Hungarian Minister of Technology and Industry Laszlo Palkovics said that the Government is looking to increase domestic energy production in order to strengthen independence from energy imports.
Minister Palkovics reminded that Hungary is already in talks with the European Union regarding 16 billion euros in funding to strengthen the country’s energy sovereignty.
He said that the Government is looking into exploiting the shale gas fields near Mako in southeast Hungary and reopening the oil wells in southwestern Zala County. These alternative technologies seemed unimportant earlier, but may be needed in this new environment. The goal is to raise Hungary’s gas production to an annual 2.5 billion cubic meters from current 1.5 billion.
Other projects include reconstruction of Matra thermal power plant in northern Hungary and shutting down the units using lignite in 2025, which will be held in reserve and replaced by a hydrogen plant and a solar power plant.
