Geothermal a key element of REPowerEU plan
As part of the REPowerEU plan, the European Commission is calling for a series of proposals that will increase the rate of deployment of geothermal heat and power technologies to meet 2030 targets.
In May 2022, the European Commission presented the REPowerEU Plan, a roadmap for mitigating the energy market disruption in Europe cause by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As part of the strategy the REPowerEU Plan proposed steps to transition geothermal from niche to a mainstream solution for power and heat generation.
In the Communication document for the REPowerEU Plan, the European Commission proposes the following measures for more widespread use of geothermal heat pumps:
- A goal of doubling the current deployment rate of heat pumps, with a target of 10 million units over the next 5 years. This should be supported by a fast ramp up of the production of the necessary equipment and, where necessary, facilitated access to finance.
- Development and modernization of district heating systems to replace fossil fuels in individual heating, especially in densely populated regions.
- Revision of the current requirements for ecodesign and energy labelling of heat pumps.
- Encouragement of stakeholders in renewable energy production, including heat pumps, to establish large-scale skills partnership with the Pact for Skills program.
Moreover, the EU Solar Strategy calls for at least a three-fold increase in the energy demand covered by both solar heat and geothermal the 2030 targets proposed by the Commission.
The EU Save Energy communication further recommends legislative changes that can facilitate heat pump adoptions. These include energy pricing that incentivizes switching to heat pumps and phasing out of subsidies for fossil-fuel based boilers in buildings by 2025.
Source: EGEC and European Commission