energy production is not infinite.
The Athos company's project would have a pilot character throughout Germany
There is no question that it is technically possible to convert the lake water into heat or cold with the help of an intake structure and pipes in the lake as well as a heating center. As Spiegl emphasized again at the meeting, the energy concept proposed by the Strüngmann family for the new hotel complex on the banks of the Wiessee lake is “the first project of this size in Germany”. The expert said that approval from the authorities had almost been granted.
18 megawatts or more? How much potential is there in Tegernsee?
He also doesn't think it's out of the question that the neighboring communities could be supplied by one or more sea thermal systems (cold network), says the expert. When asked, he explained, “more detailed investigations” would be needed. This includes, among other things, a “condensed potential analysis” for Lake Tegernsee as an energy source. At the meeting there was talk of at least 18 megawatts of power that could be drawn from Tegernsee in total. But the potential is probably much higher. The energy requirement for the sea freight would be around 2.5 megawatts. At the meeting, the expert admitted that at some point there would be a “shift in the shaft”, but at the same time emphasized that explicit calculations had to be made in order to determine when the maximum had actually been reached.
District Office: Anyone can apply to use the lake water
The Miesbach District Office is ultimately responsible for issuing water permits. When asked, the district authority explains the Athos company's planned energy concept: "The permit has not yet been finally granted; it is currently in the coordination phase with the applicant." In principle, the district authority explains, anyone - including any private company - can submit an application focus on the use of lake water to generate energy. In the approval process, “a discretionary decision is made with the involvement of all affected public bodies as to whether and, if necessary, how the lake water can be used”. The spokeswoman adds: “It could of course be the case that an application has to be rejected at some point because additional water use adversely changes the nature of Lake Tegernsee.” Apparently the principle applies: first come, first served. When asked, municipalities do not have priority when it comes to using the lake as an energy source, the authority explains.
Lake administration: The question of a usage fee is currently being examined
What remains to be clarified is whether and to what extent a fee has to be paid if Tegernsee is used for energy production purposes. Here the district office refers to the responsibility of the Bavarian Palaces and Lakes Administration, which looks after those waters that - as in the Tegernsee case - are owned by the Free State of Bavaria. Press spokesman Florian Schröter cannot provide any specific information on this at the moment. Currently, “fundamental issues relating to so-called sea thermal energy are being coordinated across departments at the ministerial level,” he explains.
In particular, the effects of thermal water use on the flora and fauna in the lakes must be examined and evaluated in detail and in a scientifically sound manner. “The regulations for issuing usage permits as well as the charging of a fee and its structure should also be clarified,” says Schröter. Voting would still be ongoing. “The results,” explains the spokesman, “will also be decisive for the outcome of the approval process initiated by the Athos company.”
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