CONTENT:

Four Slovenian institutions (Geological Survey of Slovenia, Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning and Association of Municipalities and Towns of Slovenia) and one Icelandic institution (Iceland School of Energy, Reykjavik University) cooperate in this pre-defined project INFO-GEOTHERMAL. It is supported within the programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation.

INFO-GEOTHERMAL is the first project aimed at innovative strengthening institutional capacities of national authorities involved in managing geothermal energy use, of local authorities who provide spatial framework for investors, and biggest players in exploration of deep geothermal potential in Slovenia. It directly addresses the programme area No. 12 Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Security and targets outcome B.1: Increased renewable energy production, from geothermal energy in deep reservoirs, for multipurpose use and on an energy efficient way.

Increased and more energy-efficient use of thermal water for geothermal energy (GE) production can make a significant contribution to achieving Slovenia's climate and energy goals. It is a local source of RES, its use significantly reduces GHG emissions and can replace the use of fossil fuels in areas with the most favourable potential, which are mainly in the east of the country, in the cross-border Pannonian Basin. The proposed approaches make it necessary and possible to move from the near stagnation of GE energy production, the reduction in the number of district heating systems, the limitations on thermal water extraction due to the lack of reinjection wells, and the less coordinated management of the use of GE, as it is handled by two ministries, to the accelerated and environmentally friendly extraction of thermal energy from the deep underground.

From transferring knowledge from the worldwide leading geothermal country – Iceland, our joint activities will result in significantly improved formal support schemes for investments. Project objectives will be achieved by mapping deep geothermal potential for direct use of thermal water and geothermal electricity; organization and publication of data as grounds for future one-stop-shop in geothermal; training experts of authorities, research organizations and project developers from Slovenia and Iceland; organization of a national geothermal network and establishing a business-attractive environment with clear guidelines and rules on development of geothermal projects.

The professional and general public will have free and anytime access to information on the type and location of subsurface data and guidelines for the technical and economic development of projects through the project's website and products. Regulatory authorities will gain the knowledge to develop and apply the guidelines in their decision-making processes, while the knowledge of, and compliance with, the guidelines by public service providers, designers and developers will allow permit applications to be more accurate, allowing for a faster decision-making process. Investors and users of thermal water will be able to prepare pre-feasibility or feasibility studies more quickly, and project developers will be able to use the data for the two pilot areas to approach the economic analysis of new projects for direct use of heat or power plants. Municipalities will be informed where and what information useful for the development of deep geothermal projects is available and what procedures need to be followed to attract and help guide investors. Research and educational institutions will strengthen their competences through the organisation and participation of staff and students in summer schools and workshops. All stakeholders in the field of GE use will be invited to join the new geothermal network.

The project is worth a total of EUR 1,073,529.41.

Recommended links:

Borzen Centre for RES/CHP

Geotermalna energija

Results:

DT 1. 1. 1.	Q & A report in geothermics
DT 1. 1. 2.	Report on overview of (web)tools and types of public information in the neighbouring countries and Iceland
DT 1. 1. 3.	Workshop and study cases on Iceland
DT 1. 2. 3.	Go to areas for geothermal projects - Municipality Beltinci
DT 1. 2. 3.	Go to areas for geothermal projects - Municipality Turnisce
DT 1. 2. 3.	Go to areas for geothermal projects - Municipality Dobrovnik
DT 2. 1. 1.	Report on legislation and suggestions for improvements
DT 2. 2. 3.	Funding mechanisms for geothermal project
DT 4. 1. 1.	Geothermal summer school - abstract book
DC 6. 2.	Fizični model geotermalnih rezervoarjev v SV Sloveniji