A promising milestone was reached in planning for a Croatian geothermal power plant, according to Think GeoEnergy.
In the spring, Enna Geo finished drilling a 15,032-foot well at ΔaΔavica and measured temperatures of 411.8 degrees Fahrenheit at the bottom. At the surface, the temperature was still an impressive 356 degrees Fahrenheit. Recently, the developer completed testing on the well, including geothermal fluids.
The new well will be the basis of a geothermal power plant called Zagocha. It's been in development since 2022 and could be live as soon as 2028.
Enna Geo says Zagocha is already the largest geothermal project in the country, and at 20 megawatts of generation, the company says it will be the largest of its kind in the European Union. Armed with fresh testing data, Enna Geo can move forward with finding suppliers to build out the facility.Β
Geothermal energy has massive untapped potential. One study by the Department of Energy suggested that the U.S. could host 60 megawatts of geothermal energy production, covering 8.5% of the country's energy demands.
By using the earth's natural heat to create steam and spin turbines, it's possible to renewably and safely generate electricity. It even has a leg-up on solar by using less land and working around the clock regardless of weather conditions.
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Unfortunately, the costs for drilling wells are substantial, and productive sites are highly dependent on geography. Enna Geo has called for funding support from the Croatian government similar to the rate guarantees provided to geothermal plants in Italy and Germany.
Supporting the construction of large-scale renewable energy projects like this can help countries reduce reliance on dirty fuel energy and, in turn, reduce atmospheric pollution. Pollution is the primary cause of increasingly destructive weather patterns like floods and droughts, which are wreaking havoc on housing and agriculture.
Enna Geo engineers were happy with the results of testing at the Zagocha well, painting a bright future for geothermal power in Croatia.
"We are particularly pleased that the geothermal reservoir itself, only a few months after completion of the well, is showing higher measured temperature values both at reservoir level (well bottom) and at the surface," said project manager Boris VidoΕ‘.
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