Bucharest to introduce geothermal district heating

Electrocentrale Bucharest (ELCEN) signed a memorandum of understanding with Sage Geosystems on a feasibility study for the utilization of geothermal energy in the district heating system in Romania’s capital city.

Bucharest will be able in a few years to use geothermal sources in the city’s north in district heating, Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja said. He attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the system’s operator Electrocentrale Bucharest – Electrocentrale Bucureşti (ELCEN) and Sage Geosystems.

The launch of a feasibility study was agreed upon with the United States-based geothermal energy and storage company at the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy and Climate Cooperation (P-TECC) Business Forum. Burduja pointed out the deal is for a public-private partnership.

The solution will mean cleaner air and lower bills, in his words. Early this year the US Department of Energy promised to fund the feasibility study, Burduja stressed. It will probably be completed by the end of 2024, he said.

Electrocentrale Bucharest will apply for a grant from the European Union’s Modernisation fund for the geothermal district heating project, the minister revealed. He noted there are already boreholes in the northern part of the capital, adding it would be a shame not to use them.

Renewables integration into district heating implies energy storage, flexibility capacities as well

The district heating system in Bucharest can’t be transformed without integrating renewables, said ELCEN’s General Manager Claudiu Creţu.

“We are focusing, in parallel with geothermal energy, on the energy storage part, both thermal and electrical. You can’t heat Bucharest with either wind energy or solar energy. We have to be very realistic,” he asserted. The solution is the integration of geothermal energy, energy storage and flexible capacities, Creţu claimed.

The investment will begin with a pilot project

The introduction of geothermal district heating in Bucharest will start with a pilot project, he explained. The system will require more drilling, according to Creţu.

Sage Geosystems, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is tasked with technical and geological analysis and the feasibility study. The first project is for up to 70 MW of thermal power for one district in Bucharest, the company announced. Upon its success, the partnership will be expanded to other Romanian projects and cities, it added.

The feasibility study will be performed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sage said.

Bucharest joins municipal authorities turning to geothermal heating for public buildings

Numerous local authorities are working on renewable energy projects, mostly solar power, for their own needs. Bucharest is following the example of municipalities that are turning to geothermal energy for heating.

In Arad county in Romania’s west, the towns of Pecica and Sântana obtained EU grants and are conducting works for heating public buildings with geothermal energy.