Geothermal energy could be key economic driver for coastal community in Greece

Coastal city of Kavala, Greece (source: flickr/ Andreas Kontokanis, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 8 Dec 2017

At a meeting this fall at the Open Days” of the European Week of Regions and Cities in October in Brussels/ Belgium, Filippos Anastasiadis, Mayor of Pangaio in Kavala, Greece presented an investment proposal for the exploitation of the geothermal field of Akropotamos Kavala.

With plans to utilise geothermal energy from the field to develop greenhouses, activities could also provide a significant boost to tourist activities of the seaside area on mainland Greece, as well as economic development opportunities for the local population.

The geothermal resources are also seen as an opportunity in enhancing “healing tourism”, as the thermal springs of the Eleuthera baths in Pangeo are covered with warm mineral waters that have been used since the Roman times.

As reported locally this month, there have been earlier studies done in 2003-2006. This led to the drilling of six production and research wells, which determined two reservoirs of the geothermal field at depths of 250 and 500 meters. Two of the wells provide more than 350 cubic meters per hour of geothermal fluids at a temperature of about 90 degrees Celsius.

Mayor Pangaiou emphasizes the very good cooperation with the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), which has positively evaluated the investment plan submitted by DEFAA Pangeo in the context of a call for expression of interest for the lease of the right to manage the geothermal field of Decentr.

“In coordination with RAE and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia – Thrace, we succeeded in evaluating our proposal perfectly and quickly. Directly we will sign a concession of the geothermal field to be exploited by the Municipality of Pangeo “. The contract for the lease of the right to manage the geothermal field of Akropotamos is expected to be signed by the President of DEFAA Pangaou Chariton Papadopoulos and the coordinator of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia-Thrace in the following period.

Investment plan

The municipality currently proceeds with the planning and licensing of the geothermal land use investment plan, which includes the development of infrastructure for the pumping and distribution of available heat for the heating of residential greenhouses, manufacturing plants, and the cooling of tourist infrastructure . Mr. Anastasiadis explains that the high available energy potential of the field implies the possibility of covering the thermal loads of more than 150 acres of greenhouse installations while simultaneously covering the thermal loads of urban district heating consumption due to the high temperature of the geothermal fluid.

Through the use of available geothermal energy, the municipality aims to leverage private capital, aiming at balanced development, maximizing the impact on local society and implementing a healthy and sustainable development project. “In addition to energy recovery, the municipality is studying the recognition of possible healing properties of geothermal fluid, with the aim of exploiting it if this is possible under Greek law.”

It also adds that the municipality has a municipal area of 9,000 acres located approximately 5 km. From the geothermal field and plans to develop geothermal energy transport networks in order to support the development of tourism infrastructure, which may exploit the thermal properties of the fluid . He concludes by saying that “the municipality is in the process of developing a master plan for the optimal utilization of the municipal area combined with the exploitation of the geothermal field”.

The geothermal field of Akropotamos is located in the coastal zone of the Municipality of Pangeo between the area of Loutra Eleuthera and the beach of Karyne on the main land of Greece.

Source: Ypaithros