Changes from plenary report to adopted text

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 194 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’),

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2023/2413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001, Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 and Directive 98/70/EC as regards the promotion of energy from renewable sources, and repealing Council Directive (EU) 2015/652,

– having regard to the amendments adopted by Parliament on 14 March 2023 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the energy performance of buildings (recast),

– having regard to the Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Amending Regulations (EU) 2019/943 and (EU) 2019/942 as well as Directives (EU) 2018/2001 and (EU) 2019/944 to improve the Union’s electricity market design,

– having regard to the amendments adopted by Parliament on 14 December 2022 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings and Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency,

– having regard to the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 and the associated Delegated Regulation establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives,

– having regard to Commission Regulation (EU) No 813/2013 of 2 August 2013 implementing Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for space heaters and combination heaters,

– having regard to Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment,

– having regard to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/138 of 21 December 2022 laying down a list of specific high-value datasets and the arrangements for their publication and re-use,

– having regard to the International Renewable Energy Agency report of February 2023 entitled ‘Global geothermal market and technology assessment’,

– having regard to the report of the Clean Energy Technology Observatory entitled ‘Deep Geothermal Heat and Power in the European Union – 2022 Status Report on Technology Development, Trends, Value Chains and Markets’,

– having regard to the report of the Clean Energy Technology Observatory entitled ‘Overall Strategic Analysis of Clean Energy Technology in the European Union – 2022 Status Report’,

– having regard to the European Commission study entitled ‘Geothermal plants and applications emissions: overview and analysis’,

– having regard to the Commission report entitled ‘District heating and cooling in the EU – Overview of markets and regulatory frameworks under the revised Renewable Energy Directive’,

– having regard to the Joint Research Centre report entitled ‘The heat pump wave: opportunities and challenges’,

– having regard to the European Commission 2023 study entitled ‘Overview of heating and cooling - Perceptions, markets and regulatory frameworks for decarbonisation’,

– having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2021 on the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive,

– having regard to its resolution of 10 July 2020 on a comprehensive European approach to energy storage and the Commission recommendation of 14 March 2023 on Energy Storage – Underpinning a decarbonised and secure EU energy system,

– having regard to its resolution of 21 January 2021 on access to decent and affordable housing for all,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (A9-0432/2023),

A. whereas geothermal energy is a valuable and local source of renewable energy that can provide, in a cost-effective way, dispatchable electricity, heat or a combination of both and has great potential for the power sector and for heat production, as well as for sustainable production of raw materials and can be a source of quality jobs;

B. whereas the EU solar energy strategy stated that the proportion of the energy demand covered by solar heat and geothermal must increase at least threefold if the EU is to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets;

C. whereas the production and use of energy account for more than 75 % of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions; whereas regrettably more than a half of final energy consumption in the residential sector for space heating is covered by fossil fuels;

D. whereas the energy price crisis and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have demonstrated the urgent need to increase Europe’s open strategic autonomy; whereas geothermal heating, cooling and power has already contributed to the EU’s efforts to reduce imports of fossil fuels;

E. whereas geothermal energy can contribute to the objectives laid out in the REPowerEU Plan, especially to increasing the production of clean energy and diversifying energy supplies and it has the potential to provide reliable and affordable electricity and heat to industries and businesses, particularly to SMEs, strengthening their competitiveness, as well as to citizens, addressing, among other things, the problem of energy poverty;

F. whereas geothermal energy is a renewable, constant and reliable source of energy that is readily accessible once the necessary infrastructure is in place and that provides a net-zero and local solution to decarbonise district heating networks, in line with the Energy Efficiency Directive’s definition of ‘efficient district heating and cooling systems’, and which can contribute to building local ‘energy communities’ and to collective self-sufficiency in renewable energy consumption;

G. whereas the energy sector’s integration of geothermal technologies will play a crucial role in enhancing the flexibility and efficiency of the energy sector and decreasing its carbon footprint;

H. whereas heat pumps and geothermal energy technologies are listed as strategic net-zero technologies for Europe in the annex of the Commission’s proposal for a Net Zero Industry Act;

I. whereas the industry estimates that geothermal energy can supply more than 75 % of the heating and cooling consumed in Europe and over 15 % of its electrical power by 2040;

J. whereas the comprehensive policy conditions and frameworks needed to boost the development and use of geothermal energy in Europe are still absent at EU level; whereas advances in different policy areas at national level are also urgently needed so as to enable geothermal actors to boost deployment of projects through improved research, strengthening of the supply chain, efficient support schemes and increased public awareness.

Development and potential

1. Notes that the development of technologies has broadened the area suitable for cost-efficient geothermal projects and their scope;

2. Stresses the potential of the ubiquitous low-temperature, shallow geothermal resources that are available in all Member States; highlights the potential of deep-geothermal energy that can be directly used for heat and power generation;

3. Notes that geothermal energy still often plays a peripheral role in the discussion on renewable energy; draws attention to the fact that geothermal installations do not require critical raw materials to the same extent as other renewables; notes that, based on a sustainable life-cycle approach, geothermal has low environmental impact and typically requires limited land use and can easily be integrated into the landscape;

4. Emphasises that geothermal energy offers long-term benefits that can outweigh the high upfront costs associated with its development, such as its being a sustainable source of energy with a low environmental impact, stable and predictable energy costs, low operating costs, long lifespan and reliability that creates business and employment opportunities in local communities, and helps to reduce dependence on imported fuels;

5. Regrets that the potential of geothermal energy has not been sufficiently exploited sooner and that its recent uptake is largely being driven by the energy crisis and an urgent need to ease the socio-economic pressure of demand for heating and cooling in Europe; warns that that influx of subsidised gas, limited public awareness and high upfront investments needed have been effectively hampering the development of geothermal energy for years;

6. Underlines the potential of geothermal energy to make a substantial contribution to attaining key strategic objectives within the EU, including reaching climate targets by decarbonising different industrial sectors, bolstering the EU’s open strategic autonomy by strengthening energy security needs, eliminating fossil-fuel dependencies on unreliable third countries, such as Russia, increasing the competitiveness of European industries and empowering consumers thanks to an affordable and reliable supply of heat and electricity;

7. Stresses that the process of extracting raw materials from geothermal brines in an environmentally sustainable way could help contribute to securing a local and reliable supply of strategic critical raw materials, including lithium, therefore strengthening the EU’s economic resilience; notes, in this regard, that facilities that extract both geothermal energy and raw materials induce higher employment effects than traditional geothermal plants as well as attract businesses looking to use multiple resource streams;

8. Draws attention to geothermal solutions that are able to store excess wind and solar energy for subsequent use in heating, cooling and power production, and their crucial role in the development of renewable-based energy systems; stresses in this regard the role of inactive mines that are particularly well suited to large scale seasonal thermal storage and long-duration electrical storage; underlines the potential of geothermal energy for grid balancing and auxiliary services due to its high capacity factor, flexibility of supply and dispatchable potential;

9. Stresses that the greatest potential of geothermal energy use in the EU lies in district heating and cooling systems and networks of shallow geothermal installations; highlights that they can provide local, baseload and flexible renewable energy and protection against volatile and rising fossil fuel prices; stresses that geothermal can help to decarbonising heating and cooling sector that accounts for almost half of the EU’s overall final energy consumption and contributes up to 35 % of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions related to energy use; notes the potential and growing need for geothermal district cooling that will be an important element of sustainable adaptation to climate change in cities as warmer temperatures and heat waves are expected to become more frequent;

10. Notes the substantial potential of geothermal heat for industrial processes, in particular for low to medium energy intensive processes (below 200 degrees), representing up to half of industrial heat production in Europe; stresses, in this regard, that developing the use of geothermal heat for this purpose would boost the competitiveness of European companies by providing a reliable and affordable source of heat;

11. Underlines also the potential of geothermal heat in domestic food production, in particular for the production of agricultural products, horticulture, and aquaculture; notes that there are already successful examples of geothermal application in these sectors in different European regions; underlines that the use of geothermal heat will contribute to decarbonisation of these sectors and to more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, while reducing production costs, high energy costs, price volatility for producers as well as promoting resilience in food systems;

12. Notes the potential of cascaded use, where the same geothermal fluid is used for multiple purposes; stresses the need to foster cross-industry synergies between geothermal and other sectors, including through shared use of sites, infrastructure, data and workforce skills;

13. Considers that the presence of geothermal energy should be taken into account when designating the geographical location of ‘net-zero industry valleys’ as part of the Net-Zero Industry Act;

Policy recommendations

14. Calls on the Commission to present an EU geothermal strategy giving concrete guidance to Member States and local administrations to accelerate the deployment of geothermal energy in order to decarbonise heating and contribute to the EU’s energy independence and to meet the objective of at least tripling the share of energy demand covered by solar heat and geothermal energy by 2030 as announced in the EU Solar Strategy; highlights that 151 businesses and industries called on the Commission in 2022 to prepare a European strategy to unlock the potential of geothermal energy;

15. Stresses that national and EU-wide measures for geothermal energy should be based on an assessment of Europe’s geothermal potential, taking into account the diverse geological and climate conditions, and an estimate of the cost-efficiency of deploying geothermal solutions;