A new geothermal power plant is under construction in Geretsried, Germany, marking a significant test case for innovative technology aimed at expanding clean energy production in the country.
The project, announced in September 2024, represents a push to utilize geothermal resources for both heat and electricity, reducing Germany’s reliance on fossil fuels. Currently, Germany has approximately 42 deep geothermal plants in operation, with a total installed thermal capacity of around 408 MW and electrical capacity of roughly 46 MW. However, the vast majority of this capacity is dedicated to district heating, with geothermal contributing only about 200 GWh per year – approximately 0.04% – to Germany’s overall electricity consumption.
The German government is actively promoting the expansion of geothermal energy, particularly for heating, as part of a broader strategy to phase out fossil-fuel heating systems by 2045. A draft federal law is intended to streamline permitting processes and prioritize geothermal projects alongside wind and solar initiatives. This legislative effort gained momentum following the energy shocks of 2022, which highlighted the demand for domestically sourced energy to stabilize prices and reduce dependence on imported gas.
Near Munich, Stadtwerke München already operates geothermal Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plants, each with a capacity of approximately 5.6 MWe, generating both heat and electricity from wells reaching depths of 4–5 kilometers. Similar local plants are being deployed across German cities, with recent projects in Potsdam replacing existing fossil fuel-based heating systems with geothermal alternatives.
The first German geothermal power plant was established in 2003 in Neustadt-Glewe, utilizing ORC technology to produce 230 kW of electricity. A geothermal heat plant at the same site, operational since 2015, provides 4 MW of heat. Another ORC power plant became operational in 2007 in Landau, generating 3 MW of electricity year-round. A third plant, in Unterhaching, employs the Kalina process, boasting a thermal capacity of 38 MW and supplying heat to the district heating network.
Despite the potential, geothermal energy has historically represented a small fraction of Germany’s total primary energy supply, accounting for less than 0.4 percent in both 2004 and 2024. A renewable energy law introduced in 2004 offered a feed-in tariff of EU €0.15 (US $0.23) per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated from geothermal sources, but limited new power plants came online due to the relatively low ground temperatures and resulting thermodynamic inefficiencies.
The German Bundestag’s TAB (bureau for technological impact assessment) concluded in 2003 that Germany’s geothermal resources could potentially supply the country’s entire base load, but cautioned that sustainable development is crucial to prevent resource depletion.
