Prague to use geothermal energy from Metro D at Nové Dvory

Prague will use geothermal energy generated by the construction of Metro D at Nové Dvory, on the boundary between Prague 4 and Prague 12. Heat pumps will use it to heat or cool buildings planned for the area. The pumps will be installed in the metro structure. This is according to a document approved today by Prague City Council. The project is one of 69 initiatives in the so-called climate plan, under which Prague aims to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Similar systems are in operation in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea, for example.

“The project involves using geothermal energy captured from the lining of the Metro D tunnel near Nové Dvory station and using it to heat and cool buildings in the immediate vicinity through industrial heat pump technology,” the document says.

City councillor Zdeněk Kovářík (ODS) told reporters after today’s council meeting that a feasibility study for the system should be completed by the end of the second quarter of next year.

According to the document, heat pumps are highly efficient: for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity consumed, they can produce three to five kWh of heat, cooling or both. Another advantage of the project is that no special drilling or excavation is needed to install the equipment, as this work is already part of the metro construction. So-called geothermal absorbers will simply be added to the tunnel structure during construction.

At Nové Dvory, 17 separate building blocks will be built on an area of around 200.000 square metres, with estimated heating and cooling demand of 10.000 to 15.000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year. “Directly above the planned ventilation shaft from the metro, there will be an office building with around 8000 square metres of leasable space and an annual heating and cooling demand of 300 to 500 MWh,” the document says.

Prague’s city authorities have already approved preparations for the first phase of construction at Nové Dvory. The first phase will see apartments, offices, a cultural centre and commercial premises built around the future Metro D station of the same name. The new district as a whole is to have around 2000 mostly municipal rental apartments. Across an area of nearly 30 hectares, it will also feature offices, shops, a nursery, primary and secondary schools, a polyclinic, outdoor sports grounds, a sports hall and a community cultural centre with a library. The individual parts are to be built over the next 15 years. Prague is working on the project with its company, Prague Development Company (PDS).