Hungarian premier describes geothermal as a valid heating option for his country
Széchenyi Medicinal Bath in Budapest, Hungary (source: flickr/ Alex E. Proimos, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
5 Kas 2012
Hungarian Premier names geothermal as the only renewable energy option to help shed the country from its dependency of Russian gas for heating purposes.
Hungary and other countries in Eastern Europe are very much depending on Russian gas for their heating needs. Based on historic experience and a certain feer of unpredictable pricing and political dependency, these countries have been looking increasingly for replacing their dependency on Russian gas.
So it is not surprising to hear about the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, recently talked about Hungary’s interest in importing gas from countries like Azerbaijan and Georgia. He said that renewable energy cannot be a solution to his country’s heating needs with one exception, and that is geothermal.
He describes his country’s hot springs as a sign of the opportunities that his country has for utilizing its geothermal resources. Today about 85% of Hungarian households use gas for heating. So while there still is a push for simply replacing Russian gas with gas from other countries, it is good to hear that the valid heating option provided by geothermal is considered by the Hungarian government.
It will be interesting to hear more about the efforts of companies like Hungarian Pannergy to bring geothermal heating to the region at this year’s GeoPower Europe event, which will take place in Budapest, Hungary December 4-5, 2012.
Source: News.az
