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By Linda Hsieh, Editor & Publisher

In the city of Vienna, Austria – known the world over for its beautiful architecture and cultural landmarks – drilling is now ongoing as part of efforts to build the city’s first deep geothermal plant.

On 27 March, I joined several dozen attendees of the inaugural IADC Geothermal Drilling Conference for a tour of the drilling site, and it was amazing to witness the milestone project first-hand. The project is a joint venture between OMV and Wien Energie, an Austrian utilities provider, and aims to tap into the geothermal energy from deep beneath Vienna to eventually heat approximately 200,000 homes in and around the city. The companies estimate this could save up to 54,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. 

It was evident during the tour that they had spent a lot of effort to educate local residents and the public about the project. An impressive visitor’s center is located right next to the drilling site, free and accessible to anyone interested. There is recognition that their “license to drill” – even for a renewable energy source like geothermal – should not be taken for granted.

And OMV has big ambitions around geothermal, setting a target of reaching approximately 4 TWh by 2030, with the pilot geothermal plant becoming operational by 2028. The geothermal drilling project is being carried out by “drawing on our decades of experience in the exploration and drilling business,” Alfred Sterm, Chairman of the Executive Board of OMV, said last year as the company was gearing up for the construction of the geothermal well site in Vienna. As part of the project, OMV is responsible for all downhole activities, including drilling of the wellbores that will reach nearly 10,000 ft under ground, while Wien Energie will look after surface facilities like heat exchangers and heat pumps. DC

Linda Hsieh can be reached at linda.hsieh@iadc.org.