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Summary
Geothermal energy as a sustainable energy source can make its own significant contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in Germany. This is shown by a case study of the Kirchstockach power plant published by scientists at the Center for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth in the journal Renewable Energy. Geothermal research at ZET is integrated into the Geothermal-Alliance Bavaria, which has been funded by the Bavarian Ministry of Science since 2016. Within the framework of the recently launched second funding phase, ZET will receive around 500,000 euros.
The power plant in Kirchstockach, southwest of Munich, was commissioned in 2013 and produces around 40 GWh of renewable electricity annually. The new case study on this plant provides the first comprehensive life cycle assessment of a real geothermal power plant in Germany. Partners in the study were the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. "We analyzed the provision of electricity by the geothermal power plant in Kirchstockach, particularly from the point of view of CO2 emissions. In the process, it turned out that if the heat stored in the earth's crust is used to generate electricity, the current state of the art produces less CO2 than if biogas or photovoltaics are used to generate electricity," says Dr.-Ing. Florian Heberle, co-author of the study and Managing Director of the Center for Energy Technology (ZET) at the University of Bayreuth.
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