Earthquake in Switzerland may be caused by geothermal drilling

Jul 22, 2013 - The 3.6 magnitude earthquake that hit northeastern Switzerland on Saturday may have been the result of geothermal tests, the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich said.

The earthquake, which occurred near St. Gallen at about 0530 CET on Saturday morning, did not cause any damages, the police said. Lighter tremors had been registered over the last days in the region.

Further quakes are possible in the next days, SED said.

The operators of the geothermal project said it had been suspended for the time being. The future of the project will become clear in the next days.

The project involves finding water at a temperature of 140 degrees Celsius about 4.5 kilometres (2.8 miles) deep. The planned geothermal facility will then be able to provide power for half of the buildings in St. Gallen.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!