Austria - Country Update

Abstract

In the period 2005 – 2010 hydrogeothermal exploration and development was on a very low level in Austria. In 2011 two projects for hydrogeothermal district heating have been launched in Austria (Ried im Innkreis in the Upper Austrian Molasse Basin and Aspern-Eßling in the Vienna Basin). The Eßling project failed wheras the geothermal project of Ried in Innkreis will be put into operation by February 2014. By the beginning of 2014 drilling operation has started for a geothermal doublet intended for heating green houses in the Styrian Basin near the town of Fürstenfeld. The depth of the drillings will be in the order of 3,600 m, expected temperatures are 120 – 130 °C. The number of ground source heat pumps shows a steady increase. The total number of units is estimated as high as 70,000 having a capacity of 840 MWth and 1,386 GWh/yr based on sale figures provided by heat pump suppliers.