This country report update gives an overview of the
geothermal energy use in Germany. It covers
geothermal power production, direct use applications as
well as geothermal heat pump units for heating and
cooling.
At the end of 2021, about 190 geothermal installations
for direct use of geothermal energy were in operation in
Germany. This number includes facilities for district
heating and thermal spas, the latter often in
combination with space heating.
The installed geothermal capacity of these facilities
amounted to 406.9 MWth with a geothermal heat
production of 6183.7 TJ in 2020. District heating plants
accounted for the largest portion of the geothermal
capacity with 345.8 MWth and a heat production of
4439.2 TJ.
Geothermal electricity generation in Germany is based
on the use of binary systems (Kalina cycle or ORC).
This allows power production even at temperatures of
100 °C. At the end of 2021, eleven geothermal plants
with an installed capacity of 47.6 MWel fed electricity
into the German grid. The geothermal power
production in 2020 summed up to a total of 190.6 GWh.
Due to favourable geological conditions, geothermal
district heating and power plants are mainly located in
the Molasse Basin in Southern Germany, in the North
German Basin, or along the Upper Rhine Graben.
In addition to installations using “deep” geothermal
energy, numerous small- and medium-sized decentralised
geothermal heat pump units are in use for heating
and cooling of individual houses and office buildings.
In the last years, the sales figures of heat pumps have
increased again. Over 150’000 heat pumps were sold in
2021, with a share of about 18 % (27’000) for
geothermal systems (brine and water systems). At the
end of 2021, 435’000 geothermal heat pumps were
running successfully in Germany and supply renewable
heat mostly for residential buildings. All installed
geothermal heat pumps had a thermal output of about
4930 MWth in total and provided 25’704 TJ of
renewable heat in 2021.
«
This country report update gives an overview of the
geothermal energy use in Germany. It covers
geothermal power production, direct use applications as
well as geothermal heat pump units for heating and
cooling.
At the end of 2021, about 190 geothermal installations
for direct use of geothermal energy were in operation in
Germany. This number includes facilities for district
heating and thermal spas, the latter often in
combination with space heating.
The installed geothermal capacity...
»
Login
BibTeX