Serbia’s first geothermal heating project starts construction in Bogatic

Danube river at Smederevo, Serbia (source: flickr/ Franco Pecchio, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 27 Jul 2018

The municipality of Bogatic in western Serbia is expecting to start up the country’s first geothermal district heating system before the end of the year.

The plan is to initially use the system to heat public facilities, after which it will also be made available to individuals and businesses. We previously reported on European funding for the project.

The new geothermal heating system will result in the reduction of air pollution, and annual savings of between EUR 100,000 and 150,000 for the community.

The contract for construction was signed at the end of 2017, with the total value of the project coming to EUR 1 million, three quarters of which will be financed through a loan and the rest from the budget of Bogatic municipality. The municipality’s mayor, Nenad Beserovac, stated that the project is to be completed “within 120 days.”

The local authorities have also prepared a study on the geothermal potential in the municipality of Bogatic in cooperation with the University of Belgrade School of Mining and Geology, Beserovac said, adding that the study envisages making geothermal energy available to individuals and businesses in the second phase, with electricity generation being the ultimate goal.

According to Serbia’s Minister of Mining and Energy Aleksandar Anti? said that the start of this is an important step not only for Bogati?, but also the wider region with various other projects to follow.

While initially set up to deliver heat to public buildings, it could also offer heating for the private sector e.g. for greenhouse operations due to the strong agriculture potential of the region.

Exploration for geothermal was started around 30 years ago in the region, after which it was proven that there is a huge potential which has so far remained untapped. The municipality of Bogatic is one of three municipalities in Serbia which were selected to get into the selection procedure for receiving funds from the EU for heating projects for public institutions based on results of a feasibility study ordered by the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection.  A year later the geothermal well BB1 was equipped for production.

There are a number of other geothermal projects in Serbia

When it comes to other geothermal projects in Serbia, the Swiss Cooperation Office and KfW are working on a project to use this energy source for district heating in Becej, while Serbia-based oil and gas company NIS signed an agreement in October 2016 on cooperation in this area with China’s Betec.

Source: Emerging Europe, Balkan Green Energy