The El Hamma - Chanchou

The growth in renewable energy, including geothermal energy, has predominantly centred around the electricity sector. However, there is significant potential for using geothermal energy in other end-use sectors through direct-use applications such us agriculture. The most common application of geothermal energy in the agricultural sector is greenhouse heating. Geothermal heating is applied in greenhouses mainly to produce flowers, fruits and vegetables on a large scale, making food available throughout the year. The objective of greenhouse heating is to regulate the temperature and humidity in the greenhouse to provide a conducive environment for crops, resulting in a higher production rate, better-quality crops and reduced incidence of disease. The Project’s core focus was to identify hot water resources for greenhouses heating, for growing tomatoes and capsicum in El Hamma – Chanchou region, Southern Tunisia. Gogs team in collaboration with the Gabes High Institute of Water Sciences and Technology conducted geological study to identify the potential geothermal resources, and circuit sizing study. Deep boreholes were then drilled to provide hot water supply from the Continental Intercalaire formation. Hot water in injected into thermal exchange loop to heat the greenhouse, and the cooled water is used for irrigation.