26 April 2024 – Yesterday, the closing event of the INFO-GEOTHERMAL project co-funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism was held.
The closing conference was attended by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, mag. Marko Koprivc. In his speech he emphasised that “the increased and more energy-efficient use of thermal water for geothermal energy production can make an important contribution to achieving Slovenia’s climate and energy objectives. As a local renewable energy source, its use significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and can replace the use of fossil fuels in areas with the most potential, which are mainly located in the northeastern part of the country.”
Geothermal energy is stored as heat beneath the solid surface of the earth and is one of the key renewable energy sources for Slovenia’s energy restructuring. Its potential is greatest for the heating and cooling sector and the most easily accessible thermal water resources are in northeastern part of Slovenia. For the successful development of geothermal projects, public data on geothermal potential must be organised and accessible. Therefore, the project has developed a 3D geothermal model viewer for northeastern Slovenia, showing information on geological structure and temperatures down to 5 km below the surface, as well as the locations and metadata of more than 250 boreholes and 3,438 km of geophysical profiles. Priority areas for the construction of new geothermal boreholes and permanent industrial greenhouses have been identified in the municipalities of Beltinci, Turnišče and Dobrovnik.
In the guidelines for the development of geothermal projects, the project partners highlighted the differences in documentation and procedures of the three laws governing the use of deep geothermal energy in Slovenia. These are the Water Act, the Mining Act and, as of summer 2023, the Act on the Introduction of Installations for the Production of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources (ZUNPEOVE). To facilitate and standardise procedures in the future, suggestions were made to eliminate the discrepancies.
The project succeeded in bringing together the main stakeholders in the geothermal development in Slovenia and in formulating common challenges for a new national geothermal association. More than 120 Slovenian experts and local community representatives, together with more than 30 colleagues from Europe and the USA, participated in tours of good practices in Iceland, Croatia, and Slovenia and in expert meetings. The International Summer School on thermogeology in Ljubljana educated 24 mostly PhD students from 15 countries, and workshops brought thermal waters closer to more than 500 primary school children.
INFO-GEOTHERMAL is the first project dedicated to innovative capacity building in the deep geothermal energy sector in Slovenia. The cooperation of the Geological Survey of Slovenia, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning, the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy, the Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia and the Icelandic partner Reykjavik University, Iceland School of Energy has achieved both main objectives. The first is to improve the availability of information to support the development of projects with efficient cascade use of thermal water and the second is to increase knowledge and awareness of sustainable ways to use deep geothermal energy.
SOURCE: Project INFO-GEOTHERMAL