Policy Documents

On 20 December, EGEC commented on the Commission draft Delegated Act that sets out a reporting scheme to rate the sustainability of data centres in the EU. The Delegated Act stems from the recast Energy Efficiency Directive (Directive 2012/27/EU), which introduces a requirement to report on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres. 

EGEC provided its answer to a questionnaire which allowed stakeholders to suggest potential revisions of existing activities that are already covered in an EU Taxonomy Delegated Act in force (see Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act and Taxonomy Complementary Delegated Act) or under scrutiny by EU co-legislators (see Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act and amendments to the Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act) or to suggest new economic activities that should be added to the EU Taxonomy. 

We support the Heat Pump Accelerator provided it also supports the mass deployment of Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHPs) in buildings, district heating and cooling systems, industry, and agri-foods. This, the call for evidence and three stakeholder workshops have not given adequate visibility and opportunity to discuss policy design to overcome the barriers for geothermal heat pumps.

EGEC's overall position on the Call for Evidence on the Governance Regulation is one of strong support for ambitious and outcome-focused measures to accelerate the deployment of geothermal energy and other renewables in Europe.

EGEC fully supports the implementation of the Polluter Pays Principle in both EU and national legislation.

EGEC welcomes the call for evidence on the 2040 climate targets as it provides regulatory certainty for the geothermal sector to adjust to climate neutrality as well as ensuring the need for effective regulatory support to replace fossil fuel consumption in buildings, transport, agriculture and electricity generation.

EGEC welcomes the European Commission’s proposals for a Critical Raw Materials Act and the Net Zero Industry Act. It is vital to strengthen existing European industrial value-chains for geothermal energy to meet the rapid demand driven by consumers and EU policy.

Brussels, 14th March 2023 – EGEC welcomes the European Commission's proposal on Electricity Market Design (EMD) and more specifically the support brought to geothermal electricity.  

Key new measures for Geothermal include: