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
The European Geothermal Energy Council gives a tepid welcome to the EU Commission’s proposals for the revision of the EU energy framework.
EGEC - AEBIOM - EHPA - ESTIF Press release
In the context of the worldwide paradigm shift in climate change, the EU has a unique opportunity to reposition itself as the world leader in climate action. Despite steps to increase the share of renewables in the heating sector, the Commission proposal does not remove the regulatory loopholes supporting new fossil fuel installations.
The FROnT project is publishing today a paper with strategic policy recommendations to support the deployment of renewable heating and cooling technologies (RES-HC). It starts with analysing the main barriers that are currently hampering the deployment of renewable heating and cooling technologies and proposes a set of policy recommendations for EU, national and local policy-makers to overcome these barriers.
The heating and cooling sector represents almost 50% of our energy consumption and is therefore key to decarbonise our entire energy system. RES-HC such as geothermal, solar thermal, biomass and heat pumps are today mature and available options to replace fossil fuels. However, important barriers remain, and multiple policy instruments are necessary for addressing the impediments that are preventing the uptake of renewable energy technologies.
On Wednesday 8 November 2016, EGEC Secretary General Philippe Dumas and the Europe's RES industry met with Commissioner Cañete to discuss the Winter Package and bring forward the post-2020 framework for RES electricity and Heating and Cooling in Europe.
The International Geothermal Association (IGA) has recently held its Board Meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 31st 2016, and appointed Alexander Richter as its new President.
The FROnT manual of good practices provides guidance for policy makers establishing successful support schemes for renewable heating and cooling. It does so in order to help them effectively deliver competitive, affordable, and sustainable solutions for consumers and at the national level.
It was expected that European Commission would launch its proposal for the ‘review of the energy efficiency directive and the energy performance of buildings directive’ this week , as a first step to implementing the EU Heating and Cooling (H&C) Strategy and the Energy Union principles.
Now postponed to December 2016, the European geothermal sector is confident that this additional time will be used for improving and clarify the current EU energy efficiency legislation.
We strongly believe that the conclusions of the H&C Strategy should firstly be implemented through the following measures:
A globally-applicable and harmonised standard for reporting geothermal resources has been approved for the United Nations Framework for Fossil Energy and Mineral Reserves and Resources 2009 (UNFC).
The new integrated SET-Plan Communication defines the EU’s Research and Innovation strategy for coming years. It identifies actions based on system needs, adapts structures created under the original SET plan to ensure more effective interaction between stakeholders, and measures progress against established performance indicators.The plan focuses on 10 actions, the first two of which concern Europe becoming number one in renewables.
