14 May The Xunta carries out a study to know the hydrothermal capacity of As Burgas.

The general director of Enerxía e Minas presented the work to the council but did not provide data on the feasibility of projects – The area of Urban Planning indicates that permission was granted to operate in that area.

The resources available in the area of As Burgas, in terms of geothermal energy, is a recognized reality, hence the Xunta de Galicia launched a study to learn about the hydrothermal capacity of this area located in the historic center of the city. Thus, yesterday, the General Manager of Enerxía e Minas, Ángel Bernardo Tahoces, went to the City Council to present the work that the company Geocisa will carry out to know the capacity it has.

In the meeting that he held with the mayor, Jesús Vázquez, and in which the councillor of thermalism, Jorge Pumar, was present, the general director of Enerxía highlighted that although the properties and benefits of the thermal waters are well known, until now there was no quantification of the flow to determine the rational use of the resource, which is the objective of the works to be carried out. But without providing any data on any of the projects carried out in the area, both public and private.

At the end of the meeting, the Xunta de Galicia explained that after the “documentary analysis”, geological and hydrological surveys will be carried out on the surface to update the inventory of groundwater points, as well as “automatic monitoring to measure the continuous flow, temperature, conductivity or level of the thermal water”, and the corresponding data analysis to evaluate the results.

Usefulness

Another of the issues that is stressed by the Xunta, in relation to the study being carried out, is that the results of it may be used to continue advancing in the “pioneering project of Ecobarrio”, an initiative that aims to take advantage of one of the main qualities of the so-called thermal capital of Galicia, geothermal energy, and which plans to establish the first network of geothermal Europe through a district heating project that has a budget of 8.3 million euros.

A project that contemplates the use of this energy source to supply heating and hot water to fifty buildings in the A Ponte neighbourhood, and which is the epicentre of a project that forms part of a joint initiative that is to be developed with European funds.

This is why the presentation of the works by the Xunta de Galicia confirms the commitment to both the protection of hot springs and the promotion and use of local resources to promote their rational use, and concludes in its justification that it is a question of “moving towards a green economy“.

As for specific questions, the person in charge of the Thermalism area, Jorge Pumar, points out that this specific question depends on the PERI of the historical centre of the city, therefore on the Town Planning Department, whose head, José Cudeiro, who, although he did not participate in the meeting, explained that “our task is to grant the necessary permits to be able to carry out different actions“.

As for the first phase, the Xunta has the permits for the placement of different equipment for underground drilling, if necessary, which would already form part of a second phase. Cudeiro indicates that the corresponding applications were submitted to the Town Planning Department and that they were favourably received. But he warns that it will depend on another subsequent report from Patrimonio to carry out the actions planned within the study commissioned from the company Geocisa, which aims to know the real hydrothermal capacity that exists in the area of As Burgas.

Source: Faro de Vigo