Text · Report parliamentary committee draft
On geothermal energy
Document ITRE-PR-752863 · 2023/2111(INI)
- Kind
- Report parliamentary committee draft ITRE-PR-752863
- Date
- 25 September 2023
- Committee
- Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
- Rapporteur
- Zdzisław Krasnodębski
- Dossier
- 2023-2111
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- ENER
- Reference
- 2023/2111(INI)
Text
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Motion for a european parliament resolution
–having regard to its position of 12 September 2023 on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 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 amendments adopted by Parliament on 14 September 2023 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials and amending Regulations (EU) 168/2013,
–having regard to the Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s net-zero technology products manufacturing ecosystem (Net Zero Industry Act) (COM(2023)0161),
–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 its resolution of 15 December 2021 on the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive,
–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 European Technology and Innovation Platform on Deep Geothermal entitled ‘Vision for Deep Geothermal’,
–having regard to the European Geothermal Energy Council’s Geothermal Market Report 2022 published on July 14, 2023,
–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’,
A.whereas the EU solar energy strategy stated that the proportion of the energy demand covered by geothermal must increase at least threefold if the EU is to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets;
B.whereas heat pumps and geothermal energy technologies are categories deemed strategic net-zero technologies for Europe in the Net Zero Industry Act;
C.whereas the industry estimates that geothermal can supply more than 25 % of the heating and cooling consumed in Europe and over 10 % of its electrical power;
1.Notes that the development of technologies has broadened the area suitable for cost-efficient geothermal projects and their scope; stresses the potential of low-temperature, shallow geothermal resources that are available in all Member States;
2.Welcomes the development of geothermal beyond power generation and heating and cooling; stresses that the process of extracting lithium from geothermal brines could help secure a sustainable and local lithium supply;
3.Draws attention to geothermal solutions that are able to store excess wind and solar power for subsequent use in heating, cooling and power production, and their crucial role for the development of renewable-based energy systems;
4.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;
5.Highlights that 151 business and industries called on the Commission in 2022 to prepare a European strategy to unlock the potential of geothermal energy;
6.Stresses that national and EU-wide measures for geothermal energy should be based on an assessment of the geothermal potential of Europe, taking into account the diverse geological and climate conditions, and an estimate of the cost-efficiency of deploying geothermal solutions;
7.Welcomes the growing awareness of and support for geothermal at national level; notes that some Member States have developed geothermal roadmaps, targets and dedicated policy measures; stresses the need to facilitate the exchange of information about these measures and data to support geothermal policies; considers that this can be achieved through the establishment of a ‘geothermal alliance’;
8.Urges the Member States to explore methods of collecting different types of geological data from public and private entities with a view to organising, systematising and making it available to the public; notes that this should be achieved in compliance with confidentiality requirements and data protection rules, and, where necessary, include incentives and compensation for data sharing by private entities;
9.Stresses that for areas with insufficient subsurface data, governments can play a role in funding geothermal resource mapping and exploratory drilling; welcomes the fact that some Member States have already taken steps in this direction; calls for EU funding to support this data collection with a view to creating an EU-wide atlas of geothermal potential;
10.Emphasises the geothermal potential of repurposed inactive oil and gas wells; calls on the Member States, in cooperation with oil and gas companies, to produce publicly available maps of decommissioned wells with their specifications;
11.Expresses its concern about the fragmented nature of statistics on geothermal energy; calls on the Member States, in cooperation with the industry and the Commission, to overhaul existing data collecting procedures for geothermal and to replicate best practices in the sector;
12.Reiterates that uncertainty about subsurface resources makes it challenging to secure project funding; calls on the Member States to explore de-risking solutions appropriate to the maturity of their local markets (grants, loans that are convertible to grants, state-backed guarantees), as well as the potential benefits of an EU-wide risk mitigation scheme;
13.Expresses concern that while geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are currently the most efficient heat pumps, producing more heat for less electricity in cold climates compared to air source heat pumps, their much higher upfront drilling and installation costs tend to discourage their selection; calls on the Member States to explore possible financial incentives to bridge this gap;
14.Calls on the Commission to take appropriate steps to ensure that geothermal projects are better taken into account when using existing funds and instruments; asks the Commission to consider setting up a dedicated geothermal fund;
15.Notes that the requirements of mining laws designed for large-scale mining projects are difficult to uphold in much smaller-scale geothermal projects; calls on the Member States to review and simplify existing mining laws, where necessary, or to develop dedicated permitting rules for geothermal; asks the Commission to provide guidelines to ensure the requisite level of coherence;
16.Notes that permits for geothermal installations must be made extensible to cover the extraction of lithium or the production of hydrogen from existing capacity under the same lease;
17.Expresses its concern over the reported backlogs and delays in the installation of GHPs, the drilling of wells and the granting of the requisite permissions due to a shortage of qualified staff;
18.Stresses that while the EU is the leader in geothermal research and development and manufacturing, support measures for next-generation geothermal technologies are needed at European and national level in order to support this position, particularly in geothermal storage and industrial applications;
19.Highlights that some Member States have expressed concerns over the lack of conformity of some imported heat pumps to their declared energy efficiency status; stresses that third-party conformity assessment (instead of self-declaration) should be discussed as part of the revision of the ecodesign energy labelling rules;
20.Regrets that the potential of depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs for geothermal applications is not being fully tapped;
21.Draws attention to existing repurposing projects in decommissioned mines, where applied cavern thermal energy storage technology is able to provide heating or cooling; notes the development of projects which plan to use oil reservoirs for energy storage; takes note of ongoing projects to repurpose decommissioned oil and gas wells for geothermal applications, thereby greatly reducing exploration risks and drilling costs;
22.Notes that many of these projects are implemented by the hydrocarbon industry, which sees them as an opportunity to be part of the energy transition, and that there is a need for the even stronger involvement of this industry in exploring the potential for geothermal; stresses that early assessment of resources, when the mines are still accessible, ensures the more efficient development of their alternative use;
23.Calls on the Member States to make use of existing European funding opportunities to support the re-skilling of the workforce in transition areas, with a view to capitalising on the jobs arising from geothermal projects; notes that oil and gas industry skills can be applied to the geothermal sector;
24.Draws attention to the online mapping of existing geothermal installations in a given city or region as a good practice which can raise the visibility of geothermal solutions and help support investment decisions;
25.Notes that public resistance remains a challenge for geothermal projects, particularly on the basis of environmental concerns such as the possible contamination of ground waters, gas emissions or water over-exploitation; expresses the opinion that maintaining high environmental and transparency standards can serve as an efficient way of overcoming distrust;
Back matter, 2
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Explanatory statement 12 blocks
Geothermal energy has a tremendous potential in Europe across all Member States. Although geothermal development dates back more than a century, it still occupies a niche market compared to other energy sources. The development of geothermal energy is hindered largely by limited knowledge about existing technologies and their potential, particularly for shallow geothermal, among policy makers, local authorities, economic actors and the general public. Other challenges are of financial, legal and technical nature.
The draft report does not focus on presentation of available technologies and their application – taking into account already existing reports prepared by industry itself, as well as by the EU Clean Technologies Observatory or IRENA. The text is concentrated on policy recommendations. It is important to note that while new technologies significantly expanded the areas of cost-efficient application of geothermal solutions, nevertheless existing differences in geological and climate conditions between Member States are the reason why the costs of deployment of similar projects differ due to, for example, the need for deeper drills, usage of geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) and associated infrastructure. These differences therefore should be taken into account in formulating any policy solutions.
One of the most important challenges for geothermal is the lack of sufficient geothermal resource mapping. Industry calls for a solution to ensure that all subsurface data is collected in one place (including data on location of decommissioned oil and gas wells) and made available for the public. Practices on data sharing largely diverge across Member States. In some Member States proprietary subsurface data are not generally made available. In others, only government-funded geological data is made public. There are countries where companies share available subsurface data with relevant government bodies, which later use them for publicly available reports on geothermal potential. In all cases, however there is a vital role for Member States to provide services of collecting geological data, organising, systemising it and making data available in cooperation with companies who own data. In some Member States, with insufficient subsurface data, governments themselves could fund the resource mapping and exploration drilling in order to establish national atlas on geothermal potential. This should be supported by European funding in view of creating an EU-wide atlas of geothermal potential.
Unfortunately, the assessment of deployment of geothermal energy in Europe is very difficult due to the lack of standards for industry data reporting. Therefore, it is difficult to understand whether particular regions are advanced in deployment of geothermal and to which extent EU funding was used for these purposes. In the EU databases geothermal is categorised as “other renewables” where it is aggregated with hydro projects. National and EU authorities agree that there is a mismatch in reported data and, generally, the deployed geothermal is underestimated. While power generation is quite well documented, there is a problem in reporting on heating and cooling. These fragmented values and the lack of common standards lead to an underrepresentation of the geothermal industry in the energy market, with detrimental effects for the industry. High-quality data lead to favourable political support, help setting ambitious energy targets and enhance policy assistance. From an economic perspective, it promotes an increase in geothermal projects, marketability, competitiveness, and financial support from governments. Therefore, it is necessary to identify best practices among Member States and to replicate them. Meetings held by the Commission on heating and cooling accountability should be the first step into this direction.
Geothermal installations are characterised by low operational expenditures but high capital investment, primarily due to the high cost and risk of exploration drilling. Explorers can also come across imperfect wells — failure rates range from less than 10 percent in Hungary and Germany to 30 percent in the Netherlands, according to Rystad. Market financiers generally are unwilling to carry these early-stage risks and costs, while municipalities that often foot the bill, as they are usually in charge of local district heating, feel skittish about suffering potential losses. These subsurface resource risks and associated financial costs represent one of the major barriers for geothermal project developers. Government policies that lower risks are therefore crucial to incentivise private sector financial investment. De-risking instruments can take many forms and be designed according to the overall maturity of the market. There are already good examples of such instruments in some Member States. In August, the European Commission approved under EU state aid rules a French aid scheme to set up a guarantee fund for deep geothermal operations.
Complex and incomplete regulations fragmented between Member States, and long and complex authorisation slow down geothermal deployment. While the revised Renewable Energy Directive simplifying the permitting rules is a step in a good direction, it covers only surface projects, such as heat pumps, and leaves aside subsurface activities. Particularly, problems exist with the mining law, which was designed for large mining activities and not for projects of smaller scale, such as geothermal. Its complexity in combination with the often not streamlined authorisation process have adverse economic implications for the development of projects and investment decisions. There is therefore an urgent need for Member States to revise and simplify mining laws or to develop dedicated permitting rules for geothermal.
Heat pumps and geothermal energy technologies are categorised as strategic net zero technologies by Net Zero Industry Act. While the EU is leading in R&D and manufacturing of geothermal technologies and has a reliant supply chain, funding support measures are needed for the next-generation geothermal technologies in order to uphold the forerunner position, particularly in geothermal storage, industrial applications and geothermal lithium. In this context, it is important to note the recent award of an EUR 91,6 million grant from the European Innovation Fund to Eavor’s next-generation geothermal project.
Year 2022 witnessed the largest ever volume of GHP sales within the EU, with over 141,300 new systems installed. At the same time, some Member States reported worrying statements about the low-quality of and the lack of conformity with declared energy efficiency of a large number of imported heat pumps. Some of them are considering establishing the pre-approved lists of models that would qualify for co-financing from existing national support programmes; others call for more stringent market surveillance. Third party conformity assessment, instead of current self-declaration, should be discussed under revision of Ecodesign ENER lot 1.
However, completion of planned projects and development of new ones will not be possible without sufficient numbers of qualified workforce. It is quite concerning that the already increased demand for geothermal could not be fully met due to the lack of capacity: some components were not delivered in time, skilled workers were not available as much as required and public administrations and licensing authorities were often overwhelmed and understaffed by the increasing demand. Therefore, in order to keep the pace of geothermal development, to meet the objective stated in the EU Solar Energy Strategy about tripling energy demand covered by geothermal, there is an urgency to invest in skilling and reskilling the workforce for geothermal. Geo3En program - projects supported by Erasmus+ that aims to remedy the lack of qualified junior graduates in the geothermal energy value chain, and that lays the foundation for a future Erasmus Mundus Master's degree in geothermal engineering, is one of the needed initiatives. Particular efforts should be put on reskilling existing specialists from hydrocarbon industries taking into account both the potential of geothermal for the just transition and that oil and gas industry skills can be easily applied to geothermal sector;
Geothermal energy is vital not only for the energy transition, but for the just transition. The potential of geothermal development using the infrastructure formerly used by hydrocarbon industry is not yet fully tapped by the Member States. There are several successful projects across Europe where decommissioned coal mines were repurposed for geothermal heating and cooling. Recent Hunosa project in Asturia transformed the old coal colliery into the largest geothermal district heating in Spain. There are promising works on the use of decommissioned oil and gas wells for geothermal applications, some of them carried out by hydrocarbon companies themselves. There is a need for dedicated policies, legal and support framework and specific actions that would enable and advance the transition from fossil fuel-producing regions to sustainable growth, through geothermal energy use.
Geothermal is a constant “24-7” form of energy with fixed costs and the highest capacity factor. Geothermal installations do not require critical raw materials to the extent of other renewable technologies, and all major investments are local. Compared to other renewable resources, geothermal typically requires much less land and can be easier integrated into the landscape. Despite these benefits geothermal meets certain social barriers. One of the social barriers of geothermal energy is the lack of awareness and knowledge among the general public, policymakers, local authorities and financial institutions. Geothermal energy is often perceived as a niche technology that is expensive, complex or suitable to territories with very rare particular geological qualities. Geothermal energy also faces competition from other renewable or conventional sources of energy that may have more established markets, policies or subsidies. To overcome this barrier, geothermal advocates together with Member States need to increase the visibility and credibility of geothermal energy, by showcasing its benefits, costs, and performance, and by engaging with relevant stakeholders and communities. There is a growing national awareness towards supporting geothermal - a number of Member States, such as France, Poland, Ireland, have developed roadmaps, targets, and dedicated policy measures to support geothermal.
Geothermal development may also face resistance from local residents who fear the negative impacts of noise, traffic, or environmental hazards such as water contamination, seismic activity or harmful emissions. To address this barrier, geothermal developers need to respect and consult with the affected parties, and to seek their consent and participation in the planning and implementation of geothermal projects.
Annex: list of entities or persons from whom the rapporteur has received input 2 blocks
The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft report:
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Cite as
European Parliament (2023). “DRAFT REPORT on geothermal energy”. Text, 25 September 2023. docId ITRE-PR-752863. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-752863 (retrieved 26 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/ITRE-PR-752863 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-itre-pr-752863,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{DRAFT REPORT on geothermal energy}},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-09-25},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-752863}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/ITRE-PR-752863},
urldate = {2026-09-26},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId ITRE-PR-752863. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}