HOW WE USE GEOTHERMAL POWER

Someone may ask why all these advantages of geothermal power have not yet initiated more activities, as there are not many plants in operation up to now. Germany just has very few plants in operation. This obviously means, that the amount of the current geothermal power production is very small, even looking just into renewable energies.

One of the reasons is, that traditional power generation based on oil, gas or nuclear sources has a much higher profit.

Smaller and regional producers are more open to new energies, but are afraid of the higher costs for geothermal power and therefore have a higher risk of financial loss. Gaining energy from deep geothermal areas is a very complex process. Just one well costs several millions. And even then, there is no guarantee that the water is hot enough and available in sufficient quantity.

This is the challenge that we at Erdstrom AG accept. Our goal is the successful use of geothermal energy. So we have developed and integrated processes to minimize the risks. These are our factors of success:

• Choice of locations:
  We carefully evaluate our locations in regard to high water flow rates and temperature. We use existing geological studies and whenever necessary conduct own measurements. Currently we own a few of the most interesting areas in southern Germany.
  
  

• Process engineering:
  Due to the fact that water temperatures at 3,000 to 5,000 meters depth are between 100 to 140°C it is more efficient not using the water directly, but to feed the energy into a second circle. Here we use as a fluid a combination of water and ammoniac. A heat exchange device evaporates the ammoniac which is used for powering the turbine.
  One of the major advantages is that this two circle process has nearly 50% higher efficiency than other processes. These so called Kalina plants are still in the early stages of development. For us, this is at the same time challenge and great opportunity.
  
  

• Our employees:
  Our experts are handpicked and belong to the most experienced ones on the market. Additionally we have a strong cooperation with universities an several countries.