Reference, completed project

The case for geothermal energy in swimming pools and water parks

For several years, ADEME and BRGM have been working together to promote geothermal energy to various audiences. Most recently, the two partners have been targeting public swimming pools, since geothermal energy could provide a viable solution to the sector's significant energy requirements, from both an economic and ecological point of view. A specific new brochure on this subject was therefore distributed to the parties concerned in July 2021.

6 September 2022

Near-surface geothermal energy: an efficient energy source for swimming pools and water parks.

The need

More than half of the public swimming pools and water parks in France are outdated and their energy consumption represents a significant burden on the budgets of local authorities, as well as on their carbon footprints. Geothermal energy can provide particularly competitive solutions for this business sector, since it can meet these facilities' needs in terms of heating, cooling and air dehumidification in a sustainable manner. With this in mind, the new guide aims to raise awareness about this technology among the main players in the sector.

The results

As the manager of this initiative, BRGM first identified:

The main players in the sector: French Swimming Federation, French Association of Territorial Engineers,
Existing "virtuous" facilities that already use geothermal energy.

The organisations that represent the geothermal energy sector (French Association of Geothermal Energy Professionals - AFPG, The French Renewable Energies Union - SER) and local authorities in France (AMORCE, FNCCR) were also asked for their input to produce a specific brochure on this issue. The brochure describes the advantages of geothermal energy and illustrates these with detailed examples of the various installations that can be used by local authorities.

Presentation of the case for using geothermal energy at the Geothermal Awareness Days (Journées de sensibilisation à la géothermie - Paris, 2022).

Using the results

The brochure was produced in collaboration with key stakeholders, which facilitated its distribution to the "target audiences". In particular, it can be noted that the brochure attracted great interest from ANDES (French national association of elected representatives in charge of sport). It was also featured in an article in the magazine "Centres Aquatiques" (July-August 21) and mentioned in Les Echos newspaper (8 September 2021). The brochure was also presented during the Geothermal Awareness Days, organised in partnership with ADEME and AFPG (see photo below). This guide is part of the ADEME/BRGM series of brochures on geothermal energy.