Summary: | RES Master´s Thesis Verkefnið er unnið í tengslum við Háskóla Íslands og Háskólann á Akureyri The question of energy needed for enhancing human comfort has recently become very popular and geothermal energy, as one of the most promising renewable energy sources, has started to be utilized not only for recreation purposes, but also for heating and probably electricity generation in Slovakia. Slovakia is a country which has proper geological conditions for geothermal source occurrence. Kosice Basin seems to be the most prospective geothermal area – the reservoir rocks are Middle Triassic dolomites with fissure karstic permeability and basal Karpathian clastic rocks at the depth of 2100 – 2600 m, with an average temperature around 135 °C. Seismic data from the central part of Kosice basin enabled the demonstration of position, spatial distribution, morphology and tectonic structure of reservoir rocks and their Neogene overlier as an insulator. Based on a 3D tectonic model, reservoir rocks are segmented into individual blocks which probably do not communicate with surrounding blocks in terms of geothermal water flow. Tectonic and geologic aspects affect the thickness of sedimentary sequences, which is demonstrated by variable thickness in the whole space of the modeled area. The model showed at least one potential geothermal area, but for further evaluation detailed geophysical measurements are needed. Geothermal sources in central Kosice Basin as a home source can reduce dependence on gas and other fossil fuels. Utilization of geothermal sources can secure energy supply for Kosice town and prevent future shortages in energy as happened in January 2008 when Russia cut gas supply to part of Europe, including Slovakia. Geothermal utilization produces much less greenhouse gasses as conventional fossil fuel plants and in the case of reinjection there is no emission to the atmosphere. Probably the biggest disadvantage of geothermal utilization in the area of interest is high capital cost.
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