Boosting local ecosystems for the use of geotermal energy in the communities

Details

Acronym: GeoAtlantic
Reference:EAPA_527/2016
Partners: Concello de Ourense, Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER) de Canarias, Centro Tecnológico de Eficiencia y Sostenibilidad Energética (EnergyLab); Associação de Municipios da Cova da Beira (AMCB); Centre for Renewable Energy Research (CIENER) del Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial (INEGI) of Portugal; Universidade de Porto; Islay Energy Trust- IET; Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Energy (ALIENERGY); Eden Project- EP; Agence Locale de l’Energie et du Climat -ALEC; Cork Institute of Technology (CIT); European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) y EDA RENOVÁVEIS. Associated partners: Associação das Agências de Energia e Ambiente (Rede Nacional), Direção Regional da Energia da Região Autónoma dos Açores, Cámara municipal de Ribeira Grande de Açores and la Cámara Municipal de Povoaçao de Açores.
Duration:   01/09/2017 – 31/08/2021
Budget: 2.867.469,64 €
Financing: Programa INTERREG Espacio Atlántico.

Project overview

The GeoAtlantic project: Boosting local ecosystems for the use of geothermal energy in the communities, seeks to promote the use of geothermal energy in communities, through the joint development of tools and methodologies that allow the implementation of favorable local ecosystems, both for electrical energy as for thermal. In this sense, action will be taken to improve the knowledge and capacities of the different actors, in support of technology transfer, as well as in the implementation of local policies and pilot demonstrations of the use of geothermal energy.

The general objective of the project is to develop methodologies and cooperation tools in order to create the necessary conditions to favor the energy transition in the Atlantic Area through the promotion of local geothermal resources.

The specific objectives of GeoAtlantic are the following:

  • Develop cooperation among private, public and research stakeholders through the articulation of the geothermal energy value chain of a specific community or local territory.
  • Promote the development of local policy frameworks and support instruments to promote the energy transition and the promotion of geothermal energy.
  • Train communities and local authorities to give an effective response from the energy point of view to the threat posed by climate change.
  • Increase the social acceptance of renewable energies, especially geothermal energy by local communities.
  • Awareness among the public and local communities, especially among SMEs, about the relevance and business opportunities available in the use and application of geothermal energy.

ITER, as the local partner of the Canary Islands, has developed geochemical surveys in different mining domains of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, for geothermal exploration purposes. These works have shown which areas or domains could a priori show a greater probability of harboring hidden geothermal resources.

The future works proposed by ITER within the framework of the project are studies of the Atlantic Area areas with the capacity to host geothermal resources of medium-high enthalpy. For this purpose, ITER will develop geochemical campaigns of CO2 and other volatiles diffuse degassing in the surface soil environment on La Palma island of La Palma (Canary Islands), on the island of Terceira (Azores) and also a complete hydrogeochemical study of different hot springs in Galicia with the objective of evaluating the geochemical and isotopic composition of dissolved gases in said thermal waters.

Main results:

  • 4 Technology transfer experiences promoted
  • 8 Territories with a mapping of their geothermal potential
  • 36 Parties involved to implement good practices in renewable energy
  • 2 Regional policies for the use of geothermal sources
  • 8 Territories with an improved local energy policy thanks to the results of the project
ESPACIO ATLANTICO WEB GEOATLANTIC