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Dutch geothermal sector asks for better instruments and faster permitting

Dutch geothermal sector asks for better instruments and faster permitting Drilling rig on site on Bergschenhoek project site, Netherlands (source: Zublin)
Alexander Richter 3 Feb 2022

The Dutch geothermal sector urges politicians to remove roadblocks to geothermal heat development in the Netherlands, such as cumbersome licensing processes and short terms in the SDE++ subsidy scheme.

The geothermal energy sector in the Netherlands has made an urgent appeal to politicians to ensure that projects get off the ground more easily. In a video conversation with Dutch publication Energeia, Hans Bolscher, chairman of Geothermal Energy Netherlands pointed to geothermal energy as “indispensable link in the heat transition”, and the “room to support geothermal energy” in the current climate debate. Steps need to be taken to support geothermal development in the Netherlands and remove roadblocks.

The interview was published on January 27, 2022 as an article on Energeia.nl

This week, the Dutch House of Representatives meets to discuss an amendment to the Mining Act.. Core of the proposal, submitted by the previous cabinet, is a new permit system for geothermal projects. The introduction of this could not come a moment too soon, according to the sector. The current system was once conceived with oil and gas extraction in mind, a completely different source of energy. Yet there are also concerns. One of the biggest problems right now is the slow licensing. But will that improve under the new law?

Bolscher sees two major problems that stand in the way of further scaling up geothermal energy. The the first is the system of the SDE++, the subsidy scheme for financial support for CO2 saving techniques. In the current setup, the cheapest options take precedence, and that is usually not geothermal. The consequence of this became painfully clear last year: a large part of at the time, the subsidy budget was consumed by CCS projects and the geothermal sector remained empty-handed.

But even more urgent are the slow licensing procedures. In the past, when SDE decisions for geothermal energy have been issued, the projects often faced challenges to meet applicable deadlines. The possible consequence being that the projects could loose the right to the subsidy. This concerns 22 projects, almost as many as there are now doublets in use.  According to Bolscher, the cause for the slow progress should not be sought from the initiators themselves but with the authorities responsible for granting permits.

What exactly is going on?

“The procedure is so slow that the legal term is sometimes exceeded by two years. And this does not make anyone happy, not even the ministry. But the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) says: we have limited resources that require prioritisation. We therefore advocate that within the SDE scheme the completion period of projects will be extended from four to six years. That’s really a quick win from for the energy transition. In addition, it is generally important that the licensing is accelerated. This prevents financiers from running away and makes it easier to organise projects. It has to become much more predictable.”

Isn’t that exactly the purpose of the new bill?

“Correct. And basically we can get along well with the new system, as long as we keep the details but correct. And we are concerned about that.”

What details are involved then?

“We see, for example, that the serial order of consultation is being adhered to. That means that EZK first asks questions to the State Supervision of Mines (SODM) and only after receipt of the answers goes to TNO, then to the Mijnraad, and so on. Just organising this smarter could save a lot of time. As a trade association, we take on our turn responsibility by providing better applications, moving through the mill faster come.”

“Then there is another point. In the new system, a search, a start and a follow-up permit is used. That is not illogical, but make sure that the transition starts is well organized in the future. We do not want a whole new assessment with the follow-up permit happens, because then we stay busy. It also creates uncertainty for financiers. I suspect that this is not the intention of the legislators, but it is not made explicit anywhere. We worry about this.”

You also previously argued in favor of weakening EBN’s mandatory role in geothermal projects. You were particularly concerned about the vetoes that the state shareholding would be allowed to exercise.

“Initially there was uncertainty about the precise role of EBN. We are very happy with the organisation’s support, but we do not want market forces and activity to be curtailed. Agreed now is that we will work together on the basis of agreements. The starting point is that EBN’s role is not disruptive to the market. We want businesses to remain businesses, and we remain committed to get that properly arranged in the agreements.”

“The chance that geothermal energy will cause problems is really very small.” There is, however, another point that concerns Bolscher, and that is the advisory role that decentralized authorities are allocated. This makes sense from the perspective of representativeness, but this also has a major drawback. According to him, provinces and municipalities do not always have sufficient knowledge of the subsurface and that makes projects vulnerable. He therefore advocates that the central government provides a clear assessment framework to prevent incorrect grounds for opposition to projects.

“Even though the responsibility lies with EZK, you do not want the advice of the region to be passed on every time national government should be overruled. I would therefore rather see the advisory bodies so that they know what they are talking about. We worry pretty quickly in the Netherlands about the subsurface, especially because of what happened in Groningen. And then we are also a very full country. But the chance that geothermal energy will cause problems is really very small. I am absolutely not afraid that we will end up in the same basket as biomass and gas extraction. I too would not know how to make the transition without (the geothermal) sector. Where does the heat come from from?”

Source: Geothermie NL