Paris' Orly airport goes geothermal

In an exciting new departure, the owners of one of Paris’ big airports have announced plans to meet a third of its heating needs from geothermal energy.

Agence France Presse reports that two 1,700-metre deep shafts will be drilled deep under the perimeter of the city’s Orly airport, where water heated by the Earth’s core will be drawn upwards by natural pressure. When it reaches the surface, the water, at a temperature of 74oC (165oF), will be injected into the airport's heating system.

Unveiling the plans, Pierre Graff, Chairman and MD of Aeroports de Paris (ADP) said, “We have the unprecedented luck of having hot water below our feet that can heat a large part of Orly without CO₂ emissions. We are the first airport in Europe to do this.”

Pending the results of a feasibility study, ADP hopes that, starting from 2011, the $17 million scheme will reduce the airport’s annual CO₂ emissions by 7,000 tonnes from the current level of 20,000 tonnes.

Source - AFP