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NY Times today: Geothermal energy seeing new push in France

NY Times today: Geothermal energy seeing new push in France View from Notre Dame over Paris (source: flickr/ Clarissa Peterson, creative commons)
Francisco Rojas 17 Sep 2014

The NY Times provides insight into the new geothermal district heating network planned for in Paris next year thanks to government and EU funds. France might be the catalyst to a EU-wide geothermal district heating expansion.

In an editorial published today in the New York Times, it is reported about a new push to develop geothermal resources in France. While a contribution to reduce carbon emissions is being named, the more interesting point comes in that the country wants to “ensure the nation’s energy independence”.

In this context, the article raises that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction was banned in France in 2011 and that therefore “it makes sense to develop geothermal energy.”

There are several geothermal district heating systems in place today in Metropolitan Paris and it is the second largest geothermal heating scheme in place after Reykavik, Iceland. The article refers to the ambitious plans of France on a reduction of carbon emissions ahead of the next UN climate change summit to take place in Paris in December next year.

A new geothermal district heating network with a length of 13 kilometres is to provide heat and hot water to 10,000 additional homes in Paris next year. With a total cost of EUR 32 million ($41 million), the government has subsidized a quarter of that cost. This support, so the New York Times, has “helped to persuade GDF Suez to plan one to two new geothermal projects a year in France over the next five years.”.

This is great news and timely with an upcoming Geothermal Roundtable held in Brussels on Friday this week that ThinkGeoEnergy has helped organise.

Today, Europe depends to a large degree on imported fossil fuels to fuel the heating demand of its population and businesses. With uncertainty about supply and price, energy security and energy costs are currently key concerns in the European energy context. Natural resources to be found within the boundaries of the EU member states are therefore increasingly in focus. One form of energy that is though mostly neglected in this debate is geothermal energy.

The impact geothermal energy can have is shown by the example of Iceland. With most of its geothermal resources actually used in the form for heating purposes and other industrial applications utilizing heat, it plays a tremendously important role in Iceland’s energy supply. Tapping into geothermal resources allowed the replacement of expensive fossil fuel imports for heating. This results in annual savings amounting to about 7% of GDP or around EUR 2,200 ($3,000) per capita.

There is the presumption that one would need to be in volcanic areas to utilize geothermal energy, but geothermal resources can though be found across Europe and not only in volcanic areas.

Production of heat in Europe is responsible for 45% of the final energy demand and out of the total use of natural gas in the EU 41% is used for heating buildings! Focusing on geothermal district heating could solve a big part of the European energy crisis. With tapping into lower temperature geothermal resources in mainland Europe, geothermal could provide a real option for heating. In the ongoing energy debate in Europe, energy security and energy costs are key issues. With the dependency on energy imports, particularly to fuel the heating demand of its citizens, many countries are concerned not only about the supply but also the related cost to secure the supply. Geothermal heat being available and a cost competitive alternative to fossil fuel based heating, is therefore an interesting option. Examples of geothermal district heating exist in Europe today, the second largest geothermal district heating system in the world is in Paris, France, but there are also efforts in Germany and other countries of the European Union. Today there are around 240 geothermal district heating systems operated around Europe.

In an effort to promote geothermal energy and the impact it could have for the European energy mix, the EU Commission in collaboration with the Icelandic Ministry of Industry & Innovation holds a Geothermal Roundtable in Brussels on September 19, 2014. Icelandic representatives will highlight not only the role geothermal district heating plays, but also discuss other opportunities for utilizing heat from geothermal resources, e.g. in industrial applications. There will also be case studies presented from projects in other countries in Europe.

The potential for geothermal district heating in Europe is great and could play a particularly crucial role in regions and countries currently depending on imported oil & gas for their heating purposes. Through the right policies, incentives, and other support mechanisms geothermal heating development could be fostered and help in the ongoing fight for energy security, lower energy costs and job creation.

To see France understand this potential is great and wakens hope that the European Union will too and support mechanisms that help foster development not only in Western and Central Europe but also in Eastern European countries.

Source: New York Times and Press Release (ThinkGeoEnergy)