Following on from the European Union’s commitments to phase out energy imports from Russia, make energy affordable, boost industrial competitiveness, improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) insists that the European Commission must present an investment-orientated strategy and action plan to accelerate the deployment of all geothermal energy solutions. EGEC calls on the European Commission to publish a dedicated European Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan in the first quarter of 2026. This echoes requests made by EU Energy Ministers (see the TTE Council Conclusions of 16 December 2024) and also by the European Parliament (Resolution on geothermal energy, adopted on 18 January 2024). Indeed, the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, Dan Jørgensen, has already confirmed (on 14 March 2025) that the Commission will present "an action plan on geothermal energy" before the end of March 2026. According to EGEC, the Commission’s proposal must include the following elements: An EU-wide target to reach 250 GW of geothermal capacity by 2040 covering all technologies. This will build on the 44 GW of installed capacity in the EU. A European Geothermal Charter, which codifies the 2040 target and launches the Geothermal Industrial Alliance to manage its delivery. Targeted European financial instruments to leverage private capital. Measures to make permitting processes more efficient and faster, as well as improving access to geological data. Sectoral or tripartite agreements with key energy consumers. Peer-to-peer guidance to help governments develop national and regional roadmaps to remove barriers, accelerate investments and build local supply chains. European instruments to support value chain development in local manufacturing and skilled professionals. The inclusion of geothermal energy as a central pillar of the EU’s Global Gateway and the Global Energy Transition Forum. Improvements to the collection and presentation of market data and statistics to enable better energy modelling. EGEC’s proposals are set out in a new policy document:The European Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan - Making Europe competitive, secure and affordable Watch EGEC's webinar on the launch of its recommendations for the EU Geothermal Strategy and Action Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxUUaWHfuM8
Back in May 2017, the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM), the European Geothermal Association (EGEC) and the European Solar Thermal Association (ESTIF), released joint position papers on the Electrification of Heating and Cooling & the Link Between the PEF and Eco-Design/Energy Labeling Regulations. Now, they support #noWildElectrification, claiming that electrification of the heating and cooling and transport sectors should be done in a sensible way to promote the increased uptake of renewables, both RES-E and RES-H&C.
After the General Approach reached by the Energy Council on December 2017 and ahead of the vote in the Committee for Industry and Energy of the European Parliament, the RES associations jointly elaborated a statement on Market Design.
As announced in the 'Clean energy for all Europeans' package, the European Commission has created a Clean Energy Industrial Forum to help EU industry take advantage of the growth opportunities arising as part of the clean energy transition. On Tuesday 9th January, the first High-level meeting of the renewables section took place at the Berlaymont building, opened by Miguel Arias Cañete, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy.
On December 13th, 2017, the first subhorizontal geothermal well, designed and supervised by GPC IP, has been completed on the Paris suburban Cachan site for its customer DALKIA (EDF Group). Please find the GPC Press Release below.
How can the geothermal sector contribute to assist "Coal Regions in Transition"? Ahead of the launch of the Platform on Coal Regions in Transition by the European Commission, EGEC publishes a new fact sheet illustrating the many ways in which geothermal can help regions to achieve the energy transition.
A new report on the supply chain of three renewable energy technologies, including geothermal, has been released by the European Commission - Joint Research Centre.
On Friday, December 1st, EGEC Secretary General Philippe Dumas took part, as representative of the ETIP-DG, in the 10th annual SET Plan Conference & 11th Central European Energy Conference (CEEC XI) organised in Bratislava, Slovakia, under the auspices of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU, in the Panel "Leadership in renewables".
On November 28th, the ITRE committee of the European Parliament voted on the reports for the recast Renewable Energy Directive and the Energy Efficiency Directive, strongly backing up a 35% target for renewables and 40% energy efficiency in 2030, a minimal threshold for consistency with the Paris Agreement. The geothermal sector supports MEP Blanco Lopez report on the Renewable Energy Directive adopted today and welcomes the high ambition on energy efficiency.
The European Geothermal Innovation Award is awarded annually to companies which have made an outstanding contribution towards the field of geothermal energy in the form of innovative products, scientific research or project initiatives.
The project developer KS Orka has announced that it has connected a combined geothermal heat and power plant in Hungary to the grid. This is the first geothermal power plant in the country.
