The geothermal heating plant in Vélizy-Villacoublay, France has been officially opened, saving a lot of costs for local district heating customers.
A new geothermal power plant has been built in the city of Vélizy-Villacoublay near the French capital Paris. We have reported on this project before, and the project now provides geothermal heat to the local district heating system. By using unprecedented drilling technology at a depth of 1,500 meters, the town provides 60% of its heating network with renewable energy. The savings should be reflected in the user's bill. "As of today, [the price of MWh heat] has risen from 125 Euros to 93 Euros. From December, residents will save 25% on heating costs. For a family of five, this means saving 500 Euros per year. The mayor of Vélizy-Villacoublay Pascal Thévenot (DVD) is very happy. On Tuesday, the mayor launched Véligeo, a unique geothermal network in Europe that draws heat from a depth of 1,500 meters. To achieve this technological feat, the town and Engie Solutions, ADEME (the Île-de-France Ecological Transformation Agency) and the regional committee cooperated. They jointly invested 25 million euros. "We took the risk to conduct the thesis research because the soil was not characterized," the city council recalled. The theory finally became Reality. At 1.5 kilometers below the surface, the groundwater level contains water at 65 degrees Celsius. This is achieved through Véligéo’s technologically innovative multi-drainage drilling, which can double or even triple energy production through multiple passes through the ground. The hot water is then piped to a room where it comes into contact with the Velizian heating network. It can store the geothermal heat before it is redistributed to 12,000 homes. The used and now cooled water is then reinjected into the soil. Cécile Prévieu, Deputy General Manager of Engie Group, said: "We will replace up to 60% of the network production, which has so far been operated solely on natural gas. "The life of a borehole is thirty years, and the energy of the earth is unlimited underground. The device can also limit the interference associated with the in and out of trucks that normally power the network. As a pioneer in this process, Vélizy-Villacoublay and Not the only one to solve this problem. Discussions are ongoing with several municipalities, especially in Yvelines and Haute-Seine, to replicate Véligéo. “We have a very good basement in Île-de-France, so we plan to expand,” Yann Wehrling, vice chairman of the regional committee responsible for ecological transformation, said: We have combined environmental and social issues, we have got rid of fuel oil and fossil fuels, and residents have regained a little purchasing power. Since 2007, the region has supported 80 companies. The total amount of renewable thermal energy projects amounts to 98 million euros.
A new geothermal power plant has been built in the city of Vélizy-Villacoublay near the French capital Paris. We have reported on this project before, and the project now provides geothermal heat to the local district heating system. By using unprecedented drilling technology at a depth of 1,500 meters, the town provides 60% of its heating network with renewable energy. The savings should be reflected in the user's bill.
"As of today, [the price of MWh heat] has risen from 125 Euros to 93 Euros. From December, residents will save 25% on heating costs. For a family of five, this means saving 500 Euros per year. Vélizy-Villacoublay Mayor Pascal Thévenot (DVD) is very happy. On Tuesday, the Mayor launched Véligeo, a unique geothermal network in Europe that draws heat from a depth of 1,500 meters.
To achieve this technological feat, the town cooperated with Engie Solutions, ADEME (Ile-de-France Ecological Transformation Agency), and the regional committee. They jointly invested 25 million euros. "We took the risk to conduct the thesis research because the soil was not characterized," the city council recalled. The theory has finally become a reality. At 1.5 kilometers below the surface, the groundwater level contains 65 degrees Celsius water.
Cécile Prévieu, deputy general manager of the Engie Group, said: “We will replace up to 60% of the network production, which has so far been operated only on natural gas.” The life of a borehole is thirty years, and the energy of the earth is unlimited underground. The device can also limit interference associated with the entry and exit of trucks that normally power the network.
As a pioneer in this process, Vélizy-Villacoublay is not the only one to solve this problem. Discussions are ongoing with several municipalities, especially in Yvelines and Haute-Seine, to replicate Véligéo.
“We have a very good basement in Île-de-France, so we plan to expand it,” said Yann Wehrling, vice chairman of the regional committee responsible for ecological transformation. We combined environmental and social issues, we got rid of fuel oil and fossil fuels, and residents regained a little purchasing power. Since 2007, the region has supported 80 renewable thermal energy projects with a total value of 98 million euros.