Thermal drilling dispute stalls Neudau greenhouse project

A dispute over competing geothermal drilling plans is holding up a 92 million euro greenhouse project in Neudau, in the Hartberg-Fürstenfeld district, ORF reported on Thursday. Food producer Manfred Hohensinner is now considering moving the project to Croatia.

Hohensinner already operates geothermal greenhouses in Bad Blumau covering almost 40 football fields. He wants to build a similar facility on about 18 hectares in Neudau.

The drilling site has already been prepared, but no drilling has taken place. Hohensinner wants to search for water with a temperature of 114 degrees Celsius. He said the project was being blocked by an entrepreneur who was legally very skilled.

The nearby Bad Blumau thermal spa also wants to carry out geothermal drilling, at a location about 1,700 metres from Hohensinner’s site. Spa owner and entrepreneur Robert Rogner opposes the greenhouse project because he fears the additional drilling could affect the water pressure at his spa.

The Styrian authorities have not yet decided which project should take priority. According to Hohensinner, the authorities and politicians should determine whether Rogner’s project is more important. The authorities have instead left the issue to the courts, which must decide whether Rogner can participate in the approval procedure and whether a necessary test drilling can take place. The proceedings are also intended to establish whether both projects could operate alongside each other.

Hohensinner said he had already received an offer from Croatia and no longer ruled out moving the project abroad. He said he did not want to invest much more time and energy in Neudau if the project could not proceed there.

Neudau Mayor Wolfgang Dolesch is trying to prevent the project from leaving. He said the investment could allow the town’s district heating system to switch from wood chips to geothermal energy and create up to 250 direct jobs through the greenhouse project.

The project was announced a year ago and was planned in two stages. The first construction phase was due to be completed in early 2027, with the first produce expected soon afterwards. The continuing dispute brought the project to a standstill early this year. Dolesch said the project partners had already invested three million euros, including in preparing the drilling site.