O Ombria Resort, which will be born between Querença and Tôr, in Loulé, is installing an "innovative geothermal system" that will contribute to a "significant reduction in CO₂ emissions".
That resort will respond to the «needs for indoor heating and cooling, the production of domestic hot water and the heating of water in the swimming pools of the hotel complex — which includes the Viceroy at Ombria Resort hotel, 65 tourist apartments for sale (Viceroy Residences), restaurants , conference center, the Clubhouse of the golf course, Spa, among other infrastructures», says the Ombria Resort.
Due to this dimension, «this is a unique and innovative project in the scope of the use of geothermal heat pumps in Portugal and will be in charge of Synege, a Portuguese company specialized in consulting and projects in the areas of engineering, geology and energy».
This geothermal system “is sustainable and uses the renewable energy that exists in the form of heat in the earth's subsoil. Underground heat exchangers will allow heat transfer to geothermal heat pumps”.
«This equipment is reversible and can be used for cooling or heating indoor environments, as well as for the production of domestic hot water or swimming pool heating. The geothermal system will work on a model of heating in winter and cooling in summer, with a reasonable thermal balance at the global level of the development and the subsoil».
Despite being little implemented in Portugal, low depth geothermal “has been proven in several countries in northern Europe and the USA, among others. One of the main advantages of this system is the promotion of the sustainable development of energy use».
In addition, this system contributes to a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions, since it is a system with a large renewable contribution, with limited use of fossil fuels and no emission of gases or fumes into the atmosphere.
«Geothermal heat pumps have a particularly high efficiency due to the practically constant temperature of the heat source (the subsoil), allowing the equipment to be used almost always in excellent conditions and with very good coefficients of performance», says Pedro Madureira, responsible by Synege's technical team.
“In addition, being a renewable energy with proven energy efficiency, geothermal heat pumps allow the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, allowing a more sustainable consumption”, he adds.
According to Carla Lourenço, Director of Services at the General Directorate of Energy and Geology, «the Ombria Resort project was a learning laboratory both in terms of installing the system itself, given its dimensions and recommended solutions, and in the development of procedures for its licensing, which helped in the work leading to the creation of a coherent regulatory framework adapted to this new reality».
"The continuous monitoring of its operation may, in the future, clarify doubts that may still exist, thus allowing for a greater adequacy of the regulatory framework that may be established and, as such, result in an even friendlier framework for the development of use. of this technology', he explains.
"The perseverance and resilience of the promoters of this project is recognized, who, in the face of various obstacles that certainly appeared in the way, never gave up on the Ombria Resort project, which will serve as an example for the installation of new large-scale surface geothermal projects", he adds. Carla Lourenço.
«Since the beginning of the project, we have defined as a priority to adopt good practices to promote excellent energy efficiency, with respect for the environment and anticipating the need for all buildings in the project to become Nearly Zero Energy Building, through the use of renewable energy with a minimal environmental impact», refers, in turn, Julio Delgado, general director of Ombria Resort.
«Ombria Resort intends to pioneer a new generation of resorts in which the environment is a strategic axis in its DNA. Our entire project was structured with the intention of being a reference as an eco-friendly resort in Europe and this is a fundamental step in this direction», stresses Julio Delgado.
This is a “completely safe system, since closed circuits will be used, in which an environmentally innocuous fluid circulates, with no contact with the subsoil”.
"Respect for the environment also extends to the material used to fill the hole, which is an inert material, to the heat exchanger material that is extremely resistant and, even in the drilling process, rigs will be used which, while drilling, they line the hole, preventing the migration of different subsoil layers».
Ombria Resort is scheduled to open the first phase in early 2020.
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