18-09-2009 om 16:41 by Stafford Wadsworth

In the SuperC building of the RWTH University, construction is beginning on geothermal system. There has been drilling down 2.5km for this project since 2004. The introduction of the piping has to make use of a new system and a patent has been applied for. Construction will start this October. In SuperC, a simple synthetic pipe which will channel warm fluid to the surface, limiting the loss of heat, and heat the building this way.

In Heerlerheide (Heerlen) the Weller Housing Association has already built geothermal power station, with a glass floor for visitors to see the minewater power station in operation. This is a serious sustainable energy option in this area. Towns in the region, from Geleen to Heerlen, could replace a major part of their heating energy with Minewater or geothermal energy.

Figures on geothermal energy, which derive from a project in southern Germany, reveal that, at a depth of 4,000 meters, warm water at a temperature of 170 degrees is available. A similar area is to be found in France.

A geothermal system can pump cold water from the surface into the reservoir opening, releasing water by hydraulic fracturing and then pumping the warm water to a geothermal power station.

You do need resources close to the consumers though. In north Germany, there are two projects, one in Hanover and one not too far from Berlin. There, they are using oil or gas drilling shafts, and this is saving between EUR 10 -20 million.

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