As a local, renewable, carbon-free, and continuously available energy source, geothermal energy “has major advantages for the energy transition,” according to the french Cour des comptes.
However, in a report published on Tuesday, January 13, it deplores the fact that public support has still not been enough to overcome the obstacles to its deployment in France (initial costs, technical and geological risks, complexity of procedures, etc.).
Its recommendation: remove the structural barriers to its development and simplify overly complex procedures. “Achieving the objectives depends less on increasing aid than on better organization and prioritization of support, clearer risk management, greater knowledge of the subsurface, and the mobilization of innovations that are now mature,” it states in its report.
As a reminder, the Multi-Year Energy Program (PPE), which constitutes France’s energy roadmap, indicates a fourfold increase in geothermal production by 2035. Today, it accounts for only about 1% of final heat consumption.
The Cour des comptes points in particular to:
- Surface geothermal energy, which remains underdeveloped, particularly in collective housing;
- Deep geothermal energy, which remains hampered by very high initial investments and uncertainties about geological resources.
To be continued…
Source : Les soutiens publics au développement de la géothermie – Cour des comptes