"Ukrgazvydobuvannya" plans to build a geothermal power station in the village of Solotvyno in the Tyachiv district. The Ecofield Solotvyno project is already at the preliminary feasibility study stage. It was presented to investors at the "Carpathian Integration Initiative" summit.
This was reported by the media outlet Zahid.net.
Project features
The construction project requires an investment of $30.7 million. Ecofield Solotvyno has every chance of becoming the first project in Ukraine to establish geothermal energy as a fully-fledged source of energy supply.
The estimated timeframe for the project’s launch is three years. According to data from Forestbrief, it involves the construction of a plant with a capacity of 5 MW for electricity and 20 MW for heat. The expected electricity generation is 32.85 GWh per year.
It is proposed that this energy be utilised in a cascade system. First and foremost, the geothermal resource will be used to generate electricity. The residual heat will then be supplied to heat agricultural and industrial facilities.
The advantages of ‘on-shore’ power generation and the European experience
Unlike solar or wind energy, geothermal energy is not dependent on the vagaries of the weather or the time of day.
Geothermal power stations have already proven their worth in other European countries. For example, in Poland, the 78 MW Geotermia Podhalańska supplies Zakopane and the surrounding settlements, whilst in Slovakia, the 7 MW Galanta plant provides heating for around 1.3 households. In Romania, in the city of Oradea, geothermal energy provides heating for nearly 13,500 residents. The plant there has a capacity of 50 MW.
As previously reported by EcoPolitics, geothermal energy could, in theory, replace fossil fuels. The Ember think tank estimated a 42 per cent replacement rate for the EU alone. Globally, by 2050, geothermal energy could meet up to 15 per cent of the growth in energy demand. Meanwhile, researchers at Stanford University are developing technology that will enable wells for such installations to be drilled not only in a limited number of regions, but across the entire planet.
