Citizens’ fears of cold homes are increasing as news of rising energy and heating costs grows. Poing’s mayor Thomas Stark (independent) reported this at the meeting of the construction and environmental committee on Tuesday: “In the telephone consultation, many tell me about their fears about this winter,” said Stark. Due to rising prices and the question of security of supply, it was decided to obtain a status report from the Poing geothermal power plant.
This report was presented by Robert Budde from Bayernwerk Natur GmbH, which operates the power plant. He was proud of the development of geothermal energy in Poing. 54 million euros have already been invested in the plant and the district heating network, and the power plant has “exemplary character” for other cities and communities. 80 percent of Bayernwerk Natur’s district heating in Poing now comes from geothermal energy. “Unfortunately,” says Budde, “we still have a 20 percent share of natural gas.” One is therefore also dependent on Russia and the price increases of the past time.
This also applies to the approximately 4,000 end customers who purchase 54,000 megawatt hours of heat in Poing per year. As of July 1, 2022, the price per megawatt hour has doubled compared to the same date last year, from around 75 euros to 150 euros, according to Budde. The price is calculated using a formula that incorporates both a fixed price and the current market costs for electricity and gas.
District heating is to become climate-neutral by 2030
So much for the current state of the geothermal power plant. However, Budde also spoke about Bayernwerk Natur GmbH’s plans to develop further in view of the current situation. The geothermal energy in Poing is to be further expanded. Budde spoke of supplying the new W8 residential district with district heating, as well as the few parts of the commercial area that they do not already occupy. Settlements in Poing Süd and in the districts W3 and W4 would also be examined, even if it is unclear whether an expansion is feasible here. Overall, Bayernwerk Natur GmbH wants to achieve growth to 65,000 megawatt hours by 2025.
The company itself wants to become climate-neutral by 2030. A new division manager has been appointed for this purpose and Budde explained that they are about to install their own photovoltaic systems. The production of geothermal energy is already very climate-friendly, the emission of greenhouse gases is around 0.060 kilograms of CO2 per kilowatt hour. For comparison, the natural gas boilers emit around 0.220 kilograms of CO2 per kilowatt hour generated.
That is why great efforts are being made to replace the natural gas boilers in the long term, explained Budde. A big step in this direction was already taken in 2021: the acquisition of a new large heat pump. It should be ready for use by the end of 2023 and generate twelve percent of the heat. A residual stock of natural gas or oil would remain. But that is not necessarily a disadvantage, said Budde, as it provides additional capacity for the coldest winter days.
New pricing model with a higher fixed component to keep costs constant
These efforts should once again benefit customers. Bayernwerk Natur GmbH plans to “harmonize” the price model in order to keep the costs for heat at a tolerable level. For this, the fixed portion in the calculation of the price should be doubled, from a quarter to half. “This has various advantages,” says Budde. There would only be a price adjustment once a year and the working price would be stabilized in the long term – Budde spoke of a 20-year price guarantee, made possible by the heat pump and the in-house photovoltaic system.
The result should be a price that is 20 to 30 percent below what would have happened without the adjustment: gross around 110 euros per megawatt hour, starting on January 1, 2023. Budde did not hide the fact that this model also has a disadvantage: if the If energy and gas prices collapse in the future, the new, high fixed portion of the costs would ensure that the price per megawatt hour is higher than that of other providers.
However, he considered this scenario to be very unrealistic. He was much more assuming that the federal government would ensure in future that the prices for energy and gas would remain stable at a high level by making advance payments. The new pricing model is designed to keep prices stable. Mayor Thomas Stark was impressed by this solution: “A price reduction of 30 percent on January 1st, you won’t find that anywhere else.”