Norway:

Norway Invests In Deep Geothermal Energy
(Eurasia Review)

The Research Council of Norway has granted NOK 24 million to the four-year project NEXT-Drill, in which scientists and industry will develop the technology and tools needed to produce geothermal heat from the earth.

Geothermal heat is available all over the world, and is a clean, stable, inexhaustible, and “weather-proof” source of energy. At Norway’s latitudes, the ground temperature rises by about 20 degrees centigrade per kilometre into the crust. Power from this source of energy could play a significant role in the global green energy mix, the group said.

With its strong and innovative oil industry, the group believes that Norway is in a unique position to capture geothermal heat, and drilling technology has evolved significantly in the course of the past ten years, as oil and gas deposits become more and more difficult to access. NEXT-Drill does not primarily concern deep drilling, but will form the basis for it in the future. The focus is rather on more efficient drilling and new methods of drilling in hard rock.