In 2018, SZETÁV Ltd., in the consortium of Geo Hőterm Kft. and Nemzeti Fejlesztési Programiroda Kft., submitted and won a KEHOP tender for the conversion of 15 gas based heating circuits to renewable energy. The total value of the 5 projects is HUF 22 billion, the support intensity is 40%. Geo Hőterm Kft. and NFP Kft. receive the support, and these partners also provide the own contribution. The specialists of InnoGeo Ltd had a prominent role in the development of the projects and the creation of the professional concept, our experts also continuously monitor the implementation and provide professional advice to the implementers.
The developments supply the heating plants of the District Heating Company of Szeged (SZETÁV Ltd.) with geothermal energy. In the course of the projects, new 1,700-2,000 m deep extraction and re-injection thermal wells are created in the Északi, Tarján, Rókus, Belváros, Felsőváros, Makkosháza and Odessza districts, which will produce thermal water with an average yield of 80 m3/h and a temperature of 90°C. The water extracted from the 9 thermal wells does not enter the district heating or domestic hot water network, but is used through the heat exchangers of the heating plants, and then returned to the deep water storage layers with the help of 18 injection wells. As a result of the projects, nearly 15 million m3 of burned natural gas are replaced with 350,000 GJ of geothermal energy, cutting SZETÁV’s harmful emissions by 25,000 tons of CO2 per year, reducing the greenhouse gas load in the city’s air.
As a result of the development, the proportion of renewable energy will be 50% in the district heating of Szeged, the air condition and the security of supply will improve: a total of 26,464 apartments will receive geothermal energy. This development is currently the largest geothermal district heating project in Europe.