150 leading companies call on President von der Leyen to prepare a European strategy to unlock geothermal
Brussels, 11th April 2022 – 150 companies called on Commission President von der Leyen to prepare a European strategy for geothermal energy.
With the right policies in place, geothermal could meet half of the EU’s heating and cooling demand by 2030 as well as providing balancing services for intermittent renewables and vast stores of lithium and other raw materials needed to accelerate the energy transition and security of supply.
The geothermal value-chain is as diverse as the many services it provides. Signatories to the letter range from utilities providing heating and cooling services alongside power generation, multinational energy service companies, the financial sector and project developers.
It also includes Geological Surveys, which are government departments responsible for managing national subterranean resources and strong coverage from CEE countries which can benefit the most by replacing reliance on imported Russian gas by domestically sourced geothermal heating and cooling.
Philippe Dumas, Secretary General of EGEC stated that “Even half the attention given to hydrogen, wind and solar would allow the private sector to crowd-in investments in geothermal due to its long lifespans, low operational costs and immense energy supplies”.
He added, “The climate and Russian gas dependency crises reinforce the need to develop geothermal now,” and that “The EU strategy for geothermal will provide the necessary political focus to unlock regulatory barriers and unleash this vital renewable energy resource”.
The letter is available here:
https://www.egec.org/wp-content/uploads/position_papers/2022-Geothermal-strategy-letter-FINAL-1.pdf
- Geothermal heat pumps are the most cost-effective renewable heating solution compared to gas and other renewable heating technologies according to the International Energy Agency’s 2021 Renewables Report.
- Geothermal heat pumps are good for property values: In Sweden, household retail agencies found houses with Geothermal Heat Pumps increased property prices by about €10-12,000
- Geothermal district heating is the most cost-effective source for large-scale decarbonisation. ADEME, the French environment agency, found that the levelised cost of geothermal district heating was €15 MWh compared to €51 MWh from fossil sources in 2019.
- It’s the ‘go to’ solution for urban and rural cities. Cities all over Europe are opting for large-scale geothermal district heating systems.
- Grid balancing: Geothermal electricity provides baseload electricity solving security of supply threats and intermittency from by removing dependence on the import of fossil fuels from third countries.
- Available everywhere. Heat reservoirs and basins have only been mapped in some regions and in some countries. Over 25% of the EU’s population can be supplied by geothermal district heating by using resources mapped in 2013. Combined with geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), nearly half of the EU’s heat demand can be met by 2030.
- Sustainable lithium and other mineral extraction: Geothermal
Note: Many areas yet to be mapped
operations in Germany, France, Italy and the UK have started to extract lithium hydroxide and other related lithium chemicals from existing and new geothermal capacity. This zero-emission extraction is the foundation of a sustainable lithium-ion battery value chain in Europe.Geothermal heat pumps are the most cost-effective renewable heating solution compared to gas and other renewable heating technologies according to the International Energy Agency’s 2021 Renewables Report.
Background
- There is enough geothermal energy stored to meet today’s energy demand over 100 million times.
- Geothermal energy provides renewable baseload heating, cooling and power in Europe and globally.
- Geothermal heat pumps are good for property values: In Sweden, household retail agencies found houses with Geothermal Heat Pumps increased property prices by about €10-12,000
- Geothermal district heating is the most cost-effective source for large-scale decarbonisation. ADEME, the French environment agency, found that the levelised cost of geothermal district heating was €15 MWh compared to €51 MWh from fossil sources in 2019.
- It’s the ‘go to’ solution for urban and rural cities. Cities all over Europe are opting for large-scale geothermal district heating systems.
- Grid balancing: Geothermal electricity provides baseload electricity solving security of supply threats and intermittency from by removing dependence on the import of fossil fuels from third countries.
- Available everywhere. Heat reservoirs and basins have only been mapped in some regions and in some countries. Over 25% of the EU’s population can be supplied by geothermal district heating by using resources mapped in 2013. Combined with geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), nearly half of the EU’s heat demand can be met by 2030.
- Sustainable lithium and other mineral extraction: Geothermal
Note: Many areas yet to be mapped
operations in Germany, France, Italy and the UK have started to extract lithium hydroxide and other related lithium chemicals from existing and new geothermal capacity. This zero-emission extraction is the foundation of a sustainable lithium-ion battery value chain in Europe.
Contact:
Sanjeev Kumar // Head of Policy // s.kumar@egec.org // +32 499 53973
