AGR has been tapped to provide technical consultancy for the three geothermal appraisal wells drilled by Innargi in Aarhus, Denmark.
Energy and engineering consultancy AGR has been awarded a contract for technical consultancy by Danish geothermal developer Innargi for three geothermal appraisal wells that being drilled in Aarhus, Denmark.
The wellsite geology and wellsite drilling supervision experts of AGR will be providing their skills for the Aarhus geothermal project. AGR has in-depth experience from well and reservoir engineering studies for geothermal, and has supplied software solutions for managing geothermal drilling time and costs, supporting projects in Germany and Austria.
“Our team has a track record of managing drilling of more than 200 wells in the North Sea. The Aarhus project is a great example of valuable competence transfer from the oil and gas industry to renewable energy sources,” says Lene Thorstensen, Manager Operations and Wellsite Geology at AGR.
Drilling of third well ongoing
The geothermal project in Aarhus, Denmark by Innargi is being eyed to be the largest geothermal district heating system in the EU with a total capacity of 110 MW across 7 sites. Drilling for the project started in November 2023, having since completed drilling in two sites – the Port of Aarhus and Skejby. The drilling process has gone well, and both reservoir temperature and water production are within expectations.
A recent update by Innargi indicates that drilling of the third well in the appraisal phase of the geothermal project has started. The third well will be drilled in the same location in Skejby, where a geothermal heating plant with heat exchangers and heat pumps will be built in the future.
Source: AGR
- Available homes for sale over 20% higher than a year ago
- Demand up 12% year-on-year, led by London and the East
- One in five sellers accepting 10%+ below asking price to secure a sale
House prices fell slightly in the year to December, but the property market is now heating up on the back of falling mortgage rates according to Zoopla.
The property portal said prices fell by 0.8 per cent in the 12 months to the end of December, but more buyers and sellers were now entering the fray and an increasing number of homes were going under offer.
The month before, property prices fell by 1.2 per cent compared to a year before.
Zoopla also revealed the number of sales agreed is 13 per cent higher than last year and higher across all countries and regions.
It said buyer demand is 12 per cent higher than a year ago, though it remains 13 per cent below the five-year average.
More homes are also hitting the market, according to the property website. The number of available homes is up 22 per cent on this time last year.
The average estate agent has 28 homes for sale, which is double the low point recorded in late 2022, when there were just 14 homes per estate agent.
> Read: When will interest rates fall? Forecasts on when base rate will go down
Related Articles
HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP
It’s still a buyer’s market
Despite the positive start to the year, it remains a buyer’s market, according to Zoopla.
It says a fifth of sellers are still accepting more than 10 per cent below the asking price to secure a sale. This is close to one in four across London and the South East.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said the key trend over 2023 was sellers cutting asking prices to attract buyer interest. He said this has continued into 2024.
‘It’s a positive start to the year with all key measures of housing activity higher than a year ago,’ said Donnell.
‘The fall in mortgage rates has led to a rebound in buyer demand and sales following a weaker second half of 2023 when many movers put decisions on hold.
He added: ‘This improvement in activity will support sales volumes which, at one million, reached an eleven year low in 2023.’
‘We don’t see these trends as a precursor to higher prices in 2024 as it remains a buyer’s market.
‘Sellers looking to move should be encouraged by these early signals of activity but buyers remain price sensitive and focused on value for money.
‘Over-optimism by sellers could quickly stall the current improvement in market activity.’
Will prices fall in 2024?
Zoopla revealed that house price falls were greatest in the East of England, where prices fell by 2.5 per cent in 2023.
Meanwhile, house prices went up across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England.
Looking ahead, it suggests higher levels of sales activity in early 2024, following on from the final weeks of 2023, are evidence of greater alignment between buyers and sellers on pricing.
For that reason, analysts at Zoopla argue that house prices will not fall much further.
Earlier this month, the property firm Knight Frank forecast that house prices will rise 3 per cent this year having only three months earlier predicted a 4 per cent fall by the end of 2024.
Anthony Codling, head of European housing and building materials for investment bank RBC Capital Markets said: ‘With rising wages, falling inflation, falling mortgage rates, and increasing talk of election related housing stimulus packages we expect house prices to rise in 2024.’
Tom Ashwood, managing director at London agent Tom Ashwood Real Estate says: ‘I feel the increase in buyer activity that has initially been fuelled by a reduction in mortgage rates and a lack of intent to buy through 2023 will assist in keeping asking prices fairly stable through the initial part of 2024, which will lead to more property being listed for sale.
‘If interest rates remain at a stable level and the appetite remains, we may even see an increase in house price inflation this year, particularly through the good selling time we tend to see between the Spring and Summer months.’
London market looking more affordable?
London has led the rebound in new buyer demand, up 21 per cent on this time last year.
This is perhaps because housing affordability in London is the best it has been since 2014, according to Zoopla, mainly thanks to stagnant prices and rising wages.
London house prices have risen just 13 per cent since 2016, according to Zoopla, compared to 34 per cent at a UK level.
The affordability of homes in London – as measured by a simple price-to-earnings ratio – is at its lowest since 2014.
However, London remains expensive compared to the UK average with house prices standing at 13 times earnings, down from a high of over 15 times earnings in 2016.
Zoopla’s Richard Donnell adds: ‘In London, this increased demand is evident across the market, with inner and outer London, alongside core commuter areas all registering increased demand for homes.
‘This may be an early sign that the tide is turning for the London sales market after seven years of lacklustre activity compared to the rest of the UK.’
Matt Thompson, head of sales at London estate agent Chestertons, adds: ‘2024 started with a busy property market as buyers have been motivated to either commence or finalise their property search.
‘The increasing availability of more affordable mortgage deals thereby plays a key role and will likely continue to fuel a surge in buyer activity over the coming weeks.’
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.
Jacobs has been awarded the contract for a geothermal engineering and feasibility study for a geothermal project in Lakeview, Oregon.
The town of Lakeview in Oregon has awarded their Oregon Department of Energy, Community Renewable Energy Grant to engineering group Jacobs to conduct design and engineering for a planned expansion of an existing geothermal heating network. The contract was awarded in November 2023 following an RFP that was announced a few months prior.
The Town of Lakeview is one of 39 recipients selected by the Oregon Department of Energy to receive Community Renewable Energy Grant Program funds. The program supports the planning and construction of renewable energy or energy resilience projects. The Town of Lakeview was awarded $100,000.
As part of this grant, Jacobs secures $50,000 designated for design and engineering consulting fees. $30,000 has been allocated to Interconnection Studies, with the remaining $20,000 earmarked for administrative expenditures. This allocation underlines a concerted effort to ensure comprehensive coverage across diverse aspects of this initiative.
The collaboration between the Town of Lakeview and Jacobs signifies a progressive stride toward developing a comprehensive understanding of geothermal energy resources and demand models. This strategic venture will analyze geothermal temperatures, pressures, and flow rates, culminating in a forward-thinking Geothermal Strategy Development.
A pivotal aspect of this venture lies in community engagement, as stakeholders and local businesses will be actively involved in exploring the vast potential of geothermal opportunities and their implications for economic development in Lakeview. This project serves as a guiding playbook, addressing intricate climate change challenges with sustainable geothermal solutions, positioning Lakeview at the forefront of environmentally conscious development.
With this strategic alliance, Lakeview and Jacobs aim to pave the way for a brighter, greener future, leveraging the power of geothermal energy to foster sustainable growth and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Project summary
Conceptually, the project will test Hammersley Well which is an existing geothermal well. The flow and temperatures from that test will dictate the design and connection of one existing geothermal district at the Lakeview Department of Corrections facility to a geothermal district in the Lakeview core, including businesses, industrial processes, and residential communities.
The Town currently supplies all the heat to the Warner Creek Correctional Facility, Lake District Hospital, Lake School District #7, Dr. Mark Davis DDS building and the Head Start Building. The system will expand the existing Geothermal Warner Creek Correctional Facility by interconnecting piping and well service buildings.
The result will be an engineering feasibility study that connects all future and existing thermal energy networks, offsetting more than 70% of Lakeview, Oregon’s space conditioning heat demand. This will offset the high cost and carbon-intensive incumbent fuel – propane, lifting a rural community from the grips of energy poverty.
Source: Town of Lakeview