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Description
Romania has various regions which have geothermal potential, but due to insufficient information and few professionals in the field, these areas are not exploited to their full potential, thus investments in those areas fail to appear.
The project aims at providing all interested stakeholders (local and national authorities, academia, various experts etc.) with the opportunity of participating in a series of lectures/workshops, field visits and the opening and closing conferences, with the following main topics: (i) new findings in the research field of geothermal energy and the theoretical framework representing the base of geothermal energy investments and more importantly identifying areas prone for geothermal investments and (ii) the best practice examples which could be replicated in areas with geothermal potential in Romania.
The project is structured as a hybrid between online and live workshops, held in Romania and in Iceland. Through the online workshops it is aimed at setting the theoretical framework for the selected target group, presenting them with the basic theoretical concepts of geothermal energy production and harvesting and its numerous applications, while with the live workshops it is aimed at providing best-practice examples from Iceland and try and spark interest for the replication of the same model in Romania, depending on the availability of resources.
There are two project partners: National Energy Authority (OS, Iceland) and University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics (Romania).
There will be organized: 1 meeting between the the Project Partners (in Romania), 2 conferences (in Romania), 2 online workshops, 2 workshops/lectures and field visits (one in Romania and one in Iceland).
Summary of project results
Romania has various regions which have geothermal potential, but due to the insufficient information and few professionals in the field, these areas are not exploited to their full potential, thus investments fail to appear.
One of the main challenges that the project aimed to address was that neither the local authorities, nor the potential investors seem willing to risk committing financial resources in trying to harness an uncertain resource of this kind (geothermal). Also, the lack of good assessments on the investment benefits and risks makes the geothermal field less attractive for potential investments.
The project had a strong bilateral component, leading to increased cooperation in the area of geothermal capacity building between the Environmental Fund Administration (EFA), the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geology and Geophysics (UoB) and the National Energy Authority (OS) in Iceland. Both Icelandic and Romanian experts took part in the project activities and had the opportunity to share experiences, learn from each other and forge new ties.
The project has implemented the following activities: meeting between the project partners; organization of various conferences, field visits (both in Romania and Iceland) and training/workshop events, both online and in-person.
Results:- 1 meeting between the the Project Partners (in Romania);
- 2 conferences (in Romania);
- 2 online workshops;
- 2 workshops/lectures and field visits (one in Romania and one in Iceland).
The project provided all interested stakeholders (local and national authorities, academia, various experts etc.) with the opportunity of participating in a series of lectures/workshops, field visits and conferences, with the following main topics: (i) new findings in the research field of geothermal energy and the theoretical framework representing the base of geothermal energy investments and more importantly identifying areas prone for geothermal investments and (ii) the best practice examples which could be replicated in areas with geothermal potential in Romania.
Summary of bilateral results
The Icelandic Partner, Orkustofnun - National Energy Authority in Iceland, has successfully contributed to increasing bilateral cooperation in the area of geothermal, through capacity building, as well as through support in implementing all project activities on training and exchange of experience within the online and in-person workshops and filed visits that were organized both in Iceland and and Romania. Both Icelandic and Romanian experts took part in the project activities and had the opportunity to share experiences, learn from each other and forge new ties.