Fraport AG, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport and D&S Geo Innogy GmbH, a joint venture company of RWE Innogy GmbH, Daldrup & Söhne AG, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to incorporate a joint venture at Frankfurt Airport to explore and develop the deep geothermal field in Walldorf.
If successful, the partners will build the first hybrid power station to use a combination of geothermal power and biogas for the production of electricity and heat. “We are proud that we will eventually be providing the most important German international aviation hub with renewable energy. Although numerous studies will be required until then, we are confident that our new system, in particular, will enable us to supply part of the airport with geothermal energy for its heat requirements. This would give Germany a real beacon project in renewable energies, with a high level of international publicity,” said Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt, Chairman of the Board of Directors at RWE Innogy.
Dr. Schulte, CEO of Fraport AG, described the signing of the MoU as “another milestone in the implementation of the sustainability programme of Fraport AG. Today’s step,” he says, “adds a totally new quality to our endeavours to achieve substantial CO2 reductions at the airport, for instance through the technical and architectural modernisation of our terminal facilities and the use of electric vehicles on the apron.” If passenger facilities could receive their heat from biogas and geothermal power, then this alone would lead to large savings in carbon dioxide emissions. “Both for environmental and economic reasons,” said the head of Fraport, “we are therefore very keen and indeed hopeful to see good results coming from the forthcoming explorations as soon as possible.”
Silke Lautenschläger, Minister of Environmental Affairs in the German State of Hesse, underlined that Frankfurt Airport has enormous potential for the development of showcase projects in climate protection and renewable energies. The use of electric vehicles and of biogas and geothermal power make an important contribution to climate protection and a sustainable energy supply. The planned project will help to secure jobs and to safeguard Frankfurt as a location for business. “It underlines yet again,” said Lautenschläger, “that economic sense and environmental concerns are by no means incompatible. The aim of the Hessian state government is to increase the share of renewable energies among end users to 20% by 2020. So we emphatically welcome the endeavours of Fraport AG and D&S Geo Innogy GmbH to set up an eco-friendly method for the supply of electricity and heat to Frankfurt Airport,” said the Minister.
Geothermal and biogas in combination
Geologically, the Walldorf field belongs to the Upper Rhine Rift, an area covering some 100 square kilometres which is used for the exploitation of geothermal energy. Over the next few months a series of seismic explorations will be conducted to give an idea of its geothermal potential. After the positive conclusion of these preliminary studies the joint venture partners want to drill down to a depth of 2,400 metres for their geothermal power plant. They are planning to build at least one hybrid power station that will generate electricity and heat from a combination of geothermal power and biogas.
The combined use of those two sources will enable the power station to generate electricity that is suitable for base loads and has a high level of efficiency. The biogas is produced by RWE at a biogas plant in Saxony-Anhalt where it is refined to the same quality level as natural gas and is then delivered to Fraport AG via the gas grid.
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