EU’s largest geothermal district heating system construction starts in Denmark

Drilling has recently commenced in Aarhus, Denmark, on the first wells of what is going to be the European Union’s largest geothermal district heating system.

Furthermore, Project Aarhus is going to consist of 17 wells, constructed on seven sites, which are going to have a 110 MW capacity, and provide 20% of the city’s district heating by 2030.

It was made known in late November that drilling for the first well has started on the Port of Aarhus site, which is expected to go into service in 2027.

The 31-meter tall, 6,000-horsepower drilling rig is scheduled to be on the Port of Aarhus in the coming months to complete the first 2.5 kilometer well.

After that, the rig is going to be relocated to the Skejby site, where an additional plant is expected to be delivered in 2025.

The project aims to help Aarhus achieve its goal of net zero CO2 emissions by 2030, cutting some 165,000 tons of them annually.

It is worth noting that the plants are going to be connected to existing exchange stations, which also means that the sites are going to be located in residential areas and produce noise during construction.

An electric rig is being used in this project and noise walls will be established to ensure reduced nuisance.