German government agrees easier approval procedures to boost geothermal heating

Germany wants to accelerate the use of geothermal plants coupled with large heat pumps and heat storage facilities by easing approval procedures hindering their expansion under legislative changes adopted by the cabinet. Economy minister Robert Habeck said the new rules should open the way for the "neglected" energy source to be tapped in a "targeted and unbureaucratic manner."

The plants will be labelled as having an overriding public interest, and the regulations adopted by the cabinet will also allow authorities the flexibility to give less weight to nature conservation or mining laws when making decisions on geothermal plants and heat pumps. Risks of tapping geothermal energy include minor earthquakes and effects on groundwater but these are manageable, wrote n-tv. The same overriding public interest rule applies to renewable energy projects and electrolysers that produce hydrogen using electricity from renewable energies.

Renewable energy makes up a fifth of Germany's space heating. Geothermal energy from deep rock formations could cover around a quarter of the country's heat requirements, according to a government statement. Geothermal "is a climate-neutral, inexhaustible source of energy that is reliably available all year round," Habeck said, adding it would help reduce dependence on oil, gas and coal for heating. 

Geothermal advocates and environment organisations have long been calling for Germany to boost the use of the energy source for heating. Last year, chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to greatly expand the use of geothermal energy in the country. He said the aim was to feed ten times as much geothermal energy into the heating network as today by 2030.