Low Temperature Geothermal Heat opportunity for horticulture

Geothermal heat is now widely known in the horticultural sector, but according to Dutch company Visser & Smit Hanab (VSH) there is still a third, almost inexhaustible source of sustainable energy: sustainable heat. According to VSH, this form of energy still receives far too little attention. The earth itself is a virtually inexhaustible source of heat. And although geothermal heat is often linked to Iceland or New Zealand, extraction in the Netherlands is also very possible.

At 15 locations in the Netherlands heat is extracted from the earth in the form of standard geothermal technology. This involves drilling to depths of a few kilometers, but the technology involves many risks and high costs. VSH therefore focuses on an easily accessible alternative: Low Temperature Geothermal Heat or LTG heat. Visser & Smit Hanab uses its experience with controlled drilling to extract geothermal heat at depths of 500 to 1,200 meters.

LTG heat offers a large number of benefits. Because of the lesser depth, the costs and risks are much lower than with standard geothermal techniques. Also the equipment, both for drilling and during operation, is much smaller. This makes the technology suitable for places where availability of space and limitations on nuisance during project installation are important. Of course, less deep drilling also means a lower temperature. With heat pumps, however, this can be solved easily.

The first LTG heat project is currently being carried out in horticulture, a sector that uses a lot of natural gas and is looking for a sustainable alternative. LTG heat offers that alternative, because a typical installation is able to heat 10-25 hectares of greenhouses. This way emissions of around 11,000 tons of CO2 per year are prevented.

VSH: "If the Netherlands wants to end using gas, all alternative sources of energy must be addressed. Geothermal energy is such a source and LTG heat offers it in an attractive and accessible way."