The Conference on Geothermal Energy is prepared by the Zagreb student branch of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPGZG).

The three-day professional meeting is mainly intended for students, but also for anyone interested in the field of geothermal energy.

The first day of the conference (Thursday, March 7) will be mostly dedicated to lectures by local and foreign experts and panel discussions. The second day (Friday, March 8) will include lectures, panel discussions and student presentations. On the third day (Saturday, March 9) a professional excursion will take place.

Of course, it will be possible to follow the Conference online.

The deadline for submissions is March 1 this year.

What is geothermal energy anyway?

“Geothermal energy is a renewable source that is being talked about more and more. It represents a significant contribution to achieving the goals of the transition strategy towards a low-carbon economy. The reason for this is the fact that the temperature gradient in the Pannonian part of Croatia is as much as 60% higher than the European average. Geothermal potential is known thanks to numerous wells that were drilled for the purpose of exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, some of which discovered deposits of hot water.

Therefore, Croatia has sufficient knowledge and human resources that can contribute to greater exploitation of geothermal energy.

Based on the available geological and physical data, it is estimated that Croatia could build geothermal power plants with a total capacity of up to 500 MW. Current active geothermal projects and the entry of new investors in recent tenders certainly inspire optimism that geothermal potential will be significantly more utilized in the near future.

Geothermal energy could be used in cascade, if possible, first for the production of electricity in case of higher water temperatures, and then for heating and agriculture, returning with a lower temperature to the underground because it is a closed cycle of exploitation.

Energy transition is not entirely possible without the application of mining-geological-oil knowledge and expertise,” points out prof. Ph.D. Vladislav Brkić, Dean of RGN and President of the Croatian Association for Geothermal Energy (HUGE).

AAPG is an association that brings together experts and students of geology, petroleum engineering and related professions not only from the United States of America, but also from all over the world. It has more than 40,000 members in 129 countries of the world, and AAPGZG is its Croatian student branch.

Source: aapgzg.hr< /a>/energetika-net .com

Cover photo: Photo by Federica Bisso on Unsplash