EU says geothermal is a priority; it now needs to prove it

This article was co-authored with Francesco Corvaro, Italian special envoy for climate change

Geothermal energy — stable, abundant and low carbon — represents an excellent opportunity for the EU to boost energy security, enhance economic competitiveness and support its climate ambitions.

Clean Air Task Force recently estimated that 1 per cent of Europe’s high-temperature geothermal resources could yield around 18,000 terawatt hours of electricity — roughly enough to power more than 1,400 cities the size of Berlin. Despite this enormous potential, however, geothermal remains underutilised.

As a first step to reversing this trend, the European Commission must deliver on energy commissionerDan Jørgensen’s commitment to develop a comprehensive EU geothermal action plan and provide aclear vision for geothermal energy deployment in the bloc.

This article was originally published in Sustainable Views, a business publication from the Financial Times. Click  to read the full story.