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Styria Chamber of Commerce calls for geothermal legislation in Austria

Styria Chamber of Commerce calls for geothermal legislation in Austria View of Southeastern Styria, Austria (source: Bernd Thaller / flickr, Creative Commons)
Carlo Cariaga 28 Jul 2022

With seemingly large potential for geothermal resources in Styria, the Austrian state's Chamber of Commerce is calling for a legal framework to facilitate geothermal exploratory drilling projects.

Despite the potential of geothermal resources in the state of Styria in south-eastern Austria, the development of renewable energies is much too slow. A stumbling block, as the Styrian Chamber of Commerce has pointed out, is the lack of any clear legal regulation for the use of geothermal energy in Austria.

“Styria in particular is inspired by Mother Nature with this extremely high temperature gradient, which is known for the volcanic activities of the past million years . We have a huge potential here that has not yet been exhausted at all – I certainly see potential here that covers the whole area.” said Herbert Hofstätter from the Montanuniversität Leoben.

Karl-Heinz Dernoscheg, Director of the Chamber of Commerce, is calling for a legal frame work that will make exploratory drilling for geothermal resources possible without having to go through years of processes. “We have the big problem that we have solutions for, and we have personalities who want to implement these solutions. But laws get in the way, regulations get in the way – and we’re not able to adapt them quickly and in good time.” said Dernoscheg.

Source: Steiermark