German Geothermal Energy Association presents award

This year, the German Geothermal Energy Association (BVG) is awarding the “Champion Deep Geothermal Energy” prize for the federal state with the largest increase in installed capacity in deep geothermal energy and the largest installed capacity per inhabitant to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
With an increase of over 7 MWtherm, the installed capacity here has more than doubled compared to the previous year. The award will be officially handed over to Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) on 24 October 2023, who will receive it on her behalf. This means that the state will replace Bavaria as the previous permanent winner of the award. “The extension shows that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has recognised the treasure on which it sits. The North German Basin offers excellent conditions for the use of geothermal energy - an opportunity for the state to make a decisive contribution to the heat transition and the goal of a climate-neutral Germany by 2045,” says BVG Managing Director Dr André Deinhardt. Lighthouse projects such as the heating plant in Schwerin-Lankow, which went into operation in April, showed that Mecklenburg-Vorpommern set the necessary course for the energy transition at an early stage. For example, the state funded the geothermal project of the Schwerin municipal utility with € 4.2 million.
At the inauguration ceremony in the presence of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in the spring, Schwesig also referred to the almost 40-year history of geothermal energy in the federal state she governs. Germany’s first geothermal plant went into operation in Waren an der Müritz in 1984 and is still running today. “We are proud to have the largest installed capacity per inhabitant for geothermal energy in the whole of Germany. And we are pleased about this award. It shows: We in eastern Germany have solutions that can advance the whole of Germany. The future should belong to renewable energies. Geothermal energy plays an important role in this,” said Schwesig.
The venue for this year’s award ceremony is the geothermal plant operated by WEMAG AG in Neustadt-Glewe, which supplies 20 GWh of heat annually to households and businesses. In order to expand the plant’s output even further, a deflection well was recently successfully added to the existing borehole. “For us, the heat turnaround is the key factor in continuing the energy turnaround. Especially now, at a time when many homeowners are thinking about renewing their heating systems, it is all the more important to expand or build local and district heating networks. Heat planning is becoming a mandatory municipal task. We support municipalities in their planning and in their goals to operate in a climate-neutral manner,” emphasised Caspar Baumgart, commercial director of WEMAG.