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Geothermal to receive prominent place in EU Energy Policy

Geothermal to receive prominent place in EU Energy Policy EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger (source: flickr/ EPP Group in the European Parliament (Official), creative commons)
Alexander Richter 17 Mar 2013

The EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger, recently spoke at the Iceland Geothermal Conference, highlighting that Geothermal will receive a prominent place in EU Energy Policy going forward.

At the recent Iceland Geothermal Conference, the EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger (essentially the the Energy Minister for the European Union), gave a keynote speech highlighting the interest of the EU for geothermal.

He talked about that “Geothermal energy will be given a prominent place in the Energy Policy of the EU” going forward, highlighting in particular the urban element and the potential for heating.

In his speech he talked much about the European geothermal potential to be mostly found in Italy, Greece, Portugal and the Canary Islands, all places not necessarily where the energy is needed the most. The overal potential is below 3,000 MW. Therefore he described efforts on transmission and cables crucial, referring particularly to the ongoing discussion about a potential transmission cable connection between Iceland and the UK. The MOU between the UK and Iceland for this connection cable is clearly in the interest of the EU and therefore endorsed by it.

While he described that he is not sure how but the European Infastructure Fund has been set up to fund up to EUR 5 billion and that includes the possibility for geothermal to tap into it.

Geothermal research and development needs to bridge the gap to the market and then should be able to attract investors. The internal energy market for the EU can be seen as a launch pad for geothermal, as it so greatly compliments other renewables in the overall energy mix. As Iceland is part of the internal market of the EU, through its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA), the country has access to third programs set up by the EU. 

Overall geothermal, so the commissioner, “fits perfectly into EUR energy ambitions” and Iceland is here seen as an inspiration on how it has managed to utilize geothermal energy for its own energy independence and quality of life.

The full speech is available via the Website of the EU Commission (pdf)