Two geothermal wells were drilled in St1’s geothermal pilot project in Otaniemi, Espoo, to a depth of over six kilometres, where the temperature of the bedrock is about 120 degrees Celsius. The project was halted due to an inability to obtain sufficient water flow from one well to the other, and the thermal output of the planned powerplant would not have been commercially viable. At this stage, St1 is offering the deep geothermal wells for use in research.
The deepest geothermal wells in Finland, drilled into hard Finnish bedrock, have attracted a great deal of interest for research. The wells provide an international and completely unique research environment for everything from the development of geothermal energy and other geosciences to microbiology research. In addition to international parties, the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT, the Geological Survey of Finland GTK and researchers at the University of Helsinki, among others, have expressed their interest.
“GTK sees the use of the Otaniemi wells for research purposes as a unique opportunity to raise the level of expertise of Finnish and international geothermal energy and other geosciences,” says GTK’s Chief Expert in Geoenergy, Teppo Arola.
The Otaniemi project as a trailblazer in geothermal well development
St1 continues to invest strongly in the development of geothermal energy. The unique expertise in geophysics and geology gained from the Otaniemi project provides a strong foundation for development work.
“We have been able to bring the expertise gained from Otaniemi into the development of conventional geothermal wells, which is producing even more competitive solutions for heating of large properties , such as housing companies and shopping centres. The advanced geothermal heat solutions will play a significant role in the transition to emission-free heating. The green transition requires both open-minded development work and significant investments in new emission-free energy solutions,” says Hannes Haapalahti, Director of St1’s Heat from the Ground unit.
Further information
St1, Hannes Haapalahti, Heat from the Ground Unit Director, tel. 010 557 11
St1 Nordic Oy is an energy group whose vision is to be the leading producer and seller of CO2-aware energy. The Group researches and develops economically viable, environmentally sustainable energy solutions. St1 focuses on fuels marketing activities, oil refining and renewable energy solutions such as waste-based advanced biofuels and industrial wind power. The Group has 1290 St1 and Shell branded retail stations and gas filling points in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Headquartered in Helsinki, St1 employs currently more than 1200 people. www.st1.com