timeline
Munich already has six geothermal power plants, where district heating is generated with thermal water from a depth of 3,000 meters. Vienna is also planning such power plants, and a cooperation agreement has now been concluded between Munich and Vienna.
Munich already operates six geothermal power plants and twelve more are planned. By 2040, the Bavarian metropolis wants to generate district heating exclusively with geothermal energy. In Vienna, there is currently a research site in the city on the Danube, where thermal water is pumped. Wiener Stadtwerke is already working on the detailed planning of Vienna’s first geothermal power plant. Here, too, there are big plans for this green form of energy: by 2040, a third of Viennese households are to be heated in this way – more on this in Large hot water deposits under Vienna (wien.ORF.at).
Cooperation agreement signed
A delegation from the City of Vienna with City Councilor for Economic Affairs Peter Hanke has now signed a cooperation agreement in Munich. The aim is to exchange knowledge. From a Viennese point of view, Munich’s know-how in the construction of geothermal power plants is particularly interesting.
Geothermal energy: new technology
Dependence on Russian gas was made clear by the war in Ukraine. Because of this, alternatives are being sought. Geothermal energy is a relatively new technology that uses hot thermal water for district heating.
The city of Munich has been pursuing the development and expansion of this energy production since 2012. Around one billion euros are invested in the expansion of alternative power plants every year, with most of the funds going into geothermal energy. So high costs. According to the Mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, in the “Vienna Today” interview, this investment should pay off in the medium and long term. After construction, the operating costs are comparatively low.
According to Hanke, Vienna, on the other hand, has a knowledge advantage in the field of public transport and digitization and can bring this into the cooperation. In the next few weeks, expert working groups are to be set up in several areas.
“Green” energy from the deep
The delegation from the City of Vienna also visited a geothermal power plant in Munich that was only completed last year. Around 80,000 people are supplied with district heating from this plant. Hot thermal water is pumped from a depth of 2,000 to 3,000 meters via six boreholes and the cooled water is pumped back once more. In between, the energy is removed and fed into the district heating network. This is the very simplified process of generating energy.
Dependence on Russian gas
Both Vienna and Munich decided a long time ago to be climate-neutral by 2040 and to get out of their dependence on gas. The Russian war of aggression in the Ukraine has given this a new priority. Because both cities obtain up to 80 percent of their gas consumption from Russia.
In urban areas one can reduce the dependency on gas supplies. The generation of district heating, for example, is to be largely converted to geothermal energy. Heat pumps should also play an important role in Vienna by 2040. A first showcase project, in which warm wastewater from the Simmeringen sewage treatment plant is to be converted into district heating, started at the end of February – more on this in Heat from sewage water for 112,000 households (wien.ORF.at).
However, the situation of existing gas heating systems in private houses or apartments is still largely unclear. In Vienna, around half of households are still heated with gas. In Munich it is even up to 75 percent. State incentives will probably be needed here to make conversion to sustainable heating systems such as heat pumps attractive.
