Geothermal energy was discovered in Zagreb more than four decades ago, and it is known that the city lies on rich sources of this renewable energy. However, only a small part of the capacity is currently being used

In order to change this, the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum has prepared the necessary documentation for obtaining permits for the construction of wells, announced Radio Sljeme.

The Mladost swimming pools, the athletics stadium and the Faculty of Kinesiology already use geothermal energy for heating, and plans to expand the system are ambitious. In September, the Student Dormitory Stjepan Radić will be connected to the grid, and the future children’s hospital in Blato will also use this form of energy.

Next year, it is also planned to connect with the network of HEP Toplinarstva, because the main advantage of geothermal energy is lower costs.

“Currently, only five to 10 percent of Zagreb’s geothermal potential is used, depending on the season. The potential is much higher and in four to five years we could replace fossil fuels with this energy source. The water temperature is quite sufficient for heating residential buildings,’ said the dean of the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum, Professor Vladislav Brkić.

The city of Zagreb has already set aside 370,000 square meters of land for a thermal bath near the hospital in Blato, next to the golf course. Property and legal relations are currently being resolved. In addition, the City and the state resolve property issues for the hospital. We have several interested investors and we have already created a conceptual solution for the project. It would be the largest geothermal lake in Europe, open like a volcanic crater for swimming,’ announced Željko Jurilj, the concessionaire of the Zagreb geothermal field.

In addition to the swimming pool, the construction of various spas and sports and recreational facilities is planned.

Jurilj points out that before this project, which was co-financed with grants from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, they thought that Zagreb’s geothermal potential was smaller. The new software used in the analysis showed a potential power of about 150 MW, and the generated power is about 120 MW.

Vladimir Cazin from the GPC Instrumentation Process company confirms that the Geoda company study is extremely important because it shows a much higher geothermal potential than previous analyses, writes Energetika-net.

Brkić, dean of the Faculty of Mining, Geology and Petroleum in Zagreb and president of the Croatian Geothermal Energy Association (HUGE), reminds that Zagreb, like the rest of the Pannonian Basin in Croatia, has a 60 percent higher geothermal gradient than the European average.

“The potential is exceptional and it should be used”, he emphasized, adding that the question is why it is no longer used because the Zagreb geothermal field was discovered in 1977 and put into operation before the Universiade in 1987. “Given the market economy, energy prices, the geoenergy crisis and the new environmental requirements of the European Union, it is the right time to put the proven geothermal potential to greater use,” concluded Brkić.

Željka Sladović, director of the Geoda Consulting company, which is responsible for the preparation of the study and report on the reserves of the Zagreb geothermal field, pointed out that all existing data were collected and reanalyzed using the most modern tools. By integrating all these data, a model was created that was calibrated with the existing data.

‘Based on the model, we proposed locations for wells and increasing the capacity of the Zagreb-1 geothermal field,’ she explained, adding that the field covers an area slightly larger than 50 square kilometers and that the geothermal deposits are not of the same quality everywhere.

“We have identified the zone with the best characteristics for sustainable production,” she noted.

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