Experts in Germany express support for Geothermal Acceleration Act
Blick in den Plenarsaal
Several local experts and stakeholders expressed support for a draft law in Germany that seeks to accelerate approval for geothermal and heat pump systems.
Experts from utility companies and civic organizations expressed their support for the draft law to accelerate the approval procedures for geothermal plants, heat pumps, and heat storage facilities, and to amend other legal framework conditions for the climate-neutral expansion of heat supply. The draft law was discussed in hearing by the Committee on Climate Protection and Energy on the 4th of November 2024.
Some of the stakeholders had published their opinions on the draft law and how it can be improved in the days leading up to this hearing.
Expansion of the scope needed
Many of the stakeholders indicated that the current scope of the draft law is insufficient in addressing many of the issues that the geothermal industry is still facing.
Gregor Dilger of the German Geothermal Association (Bundesverband Geothermie) noted the increasing momentum for geothermal in Germany, however also noted some points of improvement for the draft law. In addition to some good approaches, the current draft law also lacks some important points. He cited the keyword availability of land as an example.
When preparing seismic measurements, the consent of individual property owners had to be obtained to allow the use of paths, for example. This currently creates a considerable amount of bureaucratic effort. This could be remedied with a general obligation to tolerate “such short-term and barely noticeable measures,” said Dilger.
Matthias Dümpelmann from 8KU GmbH explicitly praised the draft law, saying that a lot of things were already in place. He also called for an expansion of the scope of application to include storage and network expansion, for example.
Carlotta Gerlach from the German Renewable Energy Association (BEE) also echoed this sentiment, criticizing the draft for considering the reduction of bureaucracy for the expansion of heat pumps in a very one-sided way with regard to near-surface geothermal energy and thus disadvantaging other technical variants for accelerating the heat transition. The point mentioned in the title of the law regarding heat storage and the use of the heat potential of flowing waters has not yet been sufficiently taken into account
A positive step towards sustainability
A number of research and utility representatives commended geothermal’s role as being crucial in the energy transition movement. They call for more policy and market support to help geothermal be deployed faster and more widely.
Herbert Pohl from Deutsche Erdwärme GmbH said that geothermal projects can supply thousands of households with heat as a base load that is available all year round. But “in order to be able to use geothermal energy more extensively, the heating networks must be expanded and prices or purchase must be secured during the ramp-up period.”
Frank Schilling, head of the State Research Center for Geothermal Energy (LFZG), said that the storms in Spain and their consequences show that sustainability is necessary in all areas. He hopes that the law will receive broad support from the Bundestag – a broad consensus among political actors supports communication with the people on the ground and gives them and the municipalities additional security.
For Karin Thelen of Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM), geothermal energy is a “sleeping giant beneath our feet” that is finally getting the attention it deserves. She also sees the need for significant adjustments in the current draft in the general privileging of geothermal projects in all approval areas, said Thelen.
Thomas Vienken from the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT) sees the challenges as being in technical limitations and in the regulatory area. In addition to sustainable ecological use, the goal must also be economically optimized use. “As with the use of many renewable energy sources, the use of geothermal energy also requires high initial investments, which then have to be amortized over the operating period.”
Recommendations for environmental protection
Other stakeholders also expressed concern that the draft law did not provide protection against possible environmental effects of geothermal drilling and exploitation.
Bernd Düsterdiek from the Association of Towns and Municipalities warned of the danger of competition with other water uses such as drinking water, or in industry, commerce and agriculture.
Cornelia Nicklas (German Environmental Aid) called geothermal energy “important for a climate-friendly energy supply”. However, she noted critically that the draft does not mention the possible dangers of geothermal drilling for the environment “- risks of damage during drilling, possible contamination of groundwater with pollutants”.
Despite the criticisms, both representatives nevertheless supported accelerated approval for geothermal projects.
A similar critical opinion on the lack of environmental protection had also been published by the Federal Council (Bundesrat) in a previous statement. The Bundesrat, however, also confirmed a position of support for the draft law.
Source: Bundestag
