Geothermal project in Gauting, Germany presses on despite funding uncertainty
Carlo Cariaga
16 Jan 2024
The Asto Group intends to proceed with a geothermal heating project in Gauting in Bavaria, Germany despite the halting of federal funding for such projects.
The Asto Group intends to continue with the geothermal project being developed in the municipality of Gauting in Bavaria, Germany, despite the cancellation of federal funding for such projects.
“We don’t stop anything,” said Dr. Bernd Schulte-Middelich, Head of Geothermal at Asto Group. “We are in the middle of things, we are on schedule and we are not thinking about getting out.”
The geothermal project is envisioned to provide renewable and stable heating supply by the winter of 2025/2026 to the municipalities of Gilching, Weßling, and Gauting. The Asto Group had initially planned for the drilling of two boreholes which will require an investment of EUR 25 million with 40% federal funding.
In late 2023, the German Federal Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional the reallocation of EUR 60 billion of COVID-19 debt to the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF). This resulted in the temporary pause of several climate protection funding programmes, including the federal funding for efficient heating networks (BEW).
Schulte-Middelich believes that the government will resume funding over the next six months, with the optimism that the heat transition “cannot function without a large proportion of geothermal energy.” He also says that he has not heard of any other investor canceling on ongoing geothermal projects amidst the uncertainties on federal funding.
“There will be a solution. We are fully committed to geothermal energy,” says Schulte-Middelich.
Dr. Brigitte Kössinger, Mayor of Gauting, also expressed optimism that the test drilling planned within the next few months will yield successful results. Hot water had already been encountered in the drilling site when oil drilling was done during the energy crisis in the 1970s. However, she is more pragmatic on the economic feasibility of the project without subsidies.
In the end of 2022, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) published a key issues paper outlining strategies to achieve a target of 100 additional geothermal projects by 2030.
