The British Government aims to be the “greenest ever”. So it is no surprise that in recent official meetings – and we have many more visitors to Budapest than usual as a result of Hungary’s EU Presidency – UK Ministers and officials have raised the subject of renewable energy and Hungary’s geothermal potential. Thermal waters have long been widely used in tourism and medicine here: but this great natural resource is rarely utilised as a source of energy. There are some success stories such as the small town of Bóly heated entirely by thermal water; vegetable production in greenhouses; heating animal farms; and at least one of Tesco’s flagship stores. But these remain the exception, not the norm. Surprising, given the extensive debate about geothermal possibilities.
The history goes back many years. The floors of the Chambers of the Hungarian Parliament were heated with thermal waters in the early 20th century. But this tradition also existed in Roman times, as can be seen from the extensive ruins of Acquincum, on the outskirts of Budapest. Later the Turks built thermal baths – some of them still in operation in Budapest – in the 16th and 17th centuries, during their 150 year long occupation. And Hungary also boasts Europe’s only cave spa in Miskolc-Tapolca in North-East Hungary as well as Europe’s best known medicinal lake in Hévíz, near the famous Lake Balaton.
Hungary is very rich in deep water springs. They are are not as hot as those in Iceland and therefore not suitable for electricity production. But there are technologies developed by the oil industry that can be used to transfer the heat produced without needing to pass the thermal water through pipes – where the high mineral content would be a problem. Interestingly, exploration of thermal waters in Hungary was a by-product of oil drilling. There are still thousands of former oil wells which have not been plugged and are waiting to be re-used. Although the lower temperature of Hungarian thermal waters might be a disadvantage in energy production, at least we do not have to worry about volcanic eruptions. And fluctuations of energy prices and serious concern about energy security have made this resource well worth developing. Growing electricity demand – partly caused by phasing-out of coal fired plants – could mean that the electricity generating potential of even lower temperature thermal waters could be exploited viably.
The UK’s first geothermal power plant was recently launched in Cornwall. So it is entirely possible that Hungary’s geothermal potential might provide another area for fruitful bilateral cooperation. Since joint implementation geothermal projects could be used to offset CO2 emissions, a wide range of international and industrial partners might be interested: the opportunities are not purely local. And such projects could help with job creation. Gödöllő University (Hungary’s leading agricultural university, in the town that is hosting many Presidency events) says that the area producing vegetables in greenhouses could double with the use of geothermal energy. Given that 2 million tonnes of vegetables are produced in Hungary annually – one third in greenhouses and foil tents – the potential is massive. It could provide many jobs for unskilled workers. And this is something that occupies the minds of the leaders of Hungary and many other European countries – hence the recent discussions in Gödöllő on the importance of increasing employment and of job creation.