DARLINGe Progress

The DARLINGe project (DANUBE REGION LEADING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY) has been reaching now 30 months and will be completed in September 2019. By then, all project deliverables will be finalised and ready for download in the Library section of the web site. A lot of work was dedicated this year to the organisation of National Promotional Events in project partner countries, in order to make the project results known to interested parties and potential beneficiaries and, more important, to promote the use of geothermal energy in the Danube Region in an efficient way, using cascade systems. 

Such events were organised in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovenia and will be followed by similar events in Serbia. Once the Danube Region Geothermal Information Platform will be finalised, training sessions will be organized in each country for geothermal site managers, followed by visits in the cross-border pilot areas (end of August – beginning of September). DARLINGe Final Conference is planned for 25 September 2019 in Budapest, to be held together with the 3rd Transnational Stakeholders Forum.
 

National Promotion Event in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The event was jointly organized by the Federal Institute for Geology – Sarajevo (FZZG) and the Geological Survey of the Republic of Srpska – Zvornik (GSRS) on May 30th in Sarajevo, at Holywood Hotel. 

Participants to the National Promotion Event organized in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - 30 May 2019

50 participants attended the event: representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) authorities from the geology, mining, energy, water, environment and European integration sector, municipalities, project developer companies, geothermal energy users, heating energy providers, a regional development agency and a geological association. The meeting was also attended by representatives of other project partners: the Croatian Geological Survey and the Municipality of Sremski Karlovci (Serbia). 

The tools newly developped/adapted within the project (benchmarking, decision tree, modelling and risks mitigation) were presented to the audience, and the weaknesses of regulatory framework in BiH (resulted from the SWOT analysis) gave rise to a lively discussion on the topic of the legislation and policies at all administrative levels in BiH. The participants discussed about the users’ problems and supported the idea of proposing improved regulatory framework which would create opportunities for a greater use of geothermal energy. The general conclusion was that new regulations should be adopted for geothermal resources, leading to faster licensing procedures and to more incentives from the State.

Promotional materials for the event in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The event was followed by interviews with DARLINGe project members and National Promotion Event presenters, which were broadcasted during a whole TV show "Ekologika" by State television BHT1 of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5A7Xuj_HBQ&fbclid=IwAR14WMyD-fMtjKPtNL0pUUggQCyjCVIOamS8RAXgVLyt3PFyXK4nSY09isE

National Promotion Event in Croatia

The Geological Survey of Croatia organized the National Promotion Event on 15th May 2019 in Zagreb, at Zagreb Tower, where 33 stakeholders took part, representing sectoral agencies, national public authorities, infrastructure and public service providers, SMEs and local public authorities.

Participants to the National Promotion Event organized in Zagreb (Croatia) - 15 May 2019

The questionnaires filled in by the participants indicated that the project results would contribute to their work, having a potential to help an increased use of thermal aquifers. It was suggested that on such promotion events, representatives of banks should be also invited. 

The general opinion about utilization of deep geothermal aquifers in Croatia was that they were poorly utilized. There were a lot of comments regarding the necessary changes that have to be applied to the legislation in order to simplify it and make the exploration, exploitation and operation of geothermal resources more efficient.

National Promotion Event in Hungary

The National Promotion Event was organised by the Mining and Geological Survey of Hungary (MBFSZ), project Lead Partner, on 29th May 2019 in Budapest, at Novotel Budapest Centrum, as a side event of the Renewable Energy Conference 2019. 41 people representing ministries, authorities, leading companies in geothermal exploration and project development, as well as civil societies, attended this event. A separate presentation in the morning plenary session of the Conference summarized DARLINGe objectives and results in a wider policy framework.

Participants to the National Promotion Event organized in Budapest, (Hungary) - 29 May 2019

The feedback of the stakeholders referred to the necessity of more intensive support of renewable / geothermal projects from the State, as well as a stronger incorporation of geothermal energy and its advantages into the national policy framework. This is especially relevant at this moment, as the new Hungarian Climate and Energy Policy Framework to be launched soon is under the phase of public consultation at the moment. The importance of geothermal energy as an alternative heat supply to the numerous district heating systems in Hungary was also pointed out. The decarbonisation of the heating sector is in the focus of the new energy policy, so the results presenting the good matching of the identified geothermal reservoirs and the heat market demands was very much welcome. 

National Promotion Event in Romania

A consultation with stakeholders from the project region was organised by Terratechnik S.R.L. on 29th May 2019 in Arad, at Casa Jelen. The project results and the geothermal potential of the area were presented by representatives of the Geological Institute of Romania (IGR), the public institution partner in the project, and of the industrial partner, Terratechnik company. 33 participants attended this event, representing: Arad County Administration, local administrations, SMEs, NGO and media (Nyugati Jelen).

Participants to the National Promotion Event organized in Arad (Romania) - 29 May 2019

There was a lively discussion about the use of geothermal resources in Arad and Timis counties. The participants confirmed the result of the presented benchmarking indicator referring to the ”utilization efficiency” of the geothermal energy. Many representatives of the local administration (with known geothermal wells in conservation state - inactive) showed their interest in using geothermal energy. They also expressed their discontent regarding the way how geothermal wells drilled by the State in the former regime were privatized. The problems are very complex, as presently in some cases the land, the geothermal well and the distribution pipes for the final use belong to different owners. This situation led to confusion of those interested in using geothermal water, who would like to have a simplified procedure for exploitation.

National Promotion Event in Slovenia

The National Promotion Event was organised on 14th June in Ljubljana in Crystal Palace – BTC, by Local energy agency Pomurje and Geological Survey of Slovenia. The event was organised as a part of the event En.občina & En.management 019. More than 50 people representing ministries, authorities, energy agencies, different companies in energy and project development, as well as civil societies, attended this event. A separate presentation of the project DARLINGe was done in in front of the hall on the stand / table of the project DARLINGe, where participants and visitors were particularly informed about DARLINGe objectives, results and animated for participation on training and excursion, which will be organized in September.

Participants to the National Promotion Event organized in Ljubljana (Slovenia) - 14 June 2019

Presentations provided an excellent basis for further promotion of the project through conversations with participants at the stand. The undeniable potential of geothermal energy of the region was highlighted, together with occasional problems of exploitation in individual cases, as well as some deficits in the national legislation, which are the main obstacles to increased exploitation of geothermal energy. However, the identified key deficiency, is the difficulty to determine the potential of geothermal energy at municipal planning level, so the participants were excited about the future trainings on the use of the Danube Region Geothermal Information Platform (DRGIP). For the event, promotional materials of the project (pens, folders, blocks and USB keys) and two different project brochures were prepared.

During the National Promotion Event  in Slovenia 

Progress of the Danube Region Geothermal Information Platform (DRGIP)

During project meetings held in February in Bijeljina (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and April in Harkany (Hungary), project partners discussed and agreed on the content, functionalities and aspect of the modules that compose the web-based interactive portal (DRGIP): 

• Viewer 
• Knowledge Base 
• Legislation 
• Benchmarking 
• Risk Mitigation 
• Decision Tree 
• Dictionary

DRGIP will be available from September 2019 on, linking to address www.darlinge.eu

Front page of the DRGIP (status May 2019)

Example of the DRGIP viewer, displaying various thematic maps and geothermal wells

DARLINGe Presence at International Events

Project results were extensively presented at the European Geothermal Congress, Hague, The Netherlands (June 11-14, 2019), which is the largest geothermal event in Europe held each 3 years.  DARLINGe had 8 presentations: 

• Nádor et al: Danube Region geothermal strategy and information system to support the decarbonisation of the heating sector (oral) 
• Ádám et al: Application of a novel geological risk mitigation scheme in the Danube Region (oral) 
• Rotár-Szalkai et al: New harmonized method for outlining transboundary geothermal reservoirs and resource assessment (oral) 
• Milenić et al: Concept of cascade use of geothermal energy in district heating system of Bogatic, Serbia (poster) 
• Kun et al: Hydrodynamic and heat transport 3D modelling of the Pannonian Basin, HU-SRB-RO - pilot area of the DARLINGe project (poster) 
• Marković et al: Utilization of geothermal aquifers in N-ern Croatia (poster) 
• Szőcs et al: Benchmarking methodology to foster energy production efficiency (poster) 
• Rman et al: Assessment of thermal water utilization in the S-ern part of the Pannonian Basin (poster)

DARLINGe Final Conference

DARLINGe Final Conference will be organised in Budapest (Hungary), on 25th September 2019, at Gellért Hotel. The morning session will be dedicated to keynote lectures given by high-level representatives of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Hungary; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Hungary; Danube Transnational Programme; International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR). This will be followed by a thematic session on project results: 

• Overview of the project: goals, strategy 
• Matching the resources and the heat demands 
• Current use of thermal waters and future potentials 
• Tools for sustainable management of transboundary geothermal reservoirs and their pilot testing 
• The Danube Region Geothermal Information Platform (DRGIP) 

In the last part there will be a plenary feedback and wrap up for a European policy perspective presented by the European Geothermal Energy Council). In the afternoon the Consortium will hold the final meeting of the Transnational Stakeholders Forum, and there will be facilities to visit the famous Gellért Spa as well. The conference will end with a short walk to Gellért Hill, where the participants can admire the beautiful panorama of Budapest and will also have a short introduction on the thermal waters of the city and their current and future use.

You can find more information about the Final Conference at: https://darlinge2019.webnode.hu/

Please register through this online link: https://darlinge2019.webnode.hu/registration/

We are looking forward to see you in Budapest!

Contact

Annamaria Nador (Lead Partner coordinator) – nador.annamaria@mbfsz.gov.hu

DARLINGe website http://dtp.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/darlinge