What does geothermal energy offer in Slovakia? The possibilities are wide
Replacing fossil resources in the Slovak energy mix will take many more years. However, it is possible that in this gradual and correct transformation, we can draw inspiration from the countries that are still in the process and take from them the best examples of what works.
Of course, we cannot pretend that the road to cleaner energy sources will be a cheap salvation. The benefit of renewables, on the other hand, is that the operation itself is usually economically viable. The economics of projects are more favorable when the aggregate costs are calculated over the entire long-term cycle – when the source produces and supplies energy. After the initial investment, it is no longer necessary to buy fuel or other expensive material.
A bonus that is desirable given the climate of the planet is the significant impact of renewables on the environment, air quality and thus on the living standards of the population, as they replace the living resources that provide a number of harmful emissions due to combustion.
Inspiration from the Munich area
An intensive debate on Russian gas has started in recent weeks and is said to be frequently mentioned geothermal energybecause it clearly represents a great opportunity for Slovakia as well.
I have been working on it for several years and it is also true in this area that after functional projects of development applications in Slovakia we can look far beyond the borders.
A few months ago I was on a business trip in geothermal power plant in a German city Holzkirchenwhich is suitable for comparison with our regions. The Munich headquarters, in short, shows how a groundbreaking decision can practically change the course of history and provide the population with sustainable energy, while also supporting the development of the whole area.
This small town near Munich approved the project of geothermal power plants in the spring of 2015 for 16,000 inhabitants, and a few months later they started digging a five-kilometer well. Today, 60 liters of geothermal water with more than 150 degrees Celsius flows to the surface every second.
They built a modern power plant by the highway next to the city. The technologies hidden in the bowels of the buildings are quiet, more to hear the noise a few tens of meters away. In the automated operation at the end of 2018, the production of thermal energy began, and in July 2019, the production of green electricity also started. Until then, the city’s central heat supply system had been supplied with heat produced from natural gas and heating oil – 50,000 liters were spent daily.
After the operation of the geothermal power plant, the city invested in the completion of the DH network, both a closer connection to the center and a branch, so that other households could also connect. The installed capacity of the facility is sufficient to satisfy all those interested in the environment for ecological energy. Today, electricity production also covers 45% of the city’s total consumption. Natural gas and heating oil are a thing of the past, in minimal quantities they only serve as a backup source.
Model also available for Slovakia
It is not just residents and their homes that benefit from this resource. For example, the local shopping center is a customer. And geothermal energy is also a source for the Holzkirchen industrial area, which is gradually expanding.
The well-known company Bosch, for example, has built its technology and development center here, focusing on the electrical development of solutions for automotive and alternative drives. It is magnificent among the companies located in the industrial park.
How can Holzkirchen be a role model for Slovakia? In the fact that such a “German reality” does not have to be just a “Slovak dream” in our country and we have the opportunity to implement similar projects in several corners of our country.
Our advantage is that we have the same hydrogeothermal conditions, perhaps even better than in the Munich area. There, to access the 150-degree geothermal media, they had to drill to a depth of five kilometers. In Slovakia, approximately four kilometers would be enough for the same temperature in promising areas, as the temperature in our country rises slightly faster than the world average (we have a high geothermal gradient).
The kilometer difference in borehole depth might seem not very significant at first glance, but in the language of the figures it is clear – shallower boreholes save a few million euros.
So what about the water we get to the surface through the “straw”, ie the geothermal well? Exactly the same as in Germany. We can produce electricity from it and heat from the residual energy for heating. Because we have one of the most comprehensive DH systems in Europe in Slovak cities, geothermal energy is an interesting solution for our cities about the size of Holzkirchen.
Possible use of geothermal energy in Slovakia:
- electricity generation
- heat production for heating / cooling of buildings and water heating
- use of residual heat in industrial production (eg pulp and paper processing, hardening of concrete parts, textile dyeing)
- food industry – growing crops in greenhouses, food processing, beet sugar production and pulp drying, onion drying, mushroom growing
- recreation – a source for thermal baths and aqua parks
- application in other production and post-production processes (wood drying, cement drying, food processing)
- biogas production
- hydrogen production
- melting snow and ice
- fish farming
- preheating, cooking and pasteurization of food
Even then, the possibilities of energy use do not end – even in addition to heat production for DH, in the next phase of permanent agriculture, heat around 40-100 degrees Celsius can be used in industry and food production (greenhouses, fish farming) or in recreation of bathing water or aqua park.
In all applications, we are talking about one and the same well, we are talking about the so-called cascade use of heat. This means that different heat scales are suitable for other activities and are used accordingly. When the geothermal water returns to 30 degrees, it returns to the ground through the reinjection well so that it can reheat and circulate in the ground. The whole process is therefore repeated.
The potential we can develop
The Slovak municipalities of Ľubotice (district of Prešov) and Lovča (district of Žiar nad Hronom) are Slovak Holzkirchen for us. In them, we implement plans that include the construction of geothermal centers with the production of green electricity and heat. The energy produced also serves the inhabitants of the adjacent district towns.
Drilling work should start in a few months. The comprehensive use of geothermal energy will therefore be available in the first two Slovak regions. As at other times in the world, this will clearly and overall appeal to the economic strength of other tied investments or projects.
However, Prešov and Žiar are not just areas where thermal energy from the Earth’s bowels can be used sustainably in Slovakia. However, in addition to private companies, the development of this renewable resource in our country must be much more suppressed by the state or local governments. We will see the first swallows in Ďurkov (Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic) and Čižatice (Košice self-governing region), but the space is even larger.