According to a recent position paper, “the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) calls on the EU to push joint research with the carbon capture and storage (CCS) community. EGEC also urges those EU-financed CCS projects to make public results on exploration and storage. EGEC wants greater commitment to evaluating the potential of deep geothermal energy. Joint research, also with oil and gas exploration, should start “immediately” on common areas of interest so as to decrease the costs and resolve environmental issues.

EGEC is also calling on public authorities to come up with underground regional planning in order to optimise resource allocation between geothermal energy, carbon storage and possible other underground usages. The geothermal association sees growing potential for conflicts with CCS as both industries may target the same deep aquifers or the same areas within sedimentary basins. “Geothermal energy may also be produced from rocks below the depth range for potential CO 2 disposal sites, and investigations are needed to determine if geothermal exploitation beneath CO 2 deposits might be feasible at all,” notes EGEC’s position paper.

EGEC notes that zones of dual use should be clearly identified. Priority, says EGEC, should be given to geothermal energy rather than carbon storage. Directive 2009/31/EC on the geological storage of carbon dioxide fails to solve such issues merely noting, in recital 19, that member states should give due consideration to other energy-related options, including renewables.

Aside from €1.05 billion under the EU recovery plan, estimates foresee up to €6 billion to fund 10-12 CCS demonstration projects under the New Entrants Reserve (NER300) in the revised Emission Trading Scheme.”

The position paper is available at www.europolitics.info > Search = 263334

Soruce: EGEC position paper (Thanks to Philippe Dumas of EGEC for sending this through) and Europolitics