EGEC NEWSTHE VOICE OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN EUROPE
Issue n°4. March 2007
WELCOME… to the first issue of the EGEC Newsletter…for 2007

A word from the EGEC President :Dear members of EGEC, dear readers of this newsletter,the first months of 2007 have been full of activities towards an increased
share of Renewable Energy sources in the energy supply for Europe. Threemain events can be named:- the presentation of the Energy Package by the European Commission on
January 10, 2007
- the first European Renewable Energy Policy Conference on January 29-31, 2007, organised
by EREC and the German Minister of Environment (BMU) within the German presidency of
the EU- the European Council on March 9, 2007, agreeing on a binding target of 20 % renewableenergy share within all of the EU
The decision of the European Council is a historic milestone for renewable energies. However, it
is not the final arrival line, but merely the start of a new section of the road toward a sustainableenergy future. The distribution of the 20 % target to the member states, thenational allocation to sectors (and technologies), the right methods andmeasures, and much more promise to become even more challenging tasks
for the renewable energy sector within the next years.
EGEC was active in the Policy Conference, taking the opportunity to
inform high-level policy makers and decision makers about the advantagesof geothermal energy. One tool was the new Geothermal Heating andCooling Action Plan (cover see left), which is for download at the EGEC
website http://www.egec.org and can be obtained as hard copy from the
EGEC secretariat.
In April and March, EGEC will be involved in two events to promote geothermal energy, thegeothermal seminar at the exhibition and conference “RENEXPO” in Budapest on 20.4.2007,
and the European Geothermal Congress 2007 in Unterhaching (near Munich) on 30.5.-1.6.2007.
Please see the information provided at the end
This Issue :of this newsletter, and please come to- Policy2
Budapest and to Unterhaching!
- R&D Funding
8
Sincerely yours,- News from EGEC
10
Dr. Burkhard Sanner- News from EGEC members
12- Events
14

POLICY
The European Council has decided: Target of 20 % renewable energies in the EU by 2020 !
EGEC welcomes the principle of having a binding target of 20% renewable energy
by 2020 in the EU. But now the concrete work has to start, and the necessary
measures to reach the target need to be implemented quickly.
The spring council of the European Union
has adopted the Action Plan "Energy
Policy for Europe" for the years 20072009. The plan calls for a 20 % share of
renewable energies in the overall energy
supply of the European Union, the goal
which EGEC has been calling for together
with EREC and the partner associations inRenewable Energy. Sectorial goals (i.e. forelectricity, transport and heating/cooling)
have not been adopted for the EU at large,
but shall be implemented on the level of© Council of the EU
the Member States.
The next tasks now for EGEC and its sister associations are to follow the development of theplan for the allocation of individual binding targets for the Member States, for which theCommission will submit a proposal in early autumn this year, and to accompany the
implementation and the allocation to the energy sectors within the Member States. For this lasttask, EGEC needs the help of the relevant national associations in the geothermal sector. In a
joint effort, and backed by the EU decision, we should be able to ensure a satisfactory share anda good future for geothermal energy use!
“We welcome this clear signal for changing our energy supply structure. The Council followed
the call from its citizens and opted for clean, reliable, innovative and sustainable energy sources.
This step today was only possible because of the Commission’s efforts, now we hope that they
will continue the follow-up with the same motivation. We need to go ahead with full speed in
implementing the legislative framework, which will guarantee that renewable energy in all its
sectors and potentials will be exploited.” said EREC President Arthouros Zervos.
The heads of state of the EU Member States on Friday, March 9, 2007 legally bound the EU touse 20 % renewable energy and to cut CO2 emissions by 20 % by 2020. Under wording agreed
by all 27 member states, the EU endorsed “a binding target of a 20 % share of renewableenergies in overall EU energy consumption by 2020”. It would then be up to each member states
to decide on nationaltargets for specific sectors –electricity, heating andcooling, etc. This decision
follows the publication by
the European Commissionof an Energy Package on
January 10, 2007.
09.03.2007© Council of the EU

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

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The other element of discussion tries to prioritize the research and development choices to be set
in the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan, which was announced by the European
Commission for the second half-year of 2007. In the communication on the Strategic Energy
Technology Plan, the Commission proposed three key objectives in the development of its
energy technology: to lower the current cost of renewable energy, to facilitate the efficient use ofenergy and to place European industries in the leading position in low carbon technologies.
Now, it is the start of a legislative process in which a clear strategy needs to back-up the goals. It
is crucial to translate the goal of 20 % renewables by 2020 into different binding national targets.
A legislative framework, which respects the different sectors in renewable energy(heating/cooling, electricity and biofuels), is the key element in the pathway towards thesetargets, and is required as soon as possible. More specifically, the already existing and successful
legislation in renewable electricity and biofuels needs to be maintained and strengthened (withno lengthy discussion on new approaches, in order not to create uncertainty). Effective policy
instruments for the support of renewable heating and cooling need to be incorporated.
The European Parliament has decided to draft reports on the energy package and by that give its
opinion. It was decided to prepare three reports, on :- internal market and interconnection plan
rapporteur Vidal-Quadras- coal, nuclear and technology plan
rapporteur Herbert Reul
- renewable energy roadmap
rapporteur Britta Thomsen
The relevant portions of the EU Action Plan on Energy are available for download on the EGEC
website. The Energy Council on 6-8 June 2007 will follow up on the energy-climate change
package.

European Renewable Energy Policy Conference 2007
The "Brussels Declaration" from theEuropean Renewable Energy Policy
Conference 2007 put conclusions presented
at the closing session by the facilitator Mr.
Svend Auken as the Declaration on the New
Role of Renewable Energy Sources for a
Sustainable, Secure and Competitive
Energy Future for Europe. It can be
downloaded from the EGEC website, withall the video documentation of theRenewable Energy Policy Conference (incl.
the geothermal presentations given by
Burkhard Sanner and by Pierre Ungemach).
EU citizens in favour of Renewable Energies
According to the recent EUROBAROMETER energy survey, 83% of citizens in the member
states agree that the EU sets a minimum percentage of the energy used in each Member State thatshould come from renewable sources. The relevant press release of the EC was issued on March
5, 2007; it can be downloaded from our website. On the other hand, 61% of the overall EU
population think that the share of nuclear energy should be decreased due to concerns such as
nuclear waste and the danger of accidents. In 22 out of the 27 member states a majority of
citizens favour decreasing the nuclear share.
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

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In a previous EUROBAROMETER on the ‘Energy technologies’,
published by DG Research on January 8, 2007, Geothermal energy is
considered as a new technology (!) known by 44% of the EU citizens
with the greatest score for Finland, Germany and France, and thelowest in Ireland and Baltic countries.
Unfortunately, for the second part of this EUROBAROMETER on ‘Acceptance of Renewableenergy sources’, Geothermal energy was not considered by DG Research…
Progress Report on Geothermal Electricity
In its Energy Package, the European Commission published notably a Report on progress inrenewable electricity. In 2001, the European Union set a target that 21% of electricity generated
in the EU Member States should come from renewable energy sources by 2010. Although 50%
additional renewable electricity has been produced since the last report two years ago, figures
show that the overall share of renewable electricity will fall just short of the target, reaching 19%
by 2010.
The report states that “electricity production from geothermal sources is currently mainly used in
Italy, Portugal and France. The undisputed European leader is Italy, with over 95% of all
installed capacity in the EU. Apart from these leading countries, new developments can beobserved in Austria and Germany with binary cycle technology producing electricity and heat at
the same time. At the end of the year 2004, it represented 8.911 MW worldwide installed. Europe
has 9 % of worldwide geothermal capacity. The evolution of geothermal electricity would
considerably depend on the possibilities of producing heat and electricity at the same time”.
In its conclusion the reportunderlines the importance of a fulland correct implementation of the
Directive on renewable electricity,and the immediate lifting ofadministrative barriers, unfair grid
access and complex procedures.
The Commission will, in 2007, reexamine the support schemes forrenewable electricity and propose a
new legal framework for thepromotion of renewable energy
sources.
Source: Eurostat

7000

EGEC target
EGEC target

6000

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5000
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4000

EGEC target

3000

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paper
target2000
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white
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target1000 starting point
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2020

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

4The Swiss Geothermal Association issues a statement concerning the future use of deep
geothermal energy.
As a reaction to the seismic events in the surrounding of the Basel DHM project, and to thesubsequent public discussion, the Swiss Geothermal Association / Géothermie.CH, member of
EGEC, has issued a press release:
After the setback for the Geothermal Project in Basel the Swiss Geothermal Association SVG
calls for a national research program dedicated to research and application of deep geothermalenergy. The insufficient experience and scientific knowledge that became obvious after theearthquake happening in the Deep Heat Mining geothermal project in Basel highlighted thenecessity of a broad research program concerning electric power generation from deep, hotrocks. The use of deep geothermal energy, scarcely investigated and developed up to now, mustbe supported more.
Advantages and risk of geothermal energy shall be evaluated diligently. This states a decision of
the Committee of the Swiss Geothermal Association SVG at its meeting on January 17, 2007.
Geothermal heat offers a huge potential for future energy supply. It can contribute a
considerable amount to sustainable electric power production. Geothermal heat is free of CO2,
renewable, always available, and it does not produce waste. In the light of a dooming electric
power gap, geothermal energy has a particular role among the renewable energies.
The geothermal project in Basel, however, proves that there is still a substantial need forresearch. Hence GEOTHERMIE.CH demands that efforts are made fast and determined, inorder to create the basis for a successful use of this energy resource. Because nature cannot be
investigated in the laboratory or at the computer only, full-scale research plants need to be partof it. In consequence, a national research project “Geothermal Energy” is needed urgently.
Mass media, politics and society have high expectations towards deep geothermal energy.
However, the use of deep geothermal energy for electric power production is hardly tested –other than the use of shallow geothermal energy for heating through borehole heat exchangers(100-300 m depth) and heat pumps. To develop the technology of power production withgeothermal heat into industrial maturity, the construction of further pilot- and test-plants isrequired. Similar efforts were necessary in the past in order to develop nuclear energy
technologies. Deep Heat Mining and the so-called Hot Fractured Rock process are only slightly
tested on a world-wide scale, and little is known today about their possibilities and impact. The
development of this technology is one of the big challenges for the future.

Two Energy Scenarios for the World in the year 2050 presented
1) World Energy Technology Outlook to 2050
The WETO-H2 study, presented on January 8, 2007, by the European Commission, hasdeveloped a reference projection of the world energy system and two variant scenarios, a carbon
constraint case and a hydrogen case. These scenarios have been used to explore the options fortechnology and climate policies in the next half-century. All the projections to 2050 have been
made with a world energy sector simulation model – the POLES model – that describes thedevelopment of the national and regional energy systems, and their interactions throughinternational energy markets, under constraints on resources and climate policies.

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

5In the reference case, world energy consumption doubles by 2050. Oil and gas supplies reach aplateau, i.e. neither a peak in oil, nor abundant and cheap oil and gas. Some of the key messagesof the different WETO-H2 scenarios include:•

For the 'business-as-usual' scenario:- Total energy consumption in the world more than doubles from the current ten Gtoe
(gigaton of oil equivalent) per year to 22 Gtoe in 2050. For Europe, the increase is moremodest (from 1.9 Gtoe to 2.6 Gtoe per year in 2050)- fossil fuels will provide 70% of this total and non-fossil (mostly renewables andnuclear) 30%- prices will reach $110 per barrel for oil and $100 boe (barrels of oil equivalent) for gas- coal will return as an important source of electricity and reach a price of $110 per ton in2050;- there will be more use of nuclear and renewables after 2020 ("massive after 2030")- resulting CO2 emissions in this scenario will be between 900 to 1000 ppm (parts per
million), around double that which is currently perceived by scientists as acceptable. For
Europe, CO2 emissions in 2050 will be 10% less than their present level.

•

For the 'carbon-constrained' scenario:- This scenario accepts a level of CO2 emissions close to 500 ppm for 2050
- global energy demand will be three Gtoe lower than in the reference scenario; renewables(30%) and nuclear (40%) will have bigger shares of electricity production but coalconsumption will stagnate despite carbon capture and storage technologies- global CO2 emissions will be 25% higher than in 1990, but EU emissions will have been
halved ("factor two" reduction)- in Europe, renewables will provide 22% of energy demand and nuclear 30%; the share offossil fuels will be less than 50%, leading to enhanced energy self-sufficiency for Europe.

•for the 'hydrogen' scenario:- Total world energy demand will be 8% less than in the reference case; the share of fossil
fuels by 2050 will be less than 60%; demand for coal drops considerably but nuclear andrenewables increase- hydrogen will provide 13% of final energy consumption compared with 2% in thereference case; half of hydrogen production comes from renewables and 40% from
nuclear; 90% of hydrogen will be used in transport- Europe will have the following energy mix: nuclear: 33%, oil, natural gas and renewables
each 20% and coal 6%.

2) Energy (R)evolution: a sustainable world energy outlook
EREC and Greenpeace presented their joint report "Energy (R)evolution: a sustainable worldenergy outlook" on January 25, 2007.
Renewable energy sources have, in theory, the potential to provide
our economies with more than enough clean energy. Every day moreenergy from sunlight reaches the earth than the world economy
needs. And although only a small proportion of these renewablesources can be technically accessed, some scientists believe that this
proportion is large enough to provide six times more power than theworld currently requires.
Nevertheless, renewable energy only accounts for 13.1% of the
global primary energy demand (figures IEA 2004). In the EU, theshare of renewables is around 8%. But rising oil prices, concerns
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

6about long-term demand-supply issues for non-renewable fossil fuels and the burning challengeof global warming have renewed politicians' interest in geothermal, solar, wind, biomass andhydro power.
The main messages of the EREC-Greenpeace report are:- Huge energy efficiency measures in the transport and housing sector can reduce global
primary energy demand from the current 435’000 PJ/a to 422’000 PJ/a by 2050. The IEAWorld Outlook 2004 foresees 810’000 PJ/a
- half of this reduced primary energy demand can be covered by renewables- nuclear can be phased out completely and fossil fuels will only be used in the transport
sector (the study is less optimistic than some governments on biofuels)- by 2050, 70% of electricity will be produced from renewable resources; in the heatsector, the contribution of renewables will be 65%- this energy [r]evolution will lead to huge reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions: from
23’000 million tonnes in 2003 to 11’500 million tonnes in 2050; annual per-capita
emissions will go down from 4.0 t to 1.3 t- contrary to the IEA reference scenario, energy costs can be stabilised under the
EREC/Greenpeace scenario; in the IEA report these costs will quadruple.
In order to achieve this scenario, the report recommends the following political measures:- Phase out all subsidies for fossil fuels and nuclear and internalise external costs- establish worldwide legally binding targets for renewables- provide stable returns for investors- guarantee priority access to the grid for renewable power generators- apply strict efficiency standards for all energy-consuming appliances, buildings andvehicles.
The Greenpeace report “energy
http://www.erec.org/publications/[r]evolution”

isavailablefordownloadat:

EC carbon dioxide sequestration consultation open until April 16, 2007
The European Commission has invited the public to send in its views on the benefits andchallenges of carbon capture and storage. A questionnaire may be filled in online
http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=CCS
As EUREC mentioned: The final question in the questionnaire asks how much extra households
and businesses would be prepared to pay for electricity from “non-CO2” emitting sources. Thisis very poor phrasing. “Non-CO2”-emitting sources include nuclear electricity and renewableenergy as well as fossil energy with carbon sequestration. The amount that consumers arewilling to pay will depend on the primary source. Respondents considering the question should
be aware that by 2020, support schemes for renewable energy should not exceed 5-10% of their
total electricity bill. The bill for an average German household is about 50 € / month, the same(in real terms) as it was in 1998. Over this period, Germany has been the country that has done
most to promote renewable electricity, using a highly successful form of market support scheme
known as the ‘feed-in tariff’. In 2020, the date by when the Commission believes “all new coalfired power plants should be built with CCS”, the scheme is not forecast to cost the German
consumer more than 2.80 € per month, compared with 2.21 €/month at present.
In 2020 all European consumers can expect to be buying electricity on a fully liberalised market,
so perhaps a better question would have been, “Making the realistic assumption that the prices
for fossil energy with carbon capture and storage and electricity from renewable energy sources
will be equal 2020, which would you choose?”
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

7

Public consultation on the "European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan)"
The Communication 'Towards a European Strategic Energy Technology Plan' (SET-Plan)(COM (2006)847 : http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/index_en.htm ) establishes thebasis for the preparation of such a plan. The aim of the SET-Plan is to accelerate the market
introduction and take up of low-carbon and efficient energy technologies. The strategic elementof the plan will be to identify those technologies for which it is essential that the European Union
as a whole works in an integrated manner, for instance working in result-oriented actions basedon strong coalitions of Member States, or in public-private partnerships with the industry.
The Commission intends to put forward a first European Strategic Energy Technology Plan
(SET-Plan) at the end of 2007. The closing date of this consultation is 13 May 2007.
Geysir Green Energy to Focus on Geothermal Projects Globally
Glitnir, FL Group and VGK Honnun Engineering have founded Geysir Green Energy, aninvestment company to invest globally in renewable energy projects having a basis ofgeothermal sources. The company aims to invest US$ 1 billion in sustainable energy projects.
Geysir Green Energy intends to seek market opportunities in the harnessing of geothermalenergy, invest in the development and construction of geothermal plants, acquire geothermal
plants currently owned by power utilities and participate in the privatization of energy companies
all over the world.

ENGINE Mid-Term Conference
On January 9-10, 2007,
the ENGINE project had
its Mid-Term Conferenceat
GFZ
Potsdam,Germany (see photo).
Learn more from thisproject on Enhanced
Geothermal
Systemsfrom:
http://engine.brgm.fr

photo: GFZ Potsdam

R&D FUNDING
Deadline for DG TREN FP7 'Energy' research proposals postponed
DG TREN has decided to extend the deadline for its first call for research
proposals under the 'Energy' theme of the 'Co-operation' programme inFP7. A deadline of 28 June 2007 replaces the deadline of 3 May 2007 that wereported on our last newsletter.
The Commission announced the extension at an FP7 'info day' in Brussels on 13 February. The
deadline for DG RTD proposals remains unchanged at 3 May.

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

8GEOTHERMAL ELECTRICITY : AREA ENERGY.2.4: GEOTHERMAL
Topic ENERGY.2007.2.4.1: Understanding and Mitigation of Induced Seismicity
Associated with Geothermal Field Development
Open in call: FP7-ENERGY-2007-1-RTD
Deadline: 03 May 2007 at 17:00 (Brussels local time)
GEOTHERMAL HEATING & COOLING : AREA ENERGY.4.3: GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Topic ENERGY.2007.4.3.1: Improved ground source heat pumps
Open in call: FP7-ENERGY-2007-2-TREN
Topic ENERGY.2007.4.3.2: Improved underground systems
Open in call: FP7-ENERGY-2007-2-TREN
Deadline: 28 June 2007 at 17:00 (Brussels local time)
The importance of the topic on induced seismicity described above was confirmed by nature: asin december 2006 and January 2007, minor earthquakes have occurred in Basel, Switzerland,
which are considered to have been triggered by the frac process in the Swiss Deep Heat Mining
project.
For more information on the calls, please visit:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ and http://ec.europa.eu/research/fp7/home_en.html

EUREKA programme calls for renewable energy projects
A EUREKA cluster, 'EUROGIA', is calling for renewable energy research proposals. Companies
that are seeking to co-operate with at least one other company from a different European country
in a research project are invited to apply. Their proposals must describe projects that will yield acommercialisable result. The conditions on EUROGIA's projects should be industry-coordinated and involve at least two industrial partners from two of EUROGIA's 16 participating
countries. Industry partners are free to include research centres in their consortium as required.
The call for proposals is published on www.eurogia.com.
Deadline : 7 May 2007

Funding for European intelligent energy projects: the 2007 call for proposals
The 2007 call for proposals - the first callunder the new IEE II programme – isscheduled for publication in April 2007.
The deadline for submitting proposals will be 28 September 2007. Approximately € 55 million
will be made available to support promotional projects and so-called 'integrated initiatives'. The
co-funding rate will be up to 75% of the eligible costs - up from 50% in previous years.
This year's work programme will cover three themes (energy efficiency, renewable energy
sources and transport) and focus on five policy objectives (enabling policies, market
transformation, behavioural change, access to capital, training). IEE projects catalyse innovationand change through transfer of experience, promotion of best practices, education and training,building institutional capacity, information dissemination and development of new European
standards. "Hardware" type investment projects and technological research and development
projects are therefore not funded under this programme.
The IEEA will organise a European Info Day on 19 April 2007 in Brussels and a series national
Info Days will also be organised in participating countries.
More details: http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

9NEWS FROM EGEC
New members:
We are pleased to announce that since our last newsletter in December 2006, 7 new partners
joined us as EGEC members ; and we are glad that our 52 members now cover 21 countries !
ASA (Romania), Ground Source Heat Pump Association (UK), Hungarian Thermal
Energy Society (Hungary), Leonardo Venablers (Spain), VITO (Belgium), Renovables
Combinados (Spain).

Project GROUNDREACH
The Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) Best Practice Database (http://www.groundreach.eu)
provides for you case studies from Germany, Greece, Spain. All stakeholders interested inpresenting their successful ground source heat pump installation(s) to the public are invited tomake direct online input on the website. Measurement of seasonal performance factor (SPF) overat least one heating period is required.
Two GROUNDREACH promotion events took place in the recent months:- 24.01.2007: Workshop at Arsenal Research, Vienna, AT (presentation for EGEC by
Burkhard Sanner)- 08.02.2007: Conference at BRGM, Orleans, FR (presentation for EGEC by Christian
Boissavy)
The documentation is available on the GROUNDREACH website. Upcoming events are also
listed in this Newsletter.
The European Ground Source Heat Pump Committee, which had been created in 2006 withinproject GROUNDREACH, now is operational. The first meeting was held in Frankfurt,
Germany, on March 7, 2007. The committee discussed its duties and started work on theharmonisation of definitions for geothermal energy for statistical purposes (more to be released
later).
The committee has a mission statement, drafted by Dimitrios Mendrinos of CRES, Greece: “Themission of the European Ground Source Heat Pump Committee is to effectively assist thepenetration of ground source heat pumps into the European market by coordinating the efforts of
EGEC and EHPA.” The committee is jointly co-ordinated by EHPA president Karl Ochsner and
EGEC president Burkhard Sanner, with Martin Forsen, Axel Lehmann and Thomas Nowak asdelegates for EHPA, and Robin Curtis, Walter Eugster and Olivier Griere for EGEC.

Project K4RES-H
8 Mtoe in 2020 of Geothermal Heating and Cooling : EGEC published at
the European Policy Conference in Brussels – 29-31 January 2007 its
Geothermal Heating & Cooling Action Plan for Europe.
All reports can be downloaded from the project website , see EGEC website > projects. Printed
copies of the action plan are available through the EGEC office in Brussels.
The project and the Action Plan have been presented also at a dedicated RES-H workshop with
the Slovak Biomass Forum in Bratislava on February 20, 2007.
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

10Project GTR-H
The GTR-H project is designed to provide a framework document for the implementation ofnational legislation for the licensing and regulation of geothermal energy use in the four target
countries of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, and Northern Ireland (UK). Deficient, and in some cases
effectively absent, geothermal regulations in target countries is being reviewed by the local
partners. The project team is analysing and identifying the necessary solutions to local
deficiencies and barriers of the differing regulations and legislations.
Current legislation regarding geothermal energy in Germany, France and The Netherlands has
been identified as providing effective and forward looking regulation in this sector. The
legislation in these countries will be reviewed by local partners and the elements defining its
success will be analysed through key target group and stakeholder interviews, as well as relevant
study tours.
An adaptable and flexible draft template framework, with the potential to be accepted in otherregions of Europe, including those with challenging issues will be prepared with the project
partners.
EGEC will play a fundamental role in harmonising the framework to reflect socio-economic,
environmental, legal and fiscal conditions during consultations to be conducted with thegeothermal community in all EU member states. An EU-wide conference to be held in Brussels
in April 2009 will be the culmination of this process, where the final draft framework will bepresented. Another international conference on geothermal energy regulation will be held in
Dublin in October 2009.
Current Status:
The key elements of the information gathering phase will be the review of deficient regulations,the identification of barriers to growth and development of the geothermal sector, to be discussed
through consultation with the stakeholders, key target groups and international experts:•
Decision Makers at national government level•
Government agencies in water, energy, environment and planning•
Trade and industry associations•
Banking and financing institutions•
Legal representatives•
Geothermal educational facilities and associations•
Geothermal exploration and resource assessment consultants•
Geothermal end-users representing district heating, horticulture, aquaculture, spas,
vertical and horizontal heat exchanger systems
Subsequent review of best practice will allow the definition of a framework for geothermalenergy which can accommodate the legislative, environmental, energy, planning and financial
considerations in the provision of geothermal energy regulation at national level in target
countries.
The first round table within project GTR-H did take place in Kistelek, Hungary, on February 7,
2007, following the 3rd Kistelek Geothermal Seminar. The next round table is scheduled forApril 3, 2007, in Dublin.

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

11NEWS FROM EGEC MEMBERS
Realisation of Thermal Energy Storage Projects in Flanders, Belgium
The story of UTES began in 1995 with the first introduction of ATES in Belgium. At first, thegeological situation of the underground was examined and some feasibility studies were made.
In 1998 the first ATES installation went in operation at Leuven. Today, more than ten, all large,
ATES systems (> 500 kW cooling), most of them located in the Campine/Kempen region, areinstalled, in operation and monitored over a period of 3 years. Due to the hydrogeologicallimitations, the most interesting regions and cities of Belgium are not suitable for ATES
technology. It became necessary to find alternative solutions for these regions, this is provided
by borehole thermal energy storage (BTES).
In recent years VITO carried out several feasibility studies in health and commercial building
sector on ground source heat pumps (GSHP) in combination with vertical borehole heatexchangers (BHEs). This has recently resulted in a number of BTES projects in Belgium. A hightemperature (> 50°C) BTES with 144 BHEs (depth 30 m) is in operation and demonstrated at thesite of VITO (Belgium) and is monitored in a 5th European framework research project
TESSAS. The TESSAS system consists of a high temperature waste heat storage system withdirect use of the heat during winter time. Another demonstration project regards a social housing
system with a BTES/Heat Pump system and a solar road collector (Central Solar Heating Plant
with Seasonal Storage – CSHPSS).
EANDIS office building with large BTES field
In the new office building (15.000 m² surface) of
EANDIS at Gent (Belgium) a borehole thermal energy
storage system (BTES) with 90 heat exchangers is
combined with a water/water heat pump for heating andcooling. More then 75% of the total heat demand of theoffice building is covered by the heat pump and morethen 50% of free cooling potential is available. Researchon the feasibility was conducted by VITO in 2005. A
thermal response test was made with a measuring trailer
by VITO in February 2006 leading to the appropriate
design specifications and conditions.
The drillings has started in december 2006 and are
conducted by GMC and drilling company Johan
Verheyden and the whole geothermal project is overseen
by VITO with its design team.
New rest home project De Notelaer
For a new energy-efficient rest home with 150 beds afeasibility study (June 2006) was made for the construction ofa BTES system in combination with a water/water heat pump
photos: VITO
for heating and cooling.
A thermal response test was conducted by VITO in January 2007. Around 40 heat exchangers
are necessary in this project. Positive signs on the effective realization are received but are still tobe approved by the council.

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

12Other projects
The number of feasibility studies and contacts indicates that the use of underground thermalenergy storage in Belgium will inspire a larger group of building owners.
Further development in UTES applications will be the dissemination of the results of ATES and
BTES projects, the development of guidelines and best practices, etc. The potential for further
market growth is expected to be very high in both applications but it still needs an extra effort to
finally launch them.

First thermal water well drilled successfully at Neuruppin (Germany)
A geothermal heated hotel and leisure complex is under construction at Neuruppin / Federal
Land of Brandenburg. On 9 January 2007, the work at the production well of the future
geothermal plant was completed with a productivity test and deep water sampling. The welldevelops the Aalenian at a depth of approx. 1650 m and can, as expected, produce thermal waterwith a temperature of 60 °C and a flow rate of 50 m³/h. Thus, the prognosticated parameters
could be achieved, and an important stage of the development of the overall project could becompleted. Subsequently, the injection well shall be drilled.
Since the hotel and leisure complex will be equipped with low-temperature heating networks, amajor share of heat can be supplied by the 60 °C hot thermal water in direct heat exchange.
Based on the prognosticated outstanding characteristics of the thermal brine, it is intended to use
it for balneological purposes in a brine spa.
GTN - Geothermie Neubrandenburg GmbH was charged with the planning of the thermal waterloop (including the wells), the heat production and supply of brine by the S.I.N. Seetorinvest
GmbH Neuruppin. The newly founded valendis GmbH (www.valendis.de) will apply the
Neuruppin brine as active substance for the production of natural cosmetics.

Success announced from Unterhaching (Germany)
The Unterhaching (Free State of Bavaria) geothermal project took an important step towards its
objective of geothermal electricity generation. On 18 January 2007, the GTN specialists could
announce the breakthrough in the testing of the second deep well to the Managing Board of the
Geothermie Unterhaching GmbH & Co. KG. As the
productivity and the temperature of the well Gt
Unterhaching 2 even surpass the very good parameters of
the first well, the geothermal doublet and, thus, theoperation of the geothermal plant are ensured.
Still in December 2006, disillusioning test results did notindicate in any way the final success. At the depth of 3595
m, the productivity of the second well was insufficient.
Only after further drilling down to 3864 m and more
massive stimulation, this success was achieved.
Same as in the case of the first deep well, GTN Geothermie
Neubrandenburg GmbH was responsible for well and test
design, site management and test servicing of the second
well. In addition, GTN was charged with the geologicalservicing of the drilling. The results are quite impressive:
Unterhaching has two of the most productive geothermal
wells in Germany.

photo Gemeinde Unterhaching

EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

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EVENTS
Invitation to RENEXPO Budapest 2007 online
EGEC is co-organising, together with REECO Hungary kft., a geothermal event during theconference alongside RENEXPO Budapest, on April 20, 2007. Details of the exhibiton and theconference can be found on the next page or at http://www.renexpo-budapest.com/ .
EGEC members are eligible to a reduced participation fee of 70 Euro. This applies to direct
members of EGEC, and not to members of EGEC member associations (only the regular
dedicated EGEC delegates of member associations are eligible). Please have a look at thegeothermal conference program directly at the next page, or on the website, and consider yourparticipation.
Geothermal companies are also invited to exhibit their products and services at RENEXPO
Budapest 2007, please see the website stated above.

European Geothermal Congress 2007 : 30.05-01.06.2007 in Unterhaching (Germany)
Visit http://www.egc2007.de and find the full programme in the 3rd announcement, with all
information on the congress, excursion, exhibition, etc.
For our member companies: Call for sponsoring of EGC 2007 is now online ! Find out how you
can support the conference, while making your name visible to the geothermal community.

Date

Place

Content

18.04.2007

Bern, CH

Strom aus Geothermie / Géothermie et productiond´electricité, Geothermie.CH

19.04.2007

Freiburg, DE

3rd International Geothermal Power Conference

20.04.2007

Budapest, HU

International Conference ‘Geothermal Energy inEastern Europe’, at RENEXPO Budapest(REECO and EGEC)

23.04.2007

Sofia, BG

Groundreach: Promotion of GSHP in Bulgaria

10.05.2007

Warsaw, PL

Groundreach: Promotion of GSHP in Poland,‘Thermo Modernization Forum’

21.05.2007

Setubal, PT

Groundreach: Promotion of GSHP in Portugal

23.05.2007

Utrecht, NL

Groundreach: Market barriers towards market
penetration of Ground Source Heat Pumps

25.05.2007

Rome, ITK4RES-H: Regional Conference ‘The role of RES-H
in the European energy supply’

30.05-01.06.2007

Unterhaching, DE

European Geothermal Congress 2007
(IGA-ERB, EGEC, GtV-BV, Geothermie.CH,
GEAS, MAGA)EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

14more info and online registration: http://www.renexpo-budapest.com

See you in Budapest in April - and in Unterhaching in May !
EGEC asbl – Renewable Energy House – Rue d´Arlon 63-65 – B-1040 Bruxelles – Belgium – www.egec.org

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