Serbia is advancing exploratory drilling for a geothermal district-heating development at Mišeluk in Novi Sad. Municipal utility JKP Novosadska toplana is carrying out the drilling and preparing the associated heat-distribution network.
The project is supported through the Geothermal Energy in Serbia programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme with financing from Slovakia’s Ministry of Finance and cooperation from Serbia’s environment and energy ministries.
The immediate work is exploratory rather than a final investment decision. Drilling must establish temperature, flow rate, reservoir sustainability and water chemistry before plant capacity, heat-pump requirements and network economics can be defined.
Its strategic relevance lies in the demand segment it addresses. District heating is a major source of Serbian gas consumption. A viable geothermal system can provide stable local heat without relying on electricity-market prices or imported fuel during each operating hour.
Mišeluk will still require pumps, heat exchangers, treatment systems, reinjection infrastructure and backup boilers. The investment case depends on the temperature delivered at the wellhead and the distance to sufficiently dense heat demand.
The project nevertheless points towards a broader diversification model for Serbian municipal utilities. Solar additions reduce daytime electricity prices, batteries shift energy across hours, wind provides a different generation profile, and geothermal heat displaces gas directly without first converting renewable electricity into thermal energy.
