Great Potential of Geothermal Sources in Legrad

The mayor of the Podravina Municipality of Legrad Ivan Sabolić expressed satisfaction with the results of the testing of two exploratory wells, which showed great potential for the utilization of geothermal sources for electricity production.

The company Terra Energy Generation Company, owned by the Turkish company Soyak, received the results of the geothermal reservoir testing, which indicated that the temperature of the underground water is approximately 150 degrees Celsius in the reservoir, contains no undesirable elements, and the pressure is satisfactory for exploitation, Sabolić told Hina.

As the research has been completed, the concessionaire is in the phase of submitting a request to obtain a field exploitation contract, that is, to convert the exploratory field into an exploitation one.

The concessionaire is simultaneously working on resolving property-legal relations and preparing an environmental impact study to obtain a location permit for the construction of the power plant, says Sabolić.

The potential of the source is such that the power plant could produce 98 megawatts of electricity, but initially, the plan is to build a facility that will provide 20 megawatts.

The actual potential of the reservoir will be demonstrated by additional research of the two wells, which will begin in May next year; it will show what the ultimate limits of geothermal utilization for electricity production are. So far, each well has been tested separately, and future research will focus on the parallel investigation of both wells.

The new power plant brings millions of euros to the budget.

Sabolić estimates that the exploitation of the hot water reservoir in the Legrad area could start as early as 2026, and realistically in 2027.

Between May 1 and 15, they are required to submit a request for the Optimal Technical Solution for Connection Report (EOTRP), which allows them to connect to the power line.

The problem is that the regulator only accepts requests once a year, between the two mentioned dates, and if the interested party fails to submit the complete documentation on time, they must wait a year.

If the exploiter receives prior electricity consent in July, they then have to wait almost a year to submit the documentation for the EOTRP. This is a nonsense that is not known anywhere in the world, complains Sabolić.

It is extremely important for the mayor of Legrad that the power plant is operational as soon as possible because it will increase the municipal budget by millions of euros, to the extent that there will no longer be a need for co-financing their own projects with money from EU funds.

The planned budget for next year amounts to 2.1 million euros, and this amount includes projects for the construction of a hostel and kindergarten that will be co-financed by the EU, notes Sabolić.