Germany should make better use of geothermal energy – NGO
Clean Energy Wire
Germany could meet 25 percent of its heat demand from deep geothermal energy and the government should therefore make better use of this energy source, says NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) in a new paper. Currently, the government plans to implement 10 terawatt hours (TWh) by 2030, even though the potential assessed by scientists is as high as 300 TWh, it says. To rectify this discrepancy, DUH is calling for the government to increase the target to 100 TWh by 2030, and to develop a geothermal energy strategy for rapid expansion. They say that the technology has been established in Germany for decades, yet the political measures for roll-out are being delayed.
The technology can be expensive to implement, and when digging it is possible that the borehole doesn’t provide enough heat and therefore the process must be repeated. That is why DHU is calling for financial support from the government. In the paper, it says that 9 billion euros would be needed every year for the expansion of the technology and the necessary network.
Last year, chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a tenfold increase in geothermal energy in heating networks. Around the same time, however, a draft law for more renewable energy sources in municipal heating plans was watered down. The state of Lower Saxony previously announced that it aimed to become a geothermal energy leader in Germany.
