There is a broad professional and social consensus in Hungary that geothermal energy is essential to strengthen our national energy sovereignty, said Marell Bíró, President of the Supervisory Authority of Regulatory Affairs in Hungary (SZTFH) after the inaugural session of the Hungarian Geothermal Cluster. He set out a five-point plan to tap into Hungary’s vast geothermal energy potential.
The president underlined that locally produces energy, such as geothermal energy is becoming more and more valuable. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, several smaller or larger energy sources can jointly ensure our energy sovereignty, he pointed out.
Hungary is in an exceptionally good position in terms of geothermal resources. However, although geothermal investments in the past 12 years more than quadrupled in the country, Hungary has been so far reluctant to take advantage of these opportunities due to high investment costs, financial risks and the necessity of a very close cooperation on the heat market and heat production, explanied the president of SZTFH.
However, there is a broad professional and social consensus in the country that the widest possible utilisation of geothermal energy is essential to strengthen Hungary’s energy sovereignty, he emphasised. The president of the SZTFH summarized in five points the prerequisites of exploiting Hungary’s untapped geothermal potential:
- Supportive regulations, which provides a more simple legal framework;
- Predictable investor environment, which makes profit calculations easier for investors;
- Responsible management of national data assets to provide all essential information for investors;
- The efficient use of extracted energy enabling the connection of facilities with different needs;
- Partnerships which connect various state, local and private stakeholders into a network.
The president recalled that in the fall of 2022, in the midst of the energy crisis, the Hungarian government entrusted the licensing and supervision powers of geothermal energy production and utilisation entirely to the Supervisory Authority of Regulatory Affairs.
The goal of the establisment of the Hungarian Geothermal Energy Cluster is to encourage knowledge-share on regulatory affairs and to ensure that Hungary can expoloit the untapped potential of geothermal energy of the Carphatian Basin strengthening this way the country’s energy sovereignty, explained the President of SZTFH.
He underlined that experts with diverse professional background were invited to launch Hungary’s Geothermal Energy Cluster. The Cluster brings together domestic stakeholders from the professional, scientific, investor and construction side to create the foundations of dialogue among stakeholders.
The Supervisory Authority of Regulatory Affairs will also launch an event series with eight stops accross Hungary to present the advantages of geothermal energy and to raise the awareness of local stakeholders about its potentials, the president revealed.
