Geothermal disaster in Wilhelmsburg: Heat turn threatens to fail!

Geothermal disaster in Wilhelmsburg: Heat turn threatens to fail!

In a time when the energy transition is all over the country on the agenda, the geothermal project in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg seems to have more hurdles than success. The Greens in Hamburg rely on a sustainable energy turn, but reality looks different. Bild reported that the heat supply of 6,000 household to secure. Instead of the hoped -for 130 degrees Celsius from the planned 3,000 meters deep, there is currently only cold water at 48 degrees from 1,000 meters.

Originally, the commercial heat delivery was considered for spring 2025, but now a new start date is being targeted for 2026, as well as stern.de . The former environmental senator Jens Kerstan had the idea of ​​using geothermal technology as a key to heat supply. However, the reality shows that electrical heat pumps can only heat the cold water to a maximum of 80 degrees, which is still far below the target value.

delays and costs

The geothermal project is not only shaped by technical challenges; The costs also remain in the dark. 22.5 million euros were provided from Berlin for the project, while the previous holes have already cost 17 million euros. The energy works have so far not commented on the overall investments and the start of the project continues to move. A new hole could be necessary, which in turn requires approval.

At the moment, the energy works can only supply 3,700 residential units in Wilhelmsburg, which corresponds to a greatly reduced capacity. Of the 538,000 residential units in Hamburg, which are currently heated with district heating, this is only a fraction of this. In addition, there has been a price increase for district heating and hot water by almost a third for new customers since May 1st - existing customers will also expect higher prices from 2026

Hope for sustainable warmth

Although the project seems to be on the brink, the hope of the operators remains that the demand for ecological heat could increase from 2030. The new environmental senator Katharina Fegebank inherits these problems and must now face the challenge of achieving the goals set in the area of ​​renewable energies.

geothermal energy is a promising technology that is still considered environmentally friendly. Without CO2 emissions during operation, it could play a major role in the future energy supply. According to Engie , a kilowatt hour of electricity for heat pumps up to five kilowatt hours of heat could be obtained. But until we can fully exploit the advantages of geothermal energy in Hamburg, it is a rocky way to go.