Geothermal district heating system planned for city in Galicia, Spain

As announced last week, the first geothermal district heating project is now being planned to be built in the city of Ourensa, the third largest city in the province of Galicia in Spain.

The Minister of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, Álvaro Nadal, and the mayor of Ourense, Jesús Vázquez, signed a partnership framework agreement for the promotion of geothermal energy in the city.

The objective wit the agreement is to establish a stable framework for collaboration of the City Council and the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving
(IDAE), an agency under the Ministry, for geothermal energy projects.

As a result of this collaboration, both institutions will identify pilot demonstration and research projects that could become pilot projects for further development in regions with similar conditions as the city of Ourense.

The City of Ourense wants to implement a Local Action Plan with measures and commitments on sustainability, local energy and climate change mitigation, supported by geothermal energy. The city has already prioritized a first pilot project, which would see the development of a geothermal district heating system

The proposed area for the pilot projects is in District 5 of the city with a population of around 28,000 that also has lots of public buildings that could benefit from geothermal heating.

Geothermal resources

The province of Galicia, and in particular the city of Ourense and its surroundings, have considerable geothermal resources. According to studies by the Geological
Survey of Spain (IGME), there are thermal demonstrations in Galicia with temperatures of between 50 and 90 degrees Celsisus, at depths between 500 and 1,500 meters. These points to medium temperatures of between 110 and 130 degrees Celsisus at depths greater than 1,500 and 2,000 meters, which could also be used for electricity generation.

Source: News release