Senate of Berlin, Germany approves funding of Deep Geothermal Energy Roadmap
The Rotes Rathaus in Berlin, Germany (source: Andreas Steinhoff, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons)
Carlo Cariaga
10 Apr 2024
With the original federal funding tool no longer an option, the Senate of Berlin, Germany has decided to finance the State's Deep Geothermal Energy Roadmap.
The Senate of Berlin has decided to finance the measures of the Berlin Deep Geothermal Energy Roadmap which aims to create a sustainable, state-wide municipal heating plan in Berlin using deep geothermal energy. The decision of the Senate comes after a presentation by Manja Schreiner, Senator for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment.
The “Roadmap for Deep Geothermal Energy Berlin” was first decided on back in July 2023. The initial plan was to fund the measures of the roadmap from the “Climate Protection, Resilience and Transformation” fund. However, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled in late 2023 that the fund, originally meant for COVID relief, cannot be repurposed for climate protection funding programmes, including the federal funding for efficient heating networks (BEW).
With this development, new possibilities for the short and medium-term financing of deep geothermal energy measures must be explored.
The Senate is committed to the measures of the Deep Geothermal Energy Berlin roadmap, which has an estimated cost of EUR 98 million. To this end, the Senate will explore new options for the short and medium-term financing of deep geothermal energy measures and take all necessary steps to profitably integrate deep geothermal energy to achieve the energy and climate goals set by the Berlin Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act.
“With today’s decision, the Senate underlines the importance that deep geothermal energy can have for the heat transition in Berlin. We hereby reaffirm our commitment to taking the necessary steps to transform the city into a climate-neutral city,” said Schreiner.
The State of Berlin intends to coordinate the municipal and private-sector management of deep geothermal energy to create an optimal and sustainable state-wide municipal heating plan. For this purpose, the State of Berlin is working to submit an application for a coherent mining law permit that will cover the entire city area. A corresponding application has already been submitted to the responsible state office for mining, geology, and raw materials (LBGR).
Source: State Chancellery of Berlin
