Geothermal Energy in Switzerland – Country Update

Abstract

Direct use of geothermal energy is a success story in Switzerland. Various types of utilization are applied. The oldest utilizations are thermal spas, which remain popular. However, most applications are for heating residential and apartment houses, office buildings etc. In recent years, cooling during summer time has become more and more important. Even tunnel water is alternately used for heating and cooling. New is the geothermal direct use in the agricultural sector. Nonetheless, the largest part is still the ground-coupled heat pump sector, with a percentage of about 85 % of the totally installed thermal capacity. Up to 2010, deep geothermal energy especially for power production was of lesser interest. Only a few deep geothermal heating projects were realised and no power has been produced yet.