Friday, February 17, 2012


Linde constructs turn-key geothermal power plant

Dresden, 16 February 2012 – Linde Engineering Dresden GmbH, a subsidiary of the Linde Group, is set to build a turn-key geothermal power plant for GEOenergieKirchweidach GmbH at their Kirchweidach site in Germany.

"Geothermal power plants represent a new product on the market for innovative plants generating clean energy. With this project, Linde is opening up a new and forward-looking business field," says JörgLinsenmaier, Managing Director of Linde Engineering Dresden GmbH. "The market volume for geothermal plants is estimated at several hundred million euros in Germany alone."

The plant uses the ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) process to generate approximately 38,640 MWh of electrical energy from hot geothermal water, which is brought from a depth of about 4000 m. The geothermal power plant is capable of supplying power to 12,880 homes. In the vast field of regenerative energy production, geothermal energy stands out because of its base load capacity. It is unaffected by the weather and day-night cycle and is therefore available around the clock.

Linde Engineering Dresden GmbH will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, civil and installation works and commissioning carried out in relation to the plant. Cryostar SAS, a further subsidiary of the Linde Group, will supply the ORC technology and the key component – the expansion turbine. It is envisaged that the Gases Division of the Linde Group will manage the geothermal plant. With this combination of equipment manufacturing, engineering, purchasing & construction and plant management, the Linde Group is supplying a portfolio of services from a single source – something which their competition simply cannot match on the same terms. The civil worksare set to start in summer 2012, with commissioning of the plant scheduled to take place in 2013.

About Linde Engineering

Linde Engineering is successful throughout the world, with its focus on promising market segments such as olefin plants, natural gas plants and air separation plants, as well as hydrogen and synthesis gas plants. In contrast to virtually all competitors, the company can rely on its own extensive process engineering know-how in the planning, project development and construction of turnkey industrial plants. Linde plants are used in a wide variety of fields: in the petrochemical and chemical industries, in refineries and fertiliser plants, to recover air gases, to produce hydrogen and synthesis gases, to treat natural gas and in the pharmaceutical industry.


About GEOenergieKirchweidach GmbH
GEOenergieKirchweidach GmbH is the operating company of the geothermal power plant in the town of the same name (Kirchweidach), situated in the Altoetting district of Upper Bavaria, with GEOenergie Bayern GmbH and Geothermie Management GmbH each having a 50% share in the company. GEOenergie Bayern (Regensburg), part of G-Finanz Ltd., manages the hydrothermal deep geothermal project. Geothermie Management is part of the FG.de Group (Regensburg), which specialises in renewable energies, smart grid and electromobility

1 comment:

Pete Hope said...

Sounds great guys. Geothermal is the way to go. While the drilling equipment can be expensive, the advantages it has over other energy sources are huge!