Geothermal Energy Use, Country Update for Sweden

Abstract

This paper presents the status of geothermal energy use and market in Sweden by the end of 2015. Geothermal energy in Sweden is dominated by low temperature, shallow geothermal energy systems. The vast majority of installed geothermal energy systems are ground source heat pumps (GSHP) for space heating and domestic hot water heating for single family buildings. About a fifth of the Swedish buildings use GSHP, making Sweden a leading country within this technology. The market for larger shallow geothermal energy systems for residential as well as non-residential buildings has been expanding over the last years. Shallow geothermal energy systems provide some 23 TWh of heating and cooling in Sweden (including free-cooling and electricity for heat pumps), of which approximately 17.5 TWh is renewable heat from the ground and approximately 1.1 TWh is free-cooling from the ground (assumed COP free-cooling 40). The total installed capacity (heating and cooling) is 6.8 GW.
Most part of Sweden lacks the geological conditions for deep geothermal exploitation. However, there is one plant in Lund from the mid-1980’s that is still in operation, providing some 140 GWh of geothermal heat to the Lund district heating system.