The town of Burgwedel, Norddeutsche.Erdwärme.Gewinnungsgesellschaft GmbH (NDEWG) and the energy company Enercity announced on 23 April that they intend to use the geothermal potential located beneath the town to generate climate-neutral heat. As part of the project partnership, it is to be tapped and made available to local residents as a climate-friendly heating option.
The partnership declaration also includes the establishment of a local heating network by enercity contracting (a wholly owned subsidiary of Enercity) in the Burgwedel district of Großburgwedel, making it the first municipality in Lower Saxony with local heating from deep geothermal energy.
Important step towards a climate-neutral Burgwedel
Initial investigations by Clausthal University of Technology have shown that the technical requirements for utilising geothermal energy in Burgwedel are in place. The utilisation of geothermal energy is a complex process. Only particularly close co-operation makes this special project possible.
The three project partners - NDEWG as the holder of the so-called exploration licence for deep geothermal energy, Enercity as the operator of the future heating network and heat supply and the town of Burgwedel as the owner of the land - have signed a joint declaration to drive the project forward.
Mayor Ortrud Wendt described deep geothermal energy as ‘an important building block in Burgwedel's concept for achieving the climate neutrality that is required by law and that we are striving for as quickly as possible’. She therefore welcomed the realisation of the potential by NDEWG and Enercity.
Benefit from climate-neutral heat from the end of 2027
„Enercity stands for renewable energies and affordable heat supply. This geothermal project in combination with local heating makes Burgwedel a beacon of the heating transition throughout Lower Saxony“, says Enercity CEO Prof Dr Marc Hansmann.
„As part of an expanded concept for heat planning, around 1,800 customers in Burgwedel will have the opportunity to benefit from this climate-friendly heat from the end of 2027“, Hansmann continued.
Enercity has submitted an application to the Federal Fund for Efficient Heating Networks (BEW) in order to realise a further potential analysis and the draft planning of a feasibility study.
As part of this feasibility study, a detailed 3D seismic survey of the area under investigation is to be carried out at the end of this year for a more precise exploration of deep geothermal energy. This will enable the NDEWG to determine where and in which layers deep geothermal energy can be utilised most efficiently.
According to NDEWG Managing Director Albrecht Möhring, who emphasises the importance of 3D seismics, the procedure will be presented in more detail to interested parties and residents „as soon as there are exact dates for the 3D seismics“.
