A comprehensive overview on the existing regulatory and financial barriers on geothermal energy utilization in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia

Abstract

Enhanced use of geothermal energy in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia can significantly contribute to achieve the European goal of increasing the use of renewables to 20 % by 2020 due to favourable geothermal conditions in the western part of the Pannonian basin. Nevertheless, further development of geothermal resources by high level of abstraction and simultaneously the safe balance between competing stakeholders interests will be feasible only by efficient sustainable management. High level of cooperation between exploitation right holders and licence authorities is indispensable, thus also high level of public awareness is needed. Both can help to dismantle the most significant regulatory and financial barriers, pave the way to reliable (low risk / highly advanced) geothermal resources development projects which could be able to use up funds and essentially help to achieve the objectives. To help to assess the sustainability of geothermal resources management and to facilitate public cooperation and decision making process we have defined ten main indicators, so called benchmarks which can be applied based on similar criteria in the areas of interest. The proposed ten indicators are: (1) status of the monitoring, (2) best available technology, (3) energy efficiency, (4) utilization efficiency, (5) balneological efficiency, (6) reinjection rate, (7) recharge of aquifer, (8) overexploitation, (9) quality of discharged waste thermal water and (10) public awareness