Dutch geothermal sector publishes action plan for quadruple growth by 2030

Skating in front of the Parliament Building in Den Haag, Netherlands (source: flickr/ zoetnet, creative commons)

The Dutch geothermal sector through Geothermie Nederland has presented an action plan to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EFZ) that aims to accelerate the growth of the geothermal industry in the Netherlands. The “Geothermal Acceleration Action Plan” (in Dutch) can be accessed via this link.

This proposal for a Geothermal Acceleration Action Plan is the response of the geothermal sector to the tightened climate targets and the government’s approach to reduce the use of Russian natural gas. The action plan sets ambitious targets – a production of 40 to 50 PJs of geothermal energy by 2030, effectively quadrupling the combination of geothermal.

As Geothermie Nederland Hans Bolscher said, “The goal is only achievable if everyone – the market and government – does everything they can to get new initiatives in and out of the pipeline more quickly.  As a sector, we cannot do this alone and we are therefore looking specifically at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. A Taskforce consisting of government and the market should help with this.”

To achieve this goal, the plan proposes eight action points:

• Accelerate and streamline
  • Organize the same acceleration for geothermal energy as for gas extraction in the North Sea.
• Integrated approach to the heat transition
  • Manage the heat transition in relation to other tasks (relief from the electricity network, drinking water) and break the chicken-and-egg situation when constructing new heat networks.
• More cooling
  • Create a policy framework for safely and responsibly extracting more heat in existing and future projects in the short term.
• Continuity of existing geothermal projects
  • Ensure that existing geothermal projects (can) continue to produce and invest in expansion.
• Safe projects
  • Continue to build a policy framework for safe and responsible extraction together. Further professionalising and sharing knowledge in the sector aimed at safe projects.
• Working on trust
  • Working together on awareness about and support for geothermal energy.
• Support for innovations
  • Helping hands to work on knowledge of the subsurface, cost reduction, safety and climate impact.
• Efficient project development
  • Coordinated and linked project development, the so-called ‘trains’ for drilling.

The action plan was presented to Esther Pijs, program director-general Groningen and Subsurface at the Ministry of Economic Affairs during a Members’ Meeting of Geothermie Nederland on September 15, 2022. “We are pleased with the high level of ambition in the action plan and we also believe that further acceleration of geothermal energy is necessary for the Netherlands. Together we must ensure a safe and successful roll-out of geothermal energy. We are happy to participate in the task force to really give shape to that acceleration and to work on common goals” said Pijs.

Earlier this year, we reported on the start of drilling operations for the planned 50-MW Maasdijk geothermal heating project. This is a collaboration between the Maasdijk heat cooperative and HVC with the aim of stimulating and realizing sustainable heat for and with greenhouse horticulture companies in the Westland.

The Geothermie Delft project in TU Delft is also set to start drilling by November 2022 after the signing of an LOI with Huisman. The planned geothermal facility in the TU Delft campus will supply both the campus and the neighborhoods with sustainable heat, while also providing a “Living Lab” for geothermal research.

Source: Geothermie Nederland