The geothermal heating plant in Lankow, Schwerin, Germany (supply: Video screenshot, Stadtwerke Schwerin)
After delays because of suspended particles within the fluids, the Schwerin, Germany geothermal heating plant is about to begin operations by June 2024.
Native utility firm Stadtwerke Schwerin is now planning to place into operation the geothermal heating plant within the Lankow district of Schwerin, Germany by June of this 12 months. This will probably be nearly a 12 months after the unique date of commissioning of the plant, with delays attributable to the excessive sediment content material of the thermal fluids.
Plans for the Schwerin geothermal had been first introduced again in 2018. By the tip of April 2023, an inauguration ceremony was held Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Minister-President Manuela Schwesig had been in attendance to sign the beginning of operations of the heating plant.
The heating plant will make the most of geothermal water pumped from 1300 meters depth, which initially at a temperature of 56 levels Celsius. The warmth is then transferred to an intermediate circuit earlier than the temperature is elevated utilizing warmth pumps. That is equipped to the district heating system by which it offers the heating wants of 2000 households, or about 15% of the district heating prospects in Schwerin.
Nonetheless, issues had been encountered because of the presence of suspended particles within the fluids, possible from the sandstone formation. To stop injury to the warmth exchangers, a filter system needed to be designed and built-in into the system. The precise kind and dimension of the suspended particles needed to be analyzed and regarded into the filter system design.
With the filters now put in, the thermal fluid getting into the warmth exchangers meets the requirement for the gear. The subsequent step is to place the 4 warmth pumps into operation. This must be achieved progressively and underneath the steering of the technicians of the manufacturing firm, thus the June 2024 goal.
A mannequin for geothermal in Northern Germany
In November 2023, the “DeCarbSN” analysis mission underneath the management of Georg-August College of Göttingen was introduced which goals to comprehensively characterize the subsurface within the Schwerin city space to assist in growing extra geothermal district heating tasks in northern Germany.
The mission is being carried out in partnership with Stadtwerke Schwerin, Geothermie Neubrandenburg, and the Leibniz Institute for Utilized Geophysics (LIAG) with funding by the Federal Ministry for Financial Affairs and Local weather Safety (BMWK).
As a part of the mission, a digital reservoir mannequin of the sandstone aquifer will probably be generated. The knowledge gathered from the Schwerin geothermal heating mission will present wonderful perception into this mannequin. There are additionally 3D seismic surveys being deliberate for the spring of 2024.
The challenges encountered associated to suspended particles within the Schwerin geothermal heating mission offers helpful learnings for future geothermal tasks in northern Germany. As soon as a viable resolution has been discovered, related filter techniques may be built-in instantly into future tasks.
