Geothermal energy could help in transition from coal in Slovakia
As part of an EU Coal Regions in transition platform, Slovakia could make a move from coal to geothermal energy, getting away from coal subsidies towards cleaner air.
With international efforts on mitigating climate change, Slovakia – long-time supportive of its mining industry – is considering a coal phase-out in its mining and power sector, according to a declaration by the country’s Environment Minister László Sólymos at the One Planet summit in December in Paris, so a recent article by Euractiv.
The environment ministry’s draft environmental strategy 2030, released the same week, argues for a “progressive phase-out of power and heat production from coal” due to local air pollution, calling Slovakia’s annual EUR100 million subsidies for coal power “environmentally damaging”.
European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic also weighed in. The Slovak Commissioner listed his country’s region as one of the EU’s three “pilots” in the newly launched Coal Regions in Transition Platform. According to him, Upper Nitra could move from coal to geothermal energy.
According to the article, Commissioner Sefcovic, a possible candidate in next year’s presidential elections already thinks ahead.
A study by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre on a future economic model for the mining region of Upper Nitra will be presented this month. The way to go is geothermal energy. Sefcovic was “very encouraged by the very successful company GA Drilling looking for new, revolutionary modes of drilling in the very deep underground.” The company experiments with plasma.
Although GA Drilling’s technology has not been commercialised yet, the company has already become Slovakia’s showcase. Sefcovic claims it “is interested in the drilling expertise present in the mines and would like to cooperate directly on a project in Upper Nitra.”
For further details see article linked below.