Monday, December 9, 2019

Finland: Helsinki Utility to Start Exploration for Deep Geothermal District Heating Resource

Helen investigates possibilities of geothermal heat in Helsinki (City of Helsinki)

The electricity provider in Helsinki Helen Sähköverkko Oy (HELEN) is investigating the possibilities for utilising geothermal heat. Central Park (Keskuspuisto) is one of the areas where geological explorations will be carried out jointly with Geological Survey of Finland (GTK). This is the first time a geological survey is conducted in an urban area to such depth.

Helen is charting potential areas that are geologically suitable for extracting geothermal heat and lend themselves to possible deep drilling. Helen is starting the geophysical exploration of the bedrock in the Central Park area jointly with GTK in early December. The aim is to investigate the bedrock structure to the depth of about 5-8 kilometres.

Such a deep geological survey has never been conducted in urban areas in Finland, and the survey is an important step in making geothermal energy a possibility.