Towards a comprehensive environmental monitoring of a geothermal power plant in the Rhine graben

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the main environmental monitoring performed during operational phases of a geothermal power plant in the Upper Rhine graben and their associated cost. Five kinds of impacts are identified and monitored from large to local scale influence: induced seismicity and surface deformation, surface water and shallow groundwater resources protection, neighbourhood disturbance, such as vibrations or noise emissions, and evolution of the natural radioactivity resulting from the scaling. To ensure the acceptability of geothermal projects in the Rhine graben, it is strongly required to measure and to apply procedures to minimize those different physico-chemical impacts on the environment and neighbourhood.