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| (Courtesy CIA.gov) |
Geothermal energy was long seen as a promising source of renewable energy, in particular in eastern Slovenia where geothermal potential is highest, but since the introduction of licence fees for geothermal exploitation in 2016, uptake has been stagnating. High licence fees are not the only issue, businesses also complain about onerous rules.
Geothermal energy - essentially water that is heated deep within the Earth's crust and then pumped to the surface - is not officially designated as a renewable source, even if the EU treats it as such. And licence fees for exploitation are also paid by users who only take the heat and then return the cooler water into nature, businesses say.
Several businesses in eastern Slovenia have urged the government to change the rules to designate geothermal energy a renewable resource, or to subsidise the construction of re-injection wells through which water is pumped back below ground after its heat energy has been harvested.
Analyses conducted by several agencies, including the Geological Survey, in the framework of the cross-border project Darlinge suggest Slovenia's geothermal potential is significant but poorly exploited. At present only 123 GWh of geothermal energy is harvested, with potential available energy twenty times as high.