Tunnel construction as a climate-friendly source of energy
The Brenner Base Tunnel will relieve transit traffic between Italy and Austria and, incidentally, supply parts of Innsbruck with geothermal energy. The source of energy is the tunnel water.
17 March 2021
Brenner Basistunnel (c) BBT SE
When tunnels are bored through mountains, it is not the groundwater level that is an issue but the mountain water level. Mountain water comes from precipitation and flows down from the mountain surface. Along the way, its temperature is increased by the earth’s heat.
“Geothermal energy is largely generated by the decay of long-lived nuclides in the earth’s interior,” says Thomas Geisler of the Institute of Rock Mechanics and Tunneling at Graz University of Technology. “As such, it is an entirely natural heat source fed by the Earth’s interior.” Unlike wind turbines, which only provide energy when the wind is blowing, geothermal energy is basically available around the clock an
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