Munich utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) is investing €80m ($87m) to expand its climate-friendly district cooling network with pipelines carrying cold air from a geothermal plant in the southern district of Sendling to a grid supplying inner-city clients.
The 20-kilometre-grid so far had been fed by the cold from underground streams and ground water in the area, and pushes down electricity consumption for cooling by 70%. SWM’s geothermal plants so far produce power and heat for the district heating system of Germany’s third-largest city.
The cold pipeline under the ‘Cool City 2.0’ plan from the Sendling geothermal plant to the inner city will be 5kms long and is expected to be built by the end of next year.
