EGS — Goodbye or Back to the Future 95

The heat content of the crystalline basement is by far the biggest energy resource of the earth crust. First attempts to access this resource date back to the early 1970´th and more than a dozen research and industrial projects have been performed since than in various countries. But still the technique, known as HDR (Hot-Dry-Rock) or EGS (Enhanced-Geothermal-Systems) is not mature and the thermal power achieved so far does not meet economical standards. In addition further development is now hindered by the risk of induced earthquakes.