District heating company Termoficare Oradea is looking for contractors for the utilization of geothermal energy in Oradea in northwest Romania. The project is valued at EUR 18.8 million.

Heat pumps will be installed for the production of heating and hot water in the Nufărul 1 neighborhood of Oradea. The city’s district heating firm Termoficare Oradea issued a public call for the design and implementation of a geothermal energy system. The deadline for bids is May 31.

The geothermal district heating project is divided into two tenders. The duration of the larger one, estimated at EUR 15.9 million without value-added tax, is set at 60 months.

Project to enable district heating for one neighborhood with multipurpose arena

It is for the processing of water for heating and production of hot water using geothermal energy from a local well. The city authorities said 6,217 apartments, public institutions and firms would use the facility. The district has more than 13,500 inhabitants.

The other tendering procedure is for the design and implementation of a heating and hot water project for the planned multipurpose arena. The project is valued at EUR 2.9 million.

After passing heat exchangers to capture thermal energy, the water from the geothermal well will be injected into the district heating system. The EUR 18.8 million project is financed with Romania’s European funds.

Oradea already uses geothermal sources for heating

Oradea has a long history of using geothermal energy, as it lies on two aquifers. There are 220,000 inhabitants in the city in northwest Romania, on the border with Hungary. The seat of Bihor county already heats 3,000 households with geothermal energy and has a 50 kW organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power plant.

Last year the municipal authority obtained a grant for the purpose under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism or EEA Grants, funded by Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Of note, Hungary’s capital city of Budapest recently signed a cooperation agreement with Icelandic group Arctic Green Energy for the construction of geothermal district heating units with the capacity of 10 MW to 20 MW. Neighboring Serbia also has a vast potential for the use of the renewable energy source.