The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs has presented a draft of the Geothermal Acceleration Act. The draft has not been met with unanimous approval in the industry.
Tthe German Federal Cabinet approved the draft Geothermal Energy Acceleration Act (GeoBG). The law, which was drafted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), focuses on classifying geothermal energy plants, large heat pumps, and heat storage facilities as projects of “overriding public interest” – a classification that already applies to wind energy and PV systems.
The aim is to speed up approvals for heating projects that use geothermal energy, water, wastewater, or industrial waste heat. Among other things, applications will be able to be submitted digitally in the future, approvals for operating plans will be issued within one year, and project managers will be appointed as permanent contact persons. This body will support authorities in the approval process but will not make any decisions. Comparable roles already exist in federal immission control law. According to the draft, if authorities do not respond within the one-month deadline, this may be interpreted as approval – with the exception of water law permits.
Another new feature is the acceleration of the construction of district heating pipelines. Pipelines for distributing heat from the producer to the consumer are to be treated in the same way as energy supply pipelines for electricity, gas, or hydrogen. For the federal government, the expansion of district heating is a key lever for decarbonizing heating networks.
Overall, the approval process is to be standardized through digitization requirements and structured completeness checks.
The German Geothermal Association (BVG) sees the cabinet decision as a signal for a future-oriented heat supply. Managing Director Gregor Dilger sees the new classification of geothermal energy plants as “increased investment security” for municipal utilities, citizens, and investors. The deadlines and procedural simplifications provided for in the law are suitable for implementing projects more quickly.
However, Dilger warns that implementation in practice will also require sufficient administrative capacity. The federal government should also quickly implement the announced program to hedge the discovery risk in order to close the financing gap for deep geothermal projects. In the run-up to the cabinet decision, the association had already called for geothermal plants in rural areas to be given special privileges under building law, for special fast-track areas to be designated, and for suitable public land to be made available for geothermal energy – in line with wind energy. This demand has also been echoed by other industry associations.
The association also criticizes the continuing regulation that requires drilling at depths of 100 meters or more to be examined to determine whether a final storage site is possible. In the BVG's view, this limit is technically incomprehensible and makes even small projects such as geothermal systems for single-family homes more difficult.
Better use of bioenergy potential
The Capital Office for Bioenergy (HBB) took a much more critical view of the current draft. The HBB acknowledges that it is positive that heat pipes have been included in the law alongside heat storage systems.
However, it sees considerable room for improvement. “The GeoBG can help to leverage the huge potential of renewable heat and accelerate the heat transition,” says Sandra Rostek, head of the Capital Office. “But to do so, the potential of bioenergy must be taken into account in a more targeted manner.”
Specifically, the HBB is calling for greater flexibility for biogas plants, the complete utilization of woody biomass, and accelerated approval of heating networks. For the latter, Rostek suggests, among other things, raising the thresholds for preliminary testing under the Environmental Impact Assessment Act. She also advocates a new privilege in building law to make it easier to install heat storage facilities at biogas plants. According to the HBB, these are necessary to decouple electricity and heat generation. The German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE) also supports these demands. The BEE says that the heat transition can only succeed with technology-neutral regulations, clear legal definitions, and reliable financing for renewable heat projects.
The German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW) sees the GeoBG as an important step toward strengthening climate-neutral heat sources, but calls for improvements, particularly with regard to the protection of drinking water resources.
The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) sees numerous measures in the draft law that could significantly accelerate the expansion of geothermal energy. Among other things, it supports fixed deadlines, digital processes, and the introduction of contact persons in public authorities. In addition, the VKU proposes nationwide manuals and guidelines for innovative heating technologies.
For water law issues, the VKU suggests setting up a project management system to coordinate water management projects. At the same time, the association is calling for legal clarification on protecting the water supply. Priority areas for drinking water extraction and water protection areas should be excluded from the scope of the law to avoid conflicts of use.
