Geothermal prospectors in Almeria hope to find heating for greenhouses by digging deeper

The first geothermal prospecting project to heat agricultural greenhouses in Spain is being carried out in Níjar, Almería, where a company is drilling down into the ground in search of renewable energy

One of the great challenges facing the planet in the next century is finding ways to generate energy and produce food without damaging the environment, as well as using the natural resources on offer to us with greater efficiency.

Although using naturally generated heat is nothing new, geothermal heat has become a consistent and expanding source of energy in other parts of the world in recent years. The heat contained in rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust is used to produce power by digging extremely deep wells into underground reservoirs to access steam and hot water.

Geothermal energy is a carbon-free, renewable, sustainable form of energy that provides a continuous, uninterrupted supply of heat that produces just one-sixth of the carbon dioxide generated by natural gas plants and is not an intermittent source like wind or solar power.

All of this means it could come in very handy to heat Almería’s many greenhouses in the colder months and, by employing heat transfer technology, also to cool them in the hotter months, allowing farms to make more efficient, cost-effective use of their greenhouses all year round.

The company in charge of the prospecting in Níjar, Cardial Recursos Alternativos, received authorization for the project in 2019 but has now asked the Andalusian regional government to let them dig deeper, after finding that the initial borehole depth of 1,200 metres will not be sufficient due to the thickness of layers of rock. Permission has now therefore been granted for drilling to go down to a maximum of 2,500 metres.

Cardial intends to spend more than four million euros on the project, which aims to build three geothermal energy plants in two years, providing sustainable renewable energy and creating jobs in the area, as well as hopefully helping Almería agricultural producers to run more profitable and environmentally friendly concerns.