The City of Sveta Nedelja has registered a project under the title “Development of documentation for the geothermal water exploration phase in the area of Sveta Nedelja”, reference number 59, which has been approved for development of technical documentation. The City of Sveta Nedelja is the promoter of the project together with its partners EFLA Consulting Engineers from Iceland and EKOPLODOVI from Sveta Nedelja.
The total cost of the project is € 372,006.43, of which € 316,205.47 is reimbursable and 85% is non-reimbursable. The project is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014 – 2021 and nationally co-funded by the Republic of Croatia under the Energy and Climate Change Programme.
As part of the project and the preliminary work, a “Geothermal Potential Study in The SVETA NEDELJA 2 Exploration Area” was prepared and presented on 30 November 2023. “This is a strategic project of the City, with which we are taking steps towards the development of renewable energy sources. We want to develop all that geothermal energy has to offer, but everything depends on the energy supply and its capacities,” said Gabrijel Deak, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sveta Nedelja. “This topic is certainly relevant as we are in a transition period towards green energy and renewable sources, which are one of the priorities for the future. We all need to step up our efforts to exploit the geothermal potential in Croatia as a natural resource,” said Deak. He added that geothermal energy will be used in the industrial zone, tourism and agriculture, and that the data so far shows that it could be extended to residential areas and industry in the future.
The City of Sveta Nedelja plans to activate the existing geothermal potential for the needs of public institutions and private users through the exploration of the geothermal potential, while the partner through the implementation of the project will create a basis for increasing the production geothermal capacity, which is insufficient with the existing well.
Martina Fabijan, the project leader, explained how the recent visit to the project partner in Iceland provided significant experience, advice and ideas on how to implement the overall project and plan future projects in line with the potential and the final results. “By the end of the project, the Town of Sveta Nedelja will have developed a well design with a location permit, an exploratory well design, an environmental study and project technical documentation on infrastructure solutions and the economic feasibility of using geothermal water in the heating sector. Ekoplodovi will conduct a study of geothermal water reserves, data analysis and processing, and conceptual designs for magnetotelluric exploration and construction of the well itself,” Fabijan announced.
Sveta Nedelja is located at the junction of highly dynamic areas, which makes it one of the best geothermally structured areas in Croatia. “The geothermal potential study has been carried out over the last three months and has involved analysing the geological structure, geochemical and geothermal relations, acquiring, processing and analysing magnetotelluric data, compiling previous geophysical data, determining geological engineering relations and identifying zones of potential deposits. We have also calculated a static and dynamic model of the production of deposits in case of activation of all sites, we have made indicative reconstructions of the well, and we have calculated an economic analysis for the area”, explained Željka Sladović, M.Sc.Eng. Geology, Director of GeoDa Consulting. The area has good geothermal potential with developed thermal aquifers, and four potential exploitation zones have been identified – Bestovje, Strmec, the Sports Centre area and Ladovići, as the locations where the highest temperature is possible. “The area is very geologically complex, but temperatures vary from 35-40 degrees in the direction of Podsused, with an average temperature of around 70 degrees, to a high of 90-100 degrees in the Ladovići area. Today, France, for example, heats entire cities at low temperatures, so there is great potential.”
With green energy at the forefront of Sveta Nedelje’s development, the project will valorize the geothermal resource and determine the optimal location for geothermal energy production for public and private entities in the area of the city.
Following the completion of the study, the preparation of the conceptual project for the Sveta Nedelja GT-2 well will commence with the obtaining of the location permit and the project for the Sveta Nedelja 2 exploration well. Sustainable development and protection of the environment are the objectives of the project, once the wells have been drilled and the exploitation field has been obtained, which will reduce CO2 emissions and use energy that is independent of weather conditions and energy prices.
The construction of the wells themselves will require significant additional funding, for which a source of co-funding or public-private partnerships will be sought, and the City will certainly need to find a way to implement the project in full, given its great potential.
More information on non-refundable grants can be found on the following websites:
https://eeagrants.hr/programi/energija-i-klimatske-promjene/
Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe | www.eeagrants.hr
The project ” Development of technical documentation for the use of geothermal energy” is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 with national co-funding from the Republic of Croatia under the “Energy and Climate Change” Programme.
Sustainable development and protection of the environment are the goals of the project – once the projects following the drilling of the well and the acquisition of the exploitation field are completed, CO2 emissions will be reduced and energy will be used that is independent of weather conditions and the price of energy sources.
The published content is the sole responsibility of the project promoter City of Sveta Nedelja and the project partners EKOPLODOVI d.o.o. and EFLA Consulting Engineers, and in no way reflects the views of the Energy and Climate Change Programme Manager.
