The city of Beius in Romania
The study’s findings were shared at a recent meeting in Beius, attended by the city’s mayor, representatives from the Romanian Geoexchange Society, geothermal experts from Bihor County, and local officials. Baldur Petursson from the Icelandic Environment and Energy Agency emphasized the potential for further geothermal development, noting: “There was potential for further development of geothermal in Beius to benefit from EEA subsidies.” Horia Ban of the Romanian Geoexchange Society presented additional possibilities, explaining how heat from used geothermal brine could be recovered and enhanced with heat pumps for applications like greenhouses, wood drying, and fish farming.
The study also recommended reducing heat losses in the district heating network by adopting specialized materials, such as pre-insulated PE-Xa pipes, to improve efficiency. Beius has leveraged geothermal energy since 1996, when a well drilled to 2,600 meters accessed an 85°C reservoir, enabling affordable heating for apartment buildings, hospitals, nurseries, kindergartens, and other public facilities. Additional wells were drilled in 2004 and 2010, making Beius the city with Romania’s lowest heating costs.
Western Romania has a strong history of geothermal use, but interest is growing elsewhere. In 2024, Bucharest’s utility company ELCEN signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy to explore geothermal heating feasibility in the capital. Later that year, another agreement was made with Sage Geosystems and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for a similar study. These efforts reflect a broader push for sustainable energy solutions across Romania, with Beius leading as a model for geothermal district heating expansion.
