The European Geothermal Energy Council reports in the 11th edition of its annual Geothermal Market Report, just published, that the European geothermal sector has made a strong recovery from the COVID slowdown in 2021.
The EGEC Market Report provides an in-depth assessment of the geothermal industry’s evolution during the year 2021. The key developments were:
- The heating and cooling sector accounted for more than half of the new projects commissioned.
- Geothermal heat pump sales reached record growth levels – 73% in France, 59% in Austria 59%, 35% in Belgium and 10% in Germany.
- In terms of overall heat pump capacity installed the market was still dominated by Germany and Sweden which represent half the installations in Europe, and nearly half the annual sales.
- Six new geothermal electricity plants were installed to bring the total to 3.4 GWe capacity installed and 19 TWh produced.
- 14 new geothermal district heating and cooling systems were commissioned. France and the Netherlands commissioned three each. The remaining new capacity was in Germany, Finland, Poland, and Switzerland. Notably, the first geothermal district cooling project was commissioned in Finland.
- Exploration began for high-temperature resources to supply a paper manufacturing facility in the Netherlands. This is the first instance of an industrial manufacturer turning to geothermal to meet its process heat needs.
Philippe Dumas, EGEC secretary-general noted that: “2021 proved that geothermal is the most reliable, cost-effective and ‘go-to’ solution for local authorities, industry, households and commercial buildings”. He added. “Now it is important for regulators to give it the same recognition and support as other technologies to ensure energy independence and climate security before 2030”.?
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