| Title | Portugal Country Update 2022 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joao Carlos Nunes |
| Year | 2023 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | Country Update, Portugal |
| Abstract | In Portugal, the presence of high temperature geothermal reservoirs and the production of electricity from geothermal resources are restricted to the volcanic islands of Azores Archipelago located in the North Atlantic Ocean. Three geothermal binary power plants are installed and running normally in the islands of S. Miguel and Terceira, the most economically developed, with a total capacity running of about 26 MWe and an average production of about 200 GWh/year. The total production of those power plants in 2021 represented about 20% of the total demand of the Azores archipelago. New nine vertical and directional wells were drilled from October 2020 to December 2021 in both islands to increase the total running capacity of power plants, or at least saturate them, especially the Pico Alto geothermal power plant, Terceira Island. In Mainland, the Portuguese government developed in 2021 a national plan to demonstrate the feasibility of using natural mineral water in existing thermal spa as geothermal resources for heating purposes, to replicate a number of direct use operations in due course since the 80’s of the last century. Following the call released in 2018 for geothermal projects, sponsored by the FAI – “Fundo de Apoio à Inovação”, to promote the use of geothermal resources in Portugal, namely the low enthalpy resources associated with Thermal Baths/Spas facilities, two district heating networks for hotels and public buildings are under completion: (i) Chaves (74°C, 15 L/s) and (ii) S. Pedro do Sul (67°C, 17 L/s). Furthermore, in Chaves, an independent small operation operation (110 kWth) was open in January 2022 in an emblematic museum located over an impressive former Roman Bath with innovations regarding the environmental management of the geothermal fluid and its disposal. Concerning GSHP’s the potential is huge and is starting to be exploited, with new projects ongoing and new specific regulation is expected to be approved shortly. There are a few installations registered until now, but the technical data of the installations are scarce and do not represent the totality of what is operating in Portugal. However, in recent years there has not been a positive evolution in new installations. It is hoped that the expected new legislation can contribute to the increase in the use of geothermal heat pumps. |