The European Parliament’s Plenary voted on a resolution, led by Professor Krasnodebski MEP from the European Conservatives & Reformist Group (ECR), to support a European geothermal energy strategy.
531 of the 553 Members of the European Parliament present (96%) voted in favour of the resolution with 20 abstentions and 2 voting against. The resolution calls for:
A European strategy for geothermal energy to reduce administrative burdens and aid investments in buildings, industry and agricultural sectors across the Union.
A Geothermal Industrial Alliance to fast-track best practices and the effective implementation of legislation.
A harmonised financial risk mitigation insurance scheme.
Encourage Member States to design national strategies for geothermal like those by the French, German, Polish, Austrian, Croatian and Irish governments.
Support regions in transition and coal regions to transition to geothermal.
Philippe Dumas, Secretary General of the European Geothermal Energy Council, said, “The European Parliament has put geothermal energy firmly on the EU policy radar. The European Commission cannot ignore such a powerful endorsement”. “We warmly thank the leadership of Professor Krasnodebski, his team, and the shadows on the resolution for their desire to make the energy transition affordable and accessible to everyone,” he added.
During the Plenary debate held on 17 January, Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice, stated that the consensus among all political groups during the debate before the vote was “remarkable” and added that geothermal district heating “can provide affordable energy to cities” to facilitate mass transition to renewables.
On the lack of political visibility for geothermal energy, Professor Krasnodebski MEP confirmed that he was “Delighted this debate and this report are part of this promotion campaign for geothermal”.
Pernille Weiss MEP added that we need “A strategy that’s not just about goals but also tools”.
Ville Niinistö MEP stated “Future legislation will be a key role in developing this sector and unlocking its potential”.
Commenting on the Aarhus geothermal energy project, which will provide for 36,000 homes, Niels Fuglsang MEP commented on geothermal being a resource “that helps us liberate ourselves from our dependency on gas from Putin”.
Morten Pedersen MEP said this was “A huge step forward for geothermal energy”.
Marina Measure MEP suggested that retraining fossil fuel workers “learn the skills of geothermal energy” would help a just transition for workers as well as communities.
Nicolás Gonzalez Casares MEP, rapporteur on the Electricity Market Design legislation, stated “We have to see a greater rollout of geothermal energy”.
Hildegard Bentele MEP, rapporteur for the European Strategy of Critical Raw Materials, referred to the importance of the geothermal strategy adopted by the city of Berlin, and added “Having a European strategy would be a very important signal to send” to regulators and investors.
Maria Carvalho MEP, rapporteur on the Protection against market manipulation in the wholesale energy market legislation, stated that geothermal was “A very valuable resource’.
Beatrice Covassi MEP referred to geothermal as a “Precious source of energy for Europe”.
Nicola Danti MEP added that geothermal energy made “Our union safer and richer.”
Sean Kelly MEP added, the “Commission must take a leadership role to make geothermal more prominent across Europe”.
Franc Bogivic MEP mentioned that a 3rd of the tourism in Slovenia centres on geothermal and that it has a “very brilliant future”
Maxette Pirbakas MEP referred to geothermal as a “goldmine”.
