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MITECO announces EUR 120 million aid for deep geothermal feasibility studies

MITECO announces EUR 120 million aid for deep geothermal feasibility studies MITECO, Spain (source: MITECO)
Carlo Cariaga 9 Jun 2023

MITECO has announced a call for applications for feasibility studies of deep geothermal in Spain to be supported by funding of EUR 120 million total.

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain has announced a funding aid of EUR 120 million for feasibility studies for deep geothermal energy. Half of the budget will be allocated to projects in the Canary Islands because of the region’s higher potential, divided into equal portions between Gran Canaria, La Palma, Lanzarote, and Tenerife.

Relating to the funding support, MITECO has published a call for applications that will run from 15 June to 7 September, 2023. The feasibility studies must include the realization of a deep survey to locate and evaluate an existing resource in an identified geothermal field, and analyze the potential of carrying out a deep geothermal project with primarily medium to high temperate for either power generation or direct thermal uses.

Among the requirements of the aid is that the studies must include the completion of at least one research survey with a minimum probing depth of 1000 meters.

Among the evaluation criteria, collaboration between companies, public administrations and technology centers will be considered, through public-private consortia, as well as the degree of maturity of the proposal. With the aim of contributing to reactivate its economy after the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, the studies located on La Palma will be scored positively.

More details on the aid and corresponding call for applications can be viewed here (in Spanish).

The Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), a body attached to MITECO, will manage this line of financing that seeks to promote feasibility studies that include exploratory actions that analyze and quantify the geothermal resource that exists in different geothermal sites in the Spanish geography. IDAE will also be hosting a webinar to discuss the aid program on 13 June 2023.

Source: MITECO