Deputy Minister Petrova: Implementation of geothermal energy projects will increase the share of renewable energy in municipalities

14-03-2022 16:59

“Grant financial assistance under the Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Energy Security Programme will ensure a reduction in carbon intensity and increased security of supply through a greater share of renewable energy production and improvement of energy efficiency in buildings and municipalities”, Deputy Energy Minister Iva Petrova said at a ceremony for signing grant agreements with six municipalities ranked under the procedure  “Use of geothermal energy for heating or heating and cooling in state or municipal buildings”. The approved projects of municipalities Velingrad, Yambol, Pomorie, Burgas, Sofia Municipality and Strelcha, have 18 months to implement the activities, and each project is financed by an amount of between 200 thousand and 400 thousand euros. The total value of all projects is approximately €1.7 million, including national co-financing.

With the grants allocated under the Programme, the six municipalities will carry out measures to use the potential of geothermal energy for heating and cooling of public-owned buildings. The application process under this procedure was completed in September 2021 and the selected projects involve renovation of the heating installations of 5 kindergartens, one nursery and a school. The relevant activities include construction of geothermal heating and cooling installations, solar collectors for household hot water supply, complete renovation of heating installations in buildings, replacement of heating appliances, implementation of energy consumption monitoring system. The delivery of the projects will result in the production of 1800 MWh of geothermal energy per year and savings of over 2000 tonnes of CO₂ per year. Thus municipalities will save funds that could be utilized for other activities.

Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Energy Security Programme is financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021 and is implemented in partnership with the energy authorities of the Kingdom of Norway and Iceland.