Turkish company awarded geothermal exploration concession in Lendava, Slovenia
Lendava Castle, Lendava, Slovenia (source: Silverije, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
25 Jul 2025
A geothermal exploration concession in Lendava, Slovenia has been granted to Verde Energy, a subsidiary of Turkish company Soyak Enerji.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia, through the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy, has granted a geothermal research concession for an area in the municipality of Lendava to Verde Energy doo. The concession covers the exploration of geothermal potential using surface studies, and possibly, drilling and testing of geothermal wells.
Verde Energy is owned by Turkish company Soyak Yinelenebilir Enerji, part of the Soyak Holding Group. Aside from geothermal projects in Türkiye, the Soyak Group is also involved in geothermal development efforts in Croatia through local subsidiary Terra Enerji.
The concession was granted under the Act on the Introduction of Devices for the Production of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources. The act allows the state to grant such concession without going through a tender, on the condition that there is sufficient data on the geothermal potential of the site, and that the proposed project will contribute significantly to advancing the acquisition of data related to power generation from geothermal energy.
Another condition under the Act is that a concession can be granted under these conditions only if the geothermal project is planned as a closed system, either by using probes or by the provision of a reinjection well.
Lendava is also the site of a 50-kW geothermal pilot plant in Centiba by state-owned Dravske Elektrarne Maribor (DEM), which produced its first electricity in 2024. This facility utilizes an existing non-productive gas well, Pg-8, to produce geothermal power.
Source: Lendavainfo and Vestnik
