À la demande de la direction générale de la Prévention des risques (DGPR) au sein du ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires, et de la direction générale de l’Énergie et du Climat (DGEC) au sein du ministère de la Transition énergétique, l'Ineris et le BRGM publient un guide à l’intention de l’ensemble des parties prenantes de la filière géothermie profonde.
© BRGM
The need
Drawn up as part of the public policy support mission of BRGM and Ineris, this guidebook was produced with the assistance of the Directorate-General for Risk Prevention (DGPR) within the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, and the Directorate-General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) within the Ministry for the Energy Transition. The purpose of the guide is to provide all stakeholders (operators, government departments, local residents, elected representatives and associations) with the information to better understand the issues associated with the seismicity induced by geothermal exploration and operation, and with the control of risks and nuisances.
The results
Produced jointly by BRGM and Ineris, this guidebook covers the different types of geothermal reservoir and exploitation methods used in mainland France and the French overseas départements and regions. It is based on feedback from numerous projects and on the current state of scientific knowledge in the field of seismicity induced by fluid injection deep below the Earth’s surface.
It proposes a method for assessing the risk of induced seismicity and a strategy for re-evaluating the risk at each key phase in the development of a project. Based on available data and established criteria, this approach enables the exploitation method and the tools for preventing and controlling seismicity to be adapted to the project and its development.
The guidebook also makes recommendations as to the essential data to be acquired at each stage of a project, to anticipate, as far as possible, the hydromechanical behaviour of the reservoir during operations and to size and manage a micro-seismic monitoring network when the level of risk so requires. It also lays the foundations for defining protocols for deploying and managing operations based on the technologies used and the micro-seismicity detected.
I would like to thank the authors of the guide for their work, which reflects our shared objectives of modernising the action of government departments, promoting transparency, efficiency and a greater understanding by all those involved in deep geothermal operations.
Using the results
Freely available for downloading from the website of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, the guide is intended to help operators develop deep geothermal energy projects, taking account of best practices in terms of controlling induced seismicity. It is also intended to help government departments monitor the applications submitted. A number of Information days were held in October 2023 to present these results to geothermal energy professionals as well as to local government departments.
The partners
- Ineris
- General Directorate for Risk Prevention (DGPR), Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion.
- General Directorate for Energy and the Climate (DGEC), Ministry for the Ecological Transition,
