While most environmentalists argue that Hungary should be populated with solar panels or wind turbines, a technology is available that would produce energy for Hungarians more cheaply and more efficiently than anything else. Most of us know that we are a powerhouse of thermal water sources, but few know that geothermal energy can be used to drastically reduce our utility bills in the Carpathian Basin, in addition to splashing around in beautiful spas.
At first, the concept of geothermal energy may seem like an extremely meaningless buzzword, but in fact it means clean, green energy created by the ingenious implementation of a very simple idea. In short, it is about using the Earth's internal heat to produce energy, such as electricity. Anyone can recall from vague geography class memories that the temperature rises by approximately 3°C per kilometer as you move down into the Earth's interior. However, in some areas of Hungary, thermal water of 120°C can be found even two kilometers deep. In other words, in terms of geothermal energy, the domestic potential is huge.
After such an impressive presentation, many people may ask the question, if there are so many good possibilities in this technology, why hasn't someone done this already? The short answer to this is that they have already done it, in Iceland. Today, the island nation provides heating directly with geothermal energy for 93 percent of its households, a very important benefit of which is that the air quality in the Icelandic capital has improved dramatically, and according to some green organizations, it is also of exceptionally good quality in the world.
In the interest of authenticity, it should of course be mentioned that Iceland, which is an active volcanic island, has even more favorable conditions for the exploitation of geothermal energy than Hungary. Despite everything, our country, which is dependent on the Russian gas taps by a thousand threads due to its historical heritage (but as we can see, the Western LNG deliveries would rather only mean a reversal of the direction of dependence - ed.), would have an elementary interest of these clean, renewable energy sources in the largest possible proportion exploitation.
The question arises, if geothermal energy would be such a specifically good solution for our country, then why do we usually only hear about solar panels and windmills in the public. The answer is of course very simple: business interests. We know that with the deterioration of the perception of fossil energy sources and the development of technology, companies that build on various renewable energy sources have invested huge sums in order to win the societies for their own products. So when we read about the comical problem of solar panels and the night, or about wind turbines that kill birds, we better get back on the ground of reality as soon as possible, i.e. the fact that we are most likely reading the narrative written by the manufacturer of a system that utilizes renewable energy.
However, in spite of all this, so much perspective is needed to put the matter of wind energy under scrutiny in Hungary. It should be noted that the government did not, to put it mildly, support the introduction of windmills in Hungary, and with a loose formulation, we could even say that it practically banned it. We do not aim to find a clear answer to the reasons here, but it can be stated that this decision is divisive for both the public and the representatives of the profession. Many support it with conviction, while others vehemently oppose it. However, if we recall the business interests lurking in every corner, then we can consider this to be okay. However, there is a more objective problem with the Hungarian wind energy issue. What's more, there are no significant currents and air movements in our country in terms of meteorology, which are the conditions for wind energy. To put it plainly, the installation of windmills in Hungary would be based on the logic that when the wind blows, it spins a little and produces some electricity, otherwise it looks good in the middle of the rape field when viewed from the highway.
the full text of Pesti Srácok here.
Author: Dávid Samók
Picture: Csaba Krizsán
