Your questions, our answers

Our public communication on our geothermal energy activities is based on transparency, early engagement, and dialogue. We use a mix of digital and offline channels to reach all communities and target groups.

This website will provide regular updates on the “Ruperti II” Permit. We will actively inform the media and plan citizen events and information sessions. Should you wish to contact GTR then please use our Contact page.

GTR is a local company and will soon be relocating its offices from Munich to Kirchanschöring. As our activities grow, we will require a wide range of support services. Our priority will be to source as much as possible of what we need to undertake our operations safely and successfully from the local community and local companies.

Deep geothermal projects, with depths exceeding 400 meters, like the one to be undertaken by GTR are also already operating in Germany and Bavaria. Currently, 43 deep geothermal plants are in operation across Germany, serving as heating and power plants or baseload power stations.

In Bavaria, there are currently 25 deep geothermal energy plants in operation. For further information please see the Geothermie-Allianz Bavaria website.

Free State of Bavaria is the leader in deep geothermal energy in Germany with over 93% of all the heat generated by geothermal plants in Germany coming from Bavaria. Currently there is over 371MW of installed capacity in Bavaria, equal to circa 3.4TW hours of heat each year being provided to Bavarian citizens and companies.

GTR intends to provide geothermal heat into the Kirchanschöring district heating network, operated by Niedermayer GmbH. Prices for your district heating are determined by Niedermayer.

GTR intends to generate electricity from the geothermal energy, to provide its own power to operate the geothermal plant. Depending on how much electricity is generated, GTR will deliver excess power into the German grid via an electricity sub-station located on the site.

Developing the geothermal resources beneath Kirchanschöring and the wider Chiemgau-Rupertiwinkel region will help substantially towards decarbonising the heating, cooling and electricity consumption with associated economic benefits. Chiemgau-Rupertiwinkel Regionalwerk (gKU) has undertaken analysis of the economic and environmental benefits of exploiting geothermal resources and further information can be found at their website.

Drilling activity has already successfully taken place on the drill site near Kirchanschöring, and the boreholes will be repurposed for the development of a heating, cooling and power generation project. GTR has not yet completed its technical and engineering studies, however at this stage we expect that new drilling will be required to deliver green energy into the Kirchanschöring network. The community will be fully informed of our drilling plans.

The geothermal technologies that GTR is evaluating for generating heating, cooling and electricity do not require hydraulic fracking. The German regulations regarding commercial, high-volume hydraulic fracking are governed by the 2017 amended Water Resources Act.

Drilling operations deeper than 100m in Bavaria are strictly regulated under BBergG § 127 and approval involves many local, regional and national government authorities. A "main operating plan" must be approved, which details environmental protection, noise reduction, and traffic management. There are stringent controls against groundwater contamination, often requiring steel casing to be cemented into the deep rock layers.

The Kirchanschöring drilling site is not located in a water protection area. Conductor pipes inserted into the water table blocked out the groundwater even before drilling began. These remain in-place following drilling. All drilling fluids and cements used during the drilling were approved by the Bavarian State Office for Environment and correspond to the highest water protection class 1. The existing boreholes are steel cased and cemented in sections, which prevents the connection of different groundwater levels.

For the drilling and drilling pad construction operations a rigorous environmental impact assessment was undertaken for GTR by external independent consultants. This included a noise assessment as well as a landscape-ecological compatibility (FFH) study.

For future onsite activities, GTR will undertake comprehensive environmental assessments in accordance with regulations stipulated by the Bavarian State Office for Environment.

GTR is currently planning our activities and we have provided timelines as to when we expect drilling and construction activities to take place. In close coordination with the Municipality of Kirchanschöring we will keep the community informed as our planning progresses.

Drilling has already recently taken place in 2020-2021 at the Kirchanschöring drilling site and GTR will undertake future drilling and construction activities with the same careful procedures to minimise any disruption to the community and nearby businesses.

Geothermal energy not only contributes to CO₂ reduction but is also an environmentally friendly, space-efficient, and weather-independent energy source for heating, cooling and electricity generation.

Geothermal energy improves air quality, protects water resources, reduces disruption to ecosystems, and enables a long-term, sustainable energy supply.

Compared to other renewable energies such as wind or solar power, geothermal installations require relatively little space. Deep geothermal systems can be operated largely underground, meaning they occupy hardly any visible surface area.

While solar and wind power depend on weather conditions, geothermal provides a constant energy supply, regardless of day/night cycles or seasons. This improves the security of renewable energy supply. Unlike coal or gas power plants, geothermal also does not require cooling water for its operation – a clear advantage in times of increasing water scarcity and a means of protecting natural water ecosystems.

Geothermal facilities emit no particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, or sulfur dioxide during operation, unlike the emissions produced by burning coal or oil. This improves air quality and reduces health risks.

The generation facilities are low rise with no large cooling towers. Additionally, because geothermal energy requires less above-ground infrastructure than wind or solar farms, natural habitats are preserved with fewer impacts on biodiversity.

Geothermal boreholes can be used over many decades. Even if a site is no longer profitable for electricity generation, it can later be utilized for energy storage (for instance, seasonal heat storage) or other purposes. Unlike fossil or nuclear energy sources, geothermal energy does not produce problematic waste that needs to be disposed of or stored over the long term.