European Commission’s Electrification Action Plan welcomed by energy groups

The European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) has welcomed the Electrification Action Plan and endorses its central objective to speed up “electrification across the sectors that are most dependent on fossil fuels, notably transport, buildings and industry”.

“The situation in the Middle East has already cost energy consumers across the European Union an additional €53 billion on energy imports. Dramatic course-correction is required,” said EGEC in a statement.

To deliver this, the Commission will create a Geothermal Stakeholder Partnership by Q1 2027 to remove regulatory, technical and investment barriers and accelerate the deployment of geothermal in Europe. The Geothermal Action Plan is urgently needed as a roadmap for the Partnership to frontload investments in Europe’s energy security, competitiveness and affordability.

EGEC also welcomed actions to remove barriers to the deployment of renewable heating technologies including thermal storage, reference to geothermal passive cooling combined with measures to accelerate the deployment of geothermal heat pumps in public buildings. The future adoption of a Cooling and Heating Plan should aim at phasing out fossil fuels and “to address the growing need for efficient cooling”.

Philippe Dumas, Secretary General of EGEC, stated: “The Commission’s Plan highlights the vital role of geothermal for Europe’s energy independence powered efficiently by clean, local, and affordable energy. The creation of a Geothermal Stakeholder Partnership should provide the engine needed to rapidly scale-up geothermal deployment in Europe. Now the Commission must also come forward with a robust European Geothermal Action Plan, which could provide a roadmap for the Stakeholder Partnership to fast-track investments.”

Sanjeev Kumar, EGEC’s Policy Director, added: “Geothermal makes electrification cheap, accessible and affordable for all. The Geothermal Action Plan must be published now to empower investors and consumers.”

For more information:
EGEC Geothermal
egec.org/