Source: XUNTA/Photographer: xoan crespo
The president of the Cluster da Xeotermia Galega (Acluxega), Manuel López, stressed that Galicia "is leading", in Spain, the geothermal energy sector and that the implementation of these technologies in the community is "six times higher than the national average". Several experts, who participate in a meeting on the sector, have underlined the "tremendous possibilities" of Galicia in the field and have pointed out that "in the future" electricity can be generated "even" in this way.
"We have a very adequate subsoil because it has very high thermal conductivity and we have good professionals," said Manuel López, in statements to the media during the I Congress of Xeothermia of Galicia. The growth of geothermal exploitations, he pointed out "is maintained, despite the crisis" because "very high levels of energy efficiency" have been achieved.
To illustrate, he has indicated that the number of visas for the construction of buildings - the technology has as its main application the climatic and heating systems of buildings - has fallen and, however, that of geothermal installations "in the last two years has been maintained". "It is a technology that is being incorporated in a decisive way into the market," he said.
In this sense, the Minister of Economy and Industry, Javier Guerra, who opened the day, said that the Galician Government "is committed to geothermal energy" and aspires to "demonstrate" that renewable energies are also "profitable". In this context, he indicated that the Xunta is developing "a regulatory framework that clarifies the use" of this energy source and has advanced that the order to regulate its use will be ready "at the beginning of the year".
The standard, he pointed out, will be "pioneering in Spain", where there are no specific regulations for the sector, he said. Thus, Guerra has advocated "eliminating" the technical and administrative "barriers" to develop geothermal and showing that the economic drawbacks – this technology is more expensive than traditional heating systems – "are salvageable". "The Galician Government is involved in achieving the leadership of the geothermal sector in Galicia," he proclaimed.
Clean energies, he added, "are a great opportunity" for the community "in the short, medium and long term", so he has encouraged entrepreneurs to "turn around" to achieve the "massive implementation of non-polluting sources". Among the advantages of geothermal, he has indicated that "it does not burn any fuel" and allows savings in heating of more than 30%.
The president of the cluster --which brings together 50 companies, almost 90% of the existing ones-- has celebrated that the Xunta prepares an order to regulate the use of this energy, which "has taken time" to reach Galicia and has not begun to be used until "six or seven years ago", despite the fact that the countries of northern Europe take advantage of it for 40 years. The Galician market, now, "is a little ahead" of the Spanish and concentrates 35% of the installations of this type, that is, between 480 and 500 of the more than 1,300 counted in Spain.
"They are facilities that are a little more expensive than the traditional ones, but then, the operating costs and consumption, is 70% or 75% lower than a traditional system," he defended and added that "polluting emissions are three or four times lower."
"VERY FAVORABLE" CONDITIONS
The head of the Mineral Resources Research area of the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain (IGME), Celestino García de la Noceda, has indicated that Galicia "has tremendous possibilities", both in the deep uses and in the "shallow" --surface deposits--. "It has great possibilities, even for the generation of electricity in the future," he said.
Granite soils are "very favorable" for geothermal energy, he added and pointed out that, in the case of Galicia, they are "easier to drill than in other cases", which gains energy and economic efficiency. For this reason, he has asked politicians to assume a commitment to these uses and has opted to train professionals to prevent "low-qualified companies" from entering the sector "distorting the results".
COLLECTORS IN NEW BUILDINGS
For his part, the professor of Prospecting and Mining Research at the School of Enxeñeiros de Minas de Vigo, Enrique Orche, has proposed that geothermal collectors be included in the foundations of the new buildings. "It implies an irrelevant cost with respect to that of the building and you can have solved the air conditioning for 50 years," he explained. They are "very proven and simple" technologies, he said and encouraged architects to study this possibility.
He also indicated that this energy has advantages, in addition to being renewable, such as reducing dependence on fuels and providing energy to a dispersed rural environment such as Galicia. (EUROPA PRESS)
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