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Description
Geothermal energy is a natural, underground renewable resource that is common in many countries around the world, with considerable variations in terms of the depth of occurrence and quality of the source (temperature, flow rate, mineralisation). However, in many European countries, these medium and low-temperature resources can be used in heating systems, provided that the supply and return temperatures in district heating networks are sufficiently low. Indeed, the lower the water supply and return temperatures in the heating circuit, the more geothermal heat can be used as the base load energy source.
Through our project we aim to demonstrate the benefits and promote technological solutions, the beneficiaries of which will be both heating system operators and heat end-users. These solutions are based on increasing energy efficiency, e.g. by lowering the supply and return temperature in heating systems. This requires at the same time increasing the heating surfaces in households of the existing heat recipients, or the use of modern technological solutions among newly build buildings, which will allow the use of low-temperature solutions.
The project involves partners from Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary with practical support from Icelandic and Norwegian research institutions. The extensive experience of the experts, both in the area of the utilisation of geothermal resources and energy efficiency, will allow us to demonstrate a number of benefits resulting from lowering the required supply and return temperatures. Our objectives are a long-term improvement in the efficiency of geothermal operations and a decrease in their environmental footprint: direct contributions to a less carbon-intensive and more energy secure economy in Europe. Moving towards low-carbon and energy secure economies necessitates the use of renewables on the one hand, and, maintaining a good status of the environment on the other
Summary of project results
It is not a widely known fact that over 70% of the total energy consumption in households in Europe is for just for space heating and hot tap water. According to the Eurostat, 81% of that demand is met by burning fossil fuels. Therefore, it must be emphasized that geothermal energy is the only renewable energy source that can provide baseload heat, being nearly emission free and not affected by weather or climate extremes. Although geothermal space heating is a mature technology, not everyone is aware of the limitations of geothermal heat sources. These limitations are mainly the supply temperature geothermal wells can deliver and the flow rate. Therefore, it is extremely important to adjust the capacity of the heat source by setting less strict requirements on the supply temperature by final heat users.
User4GeoEnergy project, conducted for 36 months in 5 countries (PL, SK, HU, IS, NO) is not a rocket science, nor breaking news technology. However, this project delivers solutions that have been needed for a long time. By employing mathematical models, carefully checked input data and up-to-date cost coefficients, interested stakeholders or even a regular heat consumer can conduct a detailed cost-benefit analysis of switching to geothermal-based heating. Conversion from high to low-temperature heating requires investments in building retrofitting or extension of the heating surface. By running the online calculator on the project website (user4geoenergy.net) or by accessing one of the 3 Geothermal District Heating Service Hubs (GDHSH) in Bratislava, Szeged or Krakow, one may find answers to many troubling questions.
Apart from creating handy tools, the User4GeoEnergy project has been running an active information campaign and actively involving target groups (district heating systems operators, local authorities, scientists) during stakeholder workshops in partner''s countries. Those, who didn''t meet us during these events are encouraged to visit our website to test the online calculator and to download valuable presentations and reports.
Interest in geothermal heating is growing in Europe. This project has given us a lot of trust from the key actors. Created liaisons with geothermal stakeholders will be continued.
Two outputs of the project, namely the On-line Analysis Tool ("U4GE cals") and GDHSH are sustainable and will be accessible after the end of the project funding. The online calculator can be updated, for example with the most recent prices of energy carriers or retrofitting activities in various countries, thus is replicable. The online calculator can be further upgraded to account for more factors affecting the overall techno-economic performance of geothermal projects aimed at heating. The project website is expected to be hosted online for the next couple of years. Therefore, online calculator as well as other downloadable content (e.g. reports, presentations, manuals) will be accessible for all visitors. Several DH companies from all 5 countries were expressing interest in getting more information about the the project outputs. We have established long-lasting cooperation with some of the Polish district-heating operators and local governments that are actively looking for knowledge and opportunities for cooperation in geothermal business. A new project, as a continuation of User4GeoEnergy could either be focused on the further development of mathematical models (especially focused on the extension of financial analysis) or oriented at reaching more stakeholders through organisation of more workshops and industry meetings.
Summary of bilateral results
The decision to invite the National Energy Authority (IS) and NORCE (NO) to the project was the result of previous successful cooperation on one of the geothermal projects. Both partners from donor countries accepted this invitation, being aware that their main task in the project is to share knowledge and practical experience in the field of effective heat management. As Iceland and Norway have extremely different geothermal conditions, their contributions to the project were not duplicated but complementary:• NEA shared technical knowledge and presented an interesting approach to the complementary use of geothermal resources. Not only heat but also geothermal water itself is an extremely valuable resource, which has been proven by many start-ups operating in geothermal resource parks (Hellisheidi, Reykjanes, Svartsengi)• NORCE as a representative of Scandinavian countries provided valuable insight into low-energy buildings, effective use of heat pumps and underground heat storage.The presence of partners from these countries has undoubtedly enriched the remaining partners with a different perspective on the development of geothermal resources.Capacity-building events were very helpful in better understanding of the needs and opportunities in partner countries. The culmination of the cooperation was the submission of a scientific article that shows the level of social embeddedness level (SEL) for the implementation of geothermal heating in our countries. The article was co-authored by 10 members of the consortium.There is a will among the project partners to continue this cooperation (probably in different configurations), but due to strong involvement in other projects, no decisions have been made to date.