As part of the renewable energy acceleration plan, on Thursday 2 February the Energy Transition Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher presented the Government's action plan to speed up the deployment of geothermal energy, alongside François Bayrou, High Commissioner for the Plan.
Heat accounts for 50% of energy consumption in France and is still mainly produced from fossil fuels and imported energy. Geothermal energy derived from the heat of the earth accounts for only 1% of this consumption. The development of heat from renewable energy sources is therefore one of the factors for reducing CO2 emissions and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
An action plan to speed up the deployment of geothermal energy in France
The action plan presented by the Government on 2 February 2023 involves both surface and deep geothermal energy. It has six main lines of action:
- Increase surface geothermal energy drilling capacity to meet the demand from the residential and service sectors.
- Improve the regulatory framework to encourage the development of surface geothermal projects.
- Encourage the installation of geothermal heat pumps in the residential and service sectors.
- Identify and develop under-exploited deep aquifers suitable for the construction of geothermal doublets for heating networks.
- Raise awareness and improve the skills of local stakeholders and support project developers in the deployment of geothermal solutions.
- Stimulate new projects and encourage new financial arrangements for geothermal energy.
Aims of the action plan
-
Increase the number of deep geothermal projects launched by 2030 by40.00%
-
By 2025x2.00Number of geothermal heat pumps installed each year in homes
BRGM is mobilised to meet the challenges of the Geothermal Action Plan
BRGM, the national geological survey, contributes to the development of solutions to exploit the subsurface potential in the energy transition. In particular, it is a key player in the development of geothermal energy.
Under the Government's action plan, BRGM will contribute to the following in particular:
- finalise the regional map of regulatory small-scale geothermal energy zones;
- plan regulatory amendments for certain surface geothermal solutions: small-scale storage and heat exchangers on angled probes;
- continue work on collecting, analysing and disseminating available subsurface data, in particular through the development of a decision support tool for vertical geothermal heat exchangers;
- improve knowledge of the subsurface to encourage the initiation of deep geothermal projects.
