On Thursday, February 13, 2025, a working meeting was held between a team of experts from the GeoAlliance project and representatives of the Ministry of Energy, during which a series of essential topics for the future of renewable energy resources in Romania were discussed, with a particular focus on geothermal resources at the country level and biomethane.
GeoAlliance is a bilateral Romanian-Norwegian project that includes research and information dissemination activities in the field of geophysics. It is funded with the support of grants provided by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Romania 2014-2021, within the framework of the SME Growth Program in Romania.
In the opening of the discussion, Lect. Dr. Florina Țuluca, from the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest and director of the GeoAlliance project, presented the results of the project. A special emphasis was placed on the management of scientific databases regarding renewable energy resources such as geothermal and the impact of this data on attracting private investment in the geothermal sector and reducing the costs of investigating the geothermal potential of an area.
She also highlighted the importance of using municipal solid waste that cannot be recycled, either by capturing biomethane emitted from landfills or by incinerating it. In this context, the district heating system of Oslo was mentioned, an example of a SMART city that has effectively implemented the “waste-to-value” concept and thermal energy storage solutions during peak production periods to compensate for moments when market demand is high.
Lect. Dr. Florina Țuluca pointed out that the most recent projects of the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of UB in the field of energy – the Geysir-Baia Mare Project and the Driving Sustainable Urban Futures Project: A Romanian-Norwegian Innovation Geophysical Alliance for Green Transition and SMART City Development (financed with the support of grants awarded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Romania 2014-2021 program, within the SME Growth Program in Romania) aim to contribute to the development and valorization of geothermal resources in Romania.
Prof. Dr. Lucian Petrescu, Dean of the Faculty of Geology and Geophysics of the University of Bucharest, reiterated the continuous support of the academic environment within the faculty he represents for the national energy transition efforts. He mentioned that the specialists working within the institution can contribute significantly through applied research and projects in the field of geothermal resources and renewable energy.
In this context, Georgiana Elena Rădulescu, from the Department that manages development projects of the University of Bucharest, highlighted the importance of collaboration between academia and the energy sector, underlining the capacity of the University of Bucharest to contribute to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for the energy transition.
Andrei Baicu, Ancuța Șchiopu and Anca Vandici, senior advisors and experts of the Ministry of Energy, presented the challenges and opportunities in the field of geothermal resources in the northern area of Bucharest and in the city of Otopeni. They also conducted an analysis of the dynamics of investments in renewable resources made in the recent period, mentioning the ambitious plans for the development of this sector in the medium and long term. They showed that the Ministry aims to support investments in geothermal energy and other renewable sources in order to contribute to Romania’s energy transition and to the achievement of European decarbonization objectives.
In conclusion, the meeting participants agreed on the need to strengthen collaboration between the public, academic and private sectors to stimulate the development of renewable energy resources and accelerate the transition to a sustainable and efficient energy system.
More information about this visit is available here.
The project “Driving Sustainable Urban Futures: A Romanian-Norwegian Innovation Geophysical Alliance for Green Transition and SMART City Development” is co-financed by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Grants Romania 2014-2021, in the frame of the SME Growth Programme Romania. Grant number: 2024/395080. The project is a collaborative initiative between the University of Bucharest’s Faculty of Geology and Geophysics and Pre Stack Solutions – Geo AS (PSS-GEO AS) (www.pss-geo.com).
Additional information about the project is available on the project page, here.