Reuters AlertNet Lite - Swiss halt geothermal experiment after tremor

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Swiss halt geothermal experiment after tremor

09 Dec 2006 22:41:21 GMT
Source: Reuters

ZURICH, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Swiss engineers halted an experiment to extract geothermal heat from deep below ground after it set off a small earthquake in the nearby city of Basel, the Swiss news agency SDA said on Saturday.

The tremor late on Friday measured 3.4 on the Richter scale and caused widespread fear, prompting about 1,000 calls to emergency services, but caused no injuries or serious damage, the agency said.

Managers apologised for any fears aroused by the mishap, which occurred after water was injected at high pressure into a five-km-deep (16,000-feet-deep) borehole, but said the experiment posed no danger, SDA reported.

The Basel public prosecutor launched an investigation into the government-subsidised project after the quake in the historic city, it said.

The 80-million-franc ($66.95 million) experiment, known as "deep heat mining", is designed to extract enough super-heated water to drive a power plant providing electricity for 10,000 homes and heat for 2,700 others.

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Last updated:Sat Dec 9 22:43:46 2006