Energy Transition

EGEC views on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act   EGEC, the voice of the European geothermal industry, is a not-for-profit association representing the entire value-chain of the industry across 28 countries. It is included on the European Transparency Register number: 11458103335-07. Further information can be found at www.egec.org. We welcome the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the EU Critical Raw Materials Act consultation. Our observations and recommendations are:

The Batteries Strategy cannot be implemented without a sustainable supply of Lithium, with security of supply ‘Made in Europe’.

EGEC has published an action Plan for implementing geothermal in Europe and as a support for the European Institutions to implement the REpowerEU and face the energy crises. Eight actions to allow geothermal to REpowerEU. Geothermal heating, cooling and power has already saved 10 bcm of gas and other fossil energy imports from Russia.

EGEC, on behalf of the European geothermal energy industry contributed to the stakeholder consultation process undertaken by the French climate and energy ministry ahead of the drafting of its next PPE (Programmation Pluriannuelle de l'Energie - Multiyear Energy Programming).

The Commission adopted this week a Communication on Energy Prices, to tackle the exceptional rise in global energy prices, which is projected to last through the winter.

Following the sharp increase in electricity and gas prices over the summer, and as consequences are increasingly being felt by European households with the beginning of the winter heating season, EGEC wrote a letter to the European Council and the European Commission.

Today EGEC sent a letter to the European Commission Executive Vice President on the European Green Deal, the Executive Vice President for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age and the Commissioner on Energy. This letter was asking for the implementation of a fair framework for State Aid, that allow European Member States to support the development of innovative technologies and the market uptake of geothermal energy, notably in the heating and cooling sector.

EGEC, the voice of the European geothermal industry, calls on the European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen to create a European internal market for heat in an open letter published today on EGEC’s website.

The European Commission announced a ‘Renovation Wave’ to work alongside Member States in delivering energy efficiency improvements in public and private buildings. This is a start. But it is still a long way from what is required. EGEC Geothermal proposes three simple steps to institutionalise ownership, management and delivery of the systematic removal of fossil fuels in all types of buildings so that the sector is compatible with the Paris Agreement long before 2050.

The European Union is looking to engage a deep decarbonisation of the economy, which obliges looking at synergies between sectors to make the best out of the renewable energy installed. The geothermal sector stands at the crossroad of such smart energy systems, and EGEC is putting forward proposals on what should be done for this process to be implemented successfully.