GEOCOM Site Mórahalom
Mórahalom is a small community in Hungary known for its thermal baths. The balneological use of geothermal wells has a long tradition. A study from 2007 states that ‘87 % of the municipality’s energy use is based on natural gas which translates into 59 % of all annual municipal costs’. Based on these findings with innovation potential, the integration of renewable energy sources, and in particular geothermal heating and electricity generation, took centre stage in the town’s strategy and vision.
One of the specific developments that reflected this was the GEOCOM project, launched in 2010 with the objective to increase the visibility of direct heat applications of geothermal energy throughout Europe. The demonstration site in Mórahalom consisted of two refurbished buildings (an elementary school and kindergarten) that included an increase in the net heated area after the project implementation, two cogeneration facilities using free waste gas from geothermal wells for electricity and thermal energy generation, and public street lighting.
The total area covered in Mórahalom within the GEOCOM project is 11 275 m2. The implemented measures and mainly the cogeneration resulted in a reduction of the final energy demand of the site by 105 MWh per year. This is especially important since the project activities in fact increased the net heated area.
The street lighting system consumed 30 MWh/yr of grid electricity in 2013 before the renovation took place. In 2015 after the renovation, 93 % of the electricity was provided from a photovoltaic system, and due to the increase in efficiency the final energy consumption dropped by 57 % to 13 MWh/yr.
Due to the increased net heating area, there was an increase in the final energy demand for the buildings. However, the deployment of cogeneration combined with geothermal energy led to a total primary energy decrease for the buildings of 120 MWh/yr.
According to SCIS calculations based on energy monitoring data and the respective emission factors available, the primary energy savings go up to 650 MWh/yr while the CO2 reduction amounts to 167 tonnes every year for the whole demo site.
Financial & Economic
Country |
Encountered barriers |
Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary |
There are a number of risks linked to geothermal energy system operations that may have an impact on the environment:
|
This can be resolved by re-injecting groundwater after the thermal energy is transferred. There are already examples of injection techniques applied in Hungary to reduce the risks. Furthermore, an injection of geothermal fluid is neither financially incentivised, nor legally obligatory. The establishment of an overarching national policy on injection as part of a sustainable operation of geothermal systems is advised. Injection would also replace expensive and complex water treatment processes. |
Social
Country |
Encountered barriers |
Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Hungary |
The biggest barrier was the dependence on fossil fuels in the form of natural gas, which, coupled with a lack of awareness about alternative energy sources, led to a resistance to change. |
A great deal of consultation and planning was required before the first geothermal energy system was operational in 2011. Once finished, it not only saved costs for additional interventions, but also served as a best practice example for industry and tourism. |
Challenges
Country |
Description |
|---|---|
| Hungary |
Financial barriers to the introduction of additional uses of geothermal energy are the weak Hungarian economy caused by global economic recession, an unstable legal environment concerning land concessions and energy policy, and missing sector-specific financial measures. A difficulty arises with the fact that if the geothermal system is set up in a sustainable way, including injection wells, the drilling costs are higher compared to a business-as-usual situation, which can reduce the value for investors. |
| Hungary |
Regulatory barriers in relation to fiscal policy include the increase and yearly fluctuation of water fees, as well as the preference to use geothermal water for medicinal rather than energy purposes, according to the Ministry of Environmental and Water Conservation Affairs. |
| Hungary |
One of the interventions at the demonstration site in Mórahalom is the installation of a heat pump to further increase the independence from natural gas as the main energy carrier. According to the project partners, the heat pump will not be running at full capacity for a few years due to the rather warm winters recently and the smaller energy demand. Further residential building construction is planned, thus providing potential consumers in the future. Nevertheless, the maintenance of the heat pump is currently causing unintended annual expenditures. On the other hand, a heat pump system coupled with geothermal water use is an innovative approach with a possible high-efficiency level. Currently, this kind of system configuration can neither be found in Hungary nor elsewhere in central eastern Europe. |
The implemented measures in Mórahalom include:
Energy efficiency in buildings
- Retrofitting the building envelope
- Replacement of windows and doors
- Building integrated renewable energy sources
- Photovoltaic installations on roofs (36 kWp for elementary school, 9.6 kWp for kindergarten)
- Thermal collectors (81.2 m² for elementary school, 40.6 m² for kindergarten) for domestic hot water, including preheating water for kitchen services in educational institutions
- Switch from natural gas boilers to district heating network
- Building services (HVAC and lighting):
- Optimised street lighting powered by photovoltaics
- Heat pump:
- Additional heating energy once new consumers are available.
Energy systems integration
- Deep geothermal energy combined with CHP:
- The goal of the heat pump operation is to use the return water from the primary thermal circle of the geothermal system with a temperature of 40 °C in a low-energy system, cooling the water to 20 ° C before re-injection. The approximate electrical demand of the heat pumps is 90 kW.
- Cogeneration (CHP)
- Use of free waste gas from geothermal wells for electricity and thermal energy production at two CHP plants.
The investment cost for the intervention was a total of EUR 924 348. Based on the data available, the SCIS financial assessment shows that the costs saved by the interventions amount to EUR 116 070. As a result, the payback period is calculated to be 16 years for all the implemented measures. The results for the individual interventions show that there is no feasible payback period for the refurbishment and street lighting interventions, while the payback period for the Energy systems integration is 3 years.
The purpose of the CONCERTO project is to demonstrate total utilisation of geothermal energy. Therefor it is proposed that the cascade system is retrofitted and complemented with a new element . The auxiliary power demand of 60 kW for the heat-pump heating station will be met by trapping of methane of the new abstraction well of the cascade system, while the electric power produced by trapping of the methane of the B40 well at the spa will be used at the Thermal Spa.
As part of the retrofitting elements public buildings will be refurbished: the Mora Cultural Centre, School and Gymnasium, and the Kindergarten - Day-care Centre Complex.
On the currently neglected slum-type area in the town's southern part, Morahalom plans the establishment of a "New Town Centre", which will be an example to follow even on international level, by maximally taking into consideration the local energy source features. The "New Town Centre" will include a new Town Hall, service and public institutions, and 12 large and small dwelling units (Thermal Residential Park).
- Estimated population involved: 6.007
- Approx. geographical area coverage: 69,19 km²
- Approx. energy saving (in %): Information will follow
- Approx. energy from RES (in %): Information will follow