On May 19th, 2023, was the end of a successful 5-day study visit to Iceland by members of the project team from the City of Karlovac, Croatia. The purpose was to see and learn from the experience of Icelanders on how to utilize geothermal resources, but in Iceland such utilization has been very successful over the last half a century.
The visiting group consisted of employees from the company Geotermika d.o.o. and the City of Karlovac , which partakes in the implementation of the project “Using geothermal energy for heating purposes in the City of Karlovac – PREP4KaGT-1”. This project is financed by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA) 2014-2021 with national co-financing of the Republic of Croatia within the “Energy and Climate Change” programme.
The host of the study visit was ÍSOR (Iceland GeoSurvey – www.isor.is), which organized several workshops and meetings where the project was presented as well as the activities being carried out.
At the same time, round table discussions was held where representatives of several different companies and institutions participated (NTE – North Tech Energy, GRO-GTP – Geothermal training program, Verkis Consulting and Iceland Renewable Energy Cluster (IREC), which are all companies that provide consulting, research, exploitation and modernization processes in the field of geothermal energy, as well as district heating systems and potential direct use of geothermal energy.
During the study trip, a visit to geothermal district heating companies and geothermal power companies was carried out and presentations and fruitful discussions occurred, with Reykjavík Energy, Veitur and HS-Orka. Visits to geothermal wells, district heating stations and powerplants was organized.
A visit was also organized to the Agricultural University of Iceland and its greenhouses, which deals with the use of natural resources in the production of healthy food and exotic plants.
The goal of the study visit is to acquire additional knowledge and experience, as well as to establish potential cooperation with companies from Iceland, which will further contribute to strengthening the capacity for management and promotion of renewable energy sources and create foundations for continued cooperation and future joint projects.
The project holder is GeotermiKA d.o.o. in partnership with the City of Karlovac and ÍSOR from Iceland. The total value of the project is EUR 754,734.70, while the share of grants is EUR 504,268.45, and the project lasts from May 24, 2022. until 24.02.2024.
