On April 25th, 2008 the 2nd Geothermal Conference will take place in the framework of RENEXPO® Central & South East Europe, which will be held in Budapest, Hungary from April 24th to 26th, 2008. 
   At this geothermal energy conference markets, potentials, latest technologies, application and practical case studies are shown, highlighting especially the use of geothermal energy in the agriculture industry and the broader commercial industry. It is the first important meeting for geothermal developers and industrials in Europe. 

    We would be delighted if you could inform your readers about the event and conference through the attached press release. 
If so, please also send me a copy of the publication. 

   Thank you very much!

   Please contact me if you have any questions. 

Best regards,
Diana Roehm  Head of International Department

REECO GmbH
Unter den Linden 15
72762 Reutlingen
Germany

Phone: +49 (0)7121-3016-0 Fax: +49 (0)7121-3016-200
e-mail: international@energie-server.de  Web: www.energy-server.com

REECO GmbH
CEO: Johann-Georg Rohm
Stuttgart, HRB 353542
 
 

   On April 25th, 2008 the 2nd Geothermal Conference in Renexpo takes place in Budapest, Hungary. The conference is the first important meeting for geothermal developers and industrials in Europe. 
   The conference takes place at the HUNGEXPO BUDAPEST FAIR CENTER on April 25th, 2008 under the support of the European Commission within project RESTMAC in the 6th Framework Program. At this geothermal energy conference markets, potentials, latest technologies, application and practical case studies are shown, highlighting especially the use of geothermal energy in the agriculture industry and the broader commercial industry.

   Political frameworks and market developments in Europe will be introduced by Burkhard Sanner, EGEC President. 
   Roman Doubrava from the Energy Centre Bratislava, will chair the first session focused on Market & Potential on commercial applications. This session will see lectures on Overview for Europe and the Mediterranean area, Potential for agricultural use in Slovakia & Hungary, Geothermal energy use in the building sector and in transport infrastructure. 

  The second session is dedicated to Technology and Applications, and will be chaired by Bela Adam, Hungarian Scientific Society for Building - Heat Pump Department.
  Experts will offer high-quality information on Geothermal Energy for Agro-Industry, Geothermal energy for communal use - technology and research, Office buildings, supermarkets, Snow melting, Thermal energy storage in industry.

  After these lectures, a session will take place to present several case studies: Greenhouses in the Netherlands-ATES and deep geothermal, Greenhouses in Slovenia, Greenhouses in Romania, Caviar Production in Mios, France, Biohof Achleiter - an agricultural supermarket, Hypermarket: Metro Istanbul, Supermarket example in Hungary, and the Charles de Gaulle Airport: Air vs Ground Water and Ground Source Heat Pump issues.

 It will afford an opportunity to debate with professionals about operational experiences, technical & financial feasibility. 
  This Geothermal Conference is an unique opportunity for the industrial sector to know more about geothermal energy, and an excellent platform to establish European business contacts. 
   The conference invites Industrials, Engineers, Communities, Investors, Project Developers, Energy Suppliers, Technology experts, Consultants, and Political Stakeholders. 
  Speeches and forums will be in English.

   Registration required! 
  The attendance fee is 60 EUR, 50 EUR for EGEC Members, and 20 EUR for Student with Identification. It Includes only the coffee breaks, and the entry to trade fair.
 
 

Organiser: 
 REECO Hungary Kft. 
Tel.: +36-1-225-2141; Fax: +36-1-225-2145 
Tel. international: +49-7121-3016-0; 
Fax international: +49-7121-3016-100 
www.renexpo-budapest.com
hungary@energie-server.de dehungary@energie-server.de  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it 
 

Partner: European Geothermal Energy Council - EGEC 
Energy Centre Bratislava - ECB
 You find the conference program and the registration form at: www.renexpo-budapest.com

   Geothermal energy is the energy stored in form of heat below the earth’s surface. It has been used since antique times for heating, and since 1904 in Italy for electricity generation. 
   50% of the energy consumed in the EU is used for heating and cooling. The energy consumption of an industrial plant is a part of the expenditures more and more important.
   The important price increase of fossil fuels over the last years now renders economically sustainable an intensified use of geothermal energy, and notably shallow geothermal, within the range of renewable energies. It is now possible to amortize the difference of investment costs between classical installations and a geothermal installation in half of the time necessary based on the prices prevalent 2 years ago. 
   In view of the situation in the gas and oil markets, the industry has to pay more attention on the alternative provided by renewable energy.
   Geothermal energy is one of the most widely used renewable energy sources on a world-wide scale, has substantial economic potential and obvious advantages (always available, independent from weather, climatic conditions, etc.).
  In Europe, geothermal knowledge and experience is developed to a high level in several countries. Considering the multitude of opportunities and advantages, geothermal energy could become one of the main pillars of an energy strategy of industry dedicated to maximizing the use of renewable energy sources. 
  Beside supplying a clean energy for heating and cooling through Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) or deep geothermal system, geothermal energy can also provide substantial contributions to other sectors : for regional agricultural and horticultural development, aquaculture, securing of drinking water supply, in the health sector and for tourism. 
   The industrial sector, at least in theory, offers a very attractive target for geothermal use. Industrial processes operate at high load factor relative to other geothermal applications, offer a concentrated load at a single location and in some cases are characterized by energy as a significant portion of production cost. Together these qualities suggest attractive conditions for geothermal application. Geothermal energy may be used in a number of ways in the industrial field. Potential applications could include drying, process heating, evaporation, distillation, washing, desalination, , heap leaching of precious metals, pulp and paper processing, chemical recovery and extraction, and waste water treatment.
   Agriculture has been one of the economy sectors where the direct application of geothermal energy had a quite quick development. Main fields, where practical experience and positive technical/technological and economical results have been gained, are : Heating of greenhouses (About 900 ha of greenhouses are presently heated with geothermal energy), Open fields heating, Irrigation with warm water, Aquaculture, Drying of agricultural products, 

  Possibilities of geothermal : drying in the Aegean islands
   Greece, like several other Mediterranean countries, is rich in geothermal energy. In particular, in the Aegean island and coastal areas there are abundant easily accessible geothermal resources reaching almost 100?C. A review of these resources can be found in Fytikas (2002). 
   Islands with low and moderate temperature geothermal resources include Milos, Santorini, Kimolos, Kos, Nisyros, Evia, Chios, Lesvos and Samothraki.
   Consequently, there is considerable potential for meeting some of the drying requirements of several agricultural products by geothermal energy.
   In Santorini Island (and in other islands in Cyclades) a special variety of small tomatoes (cherry tomatoes) is cultivated for many years. Part of the product is consumed as fresh vegetable, while another part is dried in the sun and is sold as delicatessen. Low-temperature geothermal energy can be used efficiently for dehydrating this variety of tomatoes in these islands. Geothermal drying can be partially substitute the traditional ‘sundrying’ process and eliminate some of the quality problems of the dried products associated with this method. Geothermal water, with temperature as low as 60?C, can be used to heat atmospheric air (to a temperature of 55?C) in finned tube air heater coils (air-water heat exchanger). In case the geothermal water is corrosive, as is usually the case with the saline geothermal waters encountered in the Aegean region, a second water-water heat exchanger may be required, constructed of corrosion-resistant materials.
   It appears that in Cyclades the only traditional agricultural product that can be dried is tomato, because the cultivation of other vegetables and fruits is limited. 
   However, in Evia and the islands of Northern Aegean several fruits (apricots, prunes, figs), and vegetables (e.g. peppers, onions, garlic, asparagus, tomatoes and alfalfa – used for animal feeding) can be dehydrated using geothermal energy.
   In the summer of 2001, a new direct use of geothermal energy was demonstrated in N. Erasmio, Xanthi, dealing with the dehydration of tomatoes. It was shown that low-temperature geothermal energy can be used efficiently and reliably in heating the drying air needed in the dehydration process. With geothermal dehydration the product retains the deepred colour, the nutrients and flavours of the fresh tomatoes and high-quality “sundried” tomatoes are produced.
   The success of the tomato drying will certainly lead to the extension of the unit regarding its capacity, drying period and drying crops (e.g. peppers, asparagus, figs and apricots). Actually, in a pilot scale the unit was used successfully in May 2002 to dehydrate not well dried figs. It is noted that the capacity of the unit (geothermal water, heat exchanger, air fans) is more than double of the 2001 production. Geothermal drying of fruits and vegetables can be accomplished with water temperatures as low as 55°C, something that is fulfilled by most low enthalpy geothermal resources in Greece.
   There is a large low-temperature geothermal potential in several Aegean Islands (Santorini, Milos, Kos, Chios, Lesvos etc.) that can be used for “sun-drying” of locally produced fruits and vegetables. In particular, geothermal energy drying of cherrytomatoes seems to be a viable process in the Cyclades Islands, where this product is cultivated and served as a specialty. 
   Other vegetables and fruits that can be geothermally dehydrated are apricots, prunes, figs and asparagus.

  The drying of fish and utilization of geothermal energy, the icelandic experience :

   The use of geothermal energy for drying of fish and cod-heads is likely to increase in the future. The discussion is mainly focused on the use of geothermal energy in low-heat regions. The fishmeal industry is likely to use geothermal steam in the processing and hopefully within a few years, geothermal steam will be transported through pipes from Svartsengi to Grindavik, where many fish processing plants are located. It can be expected that the price of oil will increase more than the local energy in the future and, therefore, it is worth paying attention to the use of locally available energy sources for the fishing industry.
   New, feasible alternative uses of geothermal energy are within sight, such as in freeze drying of food and one pilot project had analyzed that it is possible, it was recommended that further work on optimizing the technique and a feasibility study for a freeze drying production be done. Use of geothermal energy for drying is highly dependent on the price of crude oil and electricity and marketing prices of dried fish products. Equipment designed for drying fish can also be used for drying other industrial products.

  Uses in food processing industry.
   In total, only a minuscule portion of the geothermal energy potential is as yet explored and in use in Europe. Increasing the use of this renewable energy source, and strengthening the geothermal industrial sector, will allow a substantial contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions, the saving of primary energy, and the creation and sustaining of many workplaces at various skill levels.

   European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC)
With the support of: The Conference is supported by the European Commission within project RESTMAC in the 6th Framework Programme. 
The responsibility for the conference programme is with European Geothermal Energy Council – EGEC and Energy Center Bratislava – ECB only.