Regional Assessment of Geothermal Potential in Romania: a Volumetric Heat-in-Place Approach

Neaga, Teodora (2025) Regional Assessment of Geothermal Potential in Romania: a Volumetric Heat-in-Place Approach. Bachelor's Thesis, Physics.

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Abstract

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source derived from the Earth’s internal heat, and is considered a strong candidate for stable baseload energy, unlike other renewable sources that are limited by intermittency. In Romania, geothermal resources are limited to low-enthalpy uses such as balneology, greenhouse heating, and localized district heating. The national potential remains underutilized, with most developments concentrated in the western part of the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the geothermal resource potential of Romania, by combining geothermal gradient data with a volumetric heat-in-place approach, using geological cross sections from the three main sedimentary basins in the country: the Pannonian Basin, Transylvanian Basin, and Moesian Platform. The results show that geothermal gradients vary significantly across the country, ranging between 16 and 50 ◦C · km−1, with the highest values recorded in the Pannonian Basin. Their distribution is broadly consistent with current applications, but reveal untapped potential in the Moesian Platform and Transylvanian Basin. The total recoverable heat was estimated at approximately 634 EJ over a surface area of 5080 km2. The calculated technical potential is around 0.021 EJ per year, which represents around 4% of Romania’s annual heating and cooling demand. The main limitation of this study was the lack of publicly available data, which restricted the analysis to around 2% of Romania’s surface area....

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis)
Supervisor name:	Miocic, J.M.
Degree programme:	Physics
Thesis type:	Bachelor's Thesis
Language:	English
Date Deposited:	07 Jul 2025 12:30
Last Modified:	07 Jul 2025 12:30
URI:	https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/35916

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