On 5 November, California Wijnen Geothermie (CWG), the geothermal heat project of Limburg pepper and cucumber grower Wijnen Square Crops in Grubbenvorst, Netherlands, was declared bankrupt. CWG is not the first geothermal project in Limburg for which the curtain has fallen. The California Lipzig Gielen Geothermie (CLG) project in Horst aan de Maas went bankrupt in 2020, and made a restart under the name Nappa, but is still at a standstill.
Glasshouse Horticulture Netherlands regrets that geothermal in Limburg is so awkward with licensing and regulatory authorities as a result, and has been shut down. "CWG has done everything possible to develop geothermal heat extraction safely. It has always acted with integrity in doing so, but the project cannot bear the burden if no heat extraction is possible," responded Glastuinbouw Nederland chairman Adri Bom-Lemstra.
CWG shareholders are now forced to take their losses. Unnecessary, Glastuinbouw Nederland thinks, when placed in the international context of heat extraction in underground fault lines and the handling of light and harmless seismicity that goes with it. "In Straelen, just 12 kilometers away, just across the border in Germany, people deal with this very differently. There, under the same geological conditions and the same fracture complex, exploratory drilling is actually being started," says Bom-Lemstra.
Disappointed
Glastuinbouw Nederland is disappointed that the government, on the one hand, bets with the sector on energy transition, but on the other hand does not actively facilitate the safe application of promising geothermal energy. "At the same time, the sector is confronted with fiscal measures that only increase costs if sustainable energy is not available," Bom-Lemstra said. As far as she is concerned, the government should therefore come up with faster procedures. "And we ask the government to actively help find solutions for appropriate policy space for safe application of geothermal energy." The chairman points to the joint ambition of the government and the sector to achieve climate-neutral greenhouse horticulture. "To this end, we jointly signed the Energy Transition Glasshouse Horticulture 2022-2030 covenant," Bom-Lemstra said.
The geothermal project has been on hold since 2018
CWG has been producing geothermal heat since 2013, but its extraction has been on hold since 2018. According to the State Supervision of Mines, the project could not sufficiently guarantee that geothermal extraction in a subterranean fault line could take place safely in the long term. During the four-and-a-half years the project was operational, Wijnen saved 11 million cubic meters of natural gas on an annual basis. That is equivalent to the energy consumption of about 5,500 Dutch households. The company's CO2 emissions went down by more than 95 percent thanks to the use of geothermal heat.
Follow-up research
In Limburg, the SafeGeo study has now been launched to map the subsurface even better on the basis of existing data. An approach to seismicity, the extent to which earthquakes occur, is also being worked on. Bom-Lemstra: "Hopefully this project can convince the supervisory authorities that geothermal heat extraction in Limburg can be done safely. In locations where the subsurface has potential, we must seize the opportunities and not think only from the perspective of danger and zero risk. In the context of the much-needed energy transition in the Southeast Netherlands, it is incomprehensible that no progress has been made since 2018 to make safe heat extraction possible again. Surely a pilot project, as a follow-up to SafeGeo, to enable data collection should be possible?"
"Huge downer"
"The bankruptcy of CWG Geothermie is a huge bummer for the sector and our region," responded Fons Kersten, LLTB chief executive, and portfolio holder for Sustainable Energy, Nature Inclusive Agriculture, Glasshouse Horticulture, and Countryside and Environment. 'Especially also concerning the energy transition we are in the middle of as an agricultural sector. Innovative entrepreneurs are being held back from implementing important developments in their operations. This project is a textbook example where years of uncertainty ultimately led to bankruptcy.'
The LLTB wants to move forward together with the sector, also in contributing to sustainability and energy transition. Kersten: 'Besides producing sustainable and affordable food, Limburg agriculture and horticulture is also an indispensable link in Limburg's future sustainable energy system. This is also how we described it in our energy vision. We need to take this up together as business and government.'