City council strikes down geothermal heating project in Bad Bevensen, Germany
Lüneburger Straße in Bad Bevensen, Lower Saxony, Germany (source: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
31 Jan 2025
A slim majority vote from the city council has seemingly ended aspirations for a geothermal heating project in Bad Bevensen in Lower Saxony, Germany.
With a narrow majority vote of 13-12, the city council of Bad Bevensen in Lower Saxony, Germany has voted against the continuation of the planned geothermal heating project. The negative votes argued that the EUR 29 million cost of the project is too high for the city, considering that profits are only expected after 20 years.
This disheartening result comes as a surprise for a project that has built seemingly positive momentum through the last years. In 2023, Bad Bevensen was one of two municipalities that had been selected by the State of Lower Saxony to receive a conditionally repayable grant for a geothermal pilot project. In 2024, a new company was founded to lead the geothermal development efforts, called Renewable Energies Bad Bevensen GmbH (Erneuerbare Energien Bad Bevensen GmbH).
With this decision, the company must now go through a liquidation process.
Seismic surveys for the project were planned in 2025 in anticipation of test drilling. However, this had not yet been commissioned.
“It was a difficult decision and I want to reiterate that we are fundamentally in favor of geothermal energy. Just not under these circumstances. We are now satisfied,” said Bernd Peter of the FDP/Großmann group.
“We evaluated and discussed the project for a long time. Now a project worth millions has been averted,” added Sönke Strampe, chairman of the CDU parliamentary group, further stating that the project is not profitable and that renewable energy project still need to be viable.
Counter-proposal also rejected
A proposal was presented during the discussion that will help decrease the financial burden and risk for the city. This would involve two investors potentially joining the project, taking over 49% of the company. City Director Martin Feller said that there was no signature yet from these potential investors, but there was a firm commitment to participate.
However, the proposal did not change the position of the CDU and the FDP/Großmann group on the project.
“[This is because] two potential investors (including an expert energy supplier) recently expressed their willingness to join the company and promised a complete heat supply for the entire town. However, they need several months to make a final commitment to review the data already available and the funding options,” according to a statement from the SPD faction.
The SPD and the Greens are still campaigning for the project to continue, even under the terms of the compromise proposal. “If we back out now, we will deprive citizens of the opportunity to have a cheap energy supply,” said Katja Schaefer-Andrae from the Greens.
“But I don’t understand how you can jeopardize such a unique opportunity,” added Michael Chales de Beaulieu.
Source: Bundesverband Geothermie, SPD Bevensen, and AZ Online (1 and 2)
