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20% renewable energy by 2020
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Renewable Energy Sectors
Geothermal Energy
|Objectives-Technology
|Dissemination-Successful
Projects|
Geothermal Energy : Objectives -
Technology
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Geothermal energy can be valorised in two different ways,
in the form of electricity or in the form of heat. Each of these types
of valorisation is distinguished by different technologies and different
applications. |
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ELECTRICITY
PRODUCTION
Geothermal electricity production consists of
converting the heat of high temperature aquifers (from 150°C to 350°C)
through the use of turbo-generators. If the temperature of the aquifer
is included between 100°C and 150°C, it is also possible to produce
electricity, but in using binary cycle technology in this case. In this
process, a heat exchanger transmits the heat of the aquifer to a fluid
(isobutane, isopentane, ammonia) with the property of vaporising at a
temperature lower than that of water. Italy has the main high
temperature deposits in the European Union (810.5 MWe out of a European
total of 842.6 MWe) (table 1). Italy is, moreover, the only EU country
having increased its production capacities in 2005 (+20.5 MWe with
respect to 2004). Four other countries are also involved in geothermal
origin electricity production. Portugal is developing installations in
the Azores archipelago, and France is exploiting the Bouillante site on
Guadeloupe. Finally, in Germany and Austria, geothermal potential is
valorised in the form of electricity through the use of binary cycle
technology, and this, in CHP (combined heat and power) units that supply
heating networks.
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1.
Situation of high
temperature geothermal energy (electricity production)in 2004 and 2005
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HEAT
PRODUCTION
Heat production can be obtained from geothermal
energy in two distinct manners. The first consists in directly
exploiting the substratum aquifers, whose temperatures are included
between 30°C and 150°C (so-called low and medium energy applications).
The second way of producing heat is through the use of geothermal heat
pumps that are of so-called very low energy applications.
In the 25-member European Union, middle and low
energy geothermal energy represented a 2109.1 MWth capacity at the
end of 2005 (for a geothermal use of 655.6
ktoe) i.e. an additional 45 MWth with respect to 2004 (table 2). Hungary
is the largest user of middle and high energy geothermal energy (715
MWth in 2005), with the principal application being the heating of
public baths and swimming pools, followed by the heating of greenhouses
and heating networks. Italy (486.6 MWth) is the second largest user due
to the development of heating of these same three applications, with a
more sizeable share going to the heating of public baths and for heating
networks. France, in third place in the EU with 291.9 MWth, has more
developed urban heating networks in the Paris and Bordeaux regions.
Geothermal heat pumps (collectors buried or on
aquifer), principally used for heating habitations, are part of the
renewable technologies which are gaining more and more success on
the European market. The number of geothermal heat pumps is estimated at
455435 units in the countries of the EU, representing an installed
capacity of 5379 MWth. The renewable energy taken from the ground by all
of these machines (with electrical consumption deducted) is estimated at
874 ktoe in 2005. The largest installed capacity is by far that of
Sweden (220115 units, including 34584 installed during the year 2005),
followed by the installed capacity in France (67820 units, including
17810 installed in 2005) and that of Germany (61912 units, including
13250 installed in 2005). |
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2.
Situation of low
temperature geothermal energy
(excepted GSHP) in the European Union
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3.
Quantity and installed
capacity of GSHP in the countries of the European Union
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GOOD 2010 PROSPECTS
With regard to electricity production, each country
that is involved in geothermal energy is
seeking to increase its installed capacity. In this way, Italy is
projecting putting an additional one hundred megawatts into service,
Portugal 17 MWe and France 35 MWe (Soulz-sousforêt and Bouillante 3).
These power plants, added on to the new binary cycle power plants in
Germany and Austria, should bring EU capacity up to 988 MW, i.e. a
little less than the objective set by the European Commission . |
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4. Comparison between current trend
and White Paper objectives for electricity production
(in MWe)
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With respect to the production of heat, the
difficulty for experts in determining exact low and middle energy
geothermal capacity makes projection work very difficult. Moreover,
national studies on the inventory of middle and low energy capacities
have not always been carried out each year. An increase of 50 MW per
year until 2010 nevertheless seems a reasonable hypothesis, which should
bring low and middle energy capacity up to 2359 MWth. The situation of
very low energy geothermal energy (the geothermal heat pump market) is
much more favourable. If the sector maintains its current installation
rate, total capacity delivered by geothermal heat pumps could reach
11400 MWth in 2010. This more favourable projection than that made in
our last annual assessment barometer can be explained by an acceleration
in installation rates (in particular in France and Germany). This
acceleration is explained at the same time by the strong increase in the
price of fossil fuels and electricity, as well as by an increase in aids
to investment (notably in France). White Paper objectives (5000 MWth,
including 2500 MWth of geothermal heat pumps) that were calculated for
the EU have been largely exceeded. This result is explained in part by
the arrival of the new member States, but also by very high growth in
the heat pump market. The Commission’s new guideline, the « Sustainable
Energy Europe » campaign, has determined new objectives to be reached
between 2005 and 2008, i.e. 250000 new heat pumps, 15 new electric power
plants and 10 new low energy power plants. The European Commission’s new
objective should be largely exceeded for thermal heat pumps, with,
according to our forecasts, 360000 additional units. Concerning high and
low energy applications, the success of these objectives are principally
going to depend on the results of geothermal drilling operations that
are currently underway and that should trigger investment decisions . |
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5. Comparison between current trend
and White Paper objectives for heat production
(in MWth)
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EurObserv ’ER 2006 |
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