German Chancellor visits Eavor’s Geretsried geothermal site

Chancellor Olaf Scholz visits the Eavor Geretsried geothermal project, Germany (source: Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz via Twitter)

In a tremendous show of political support, Chancellor Olaf Scholz personally led a visit to the site of the geothermal project of Eavor Erdwärme Geretsried GmbH (Eavor Geretsried) in Geretsried, Germany. Joining the Chancellor in this visit were Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder, and Bavarian Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger.

The Geretsried geothermal project will be the first commercial deployment of Eavor’s Eavor-Loop™ technology. Prior to this, a prototype project called Eavor-Lite™ had already been put up near Rocky House Mountain in Alberta, Canada. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 2022 and drilling started around July 2023.

“If this attempt succeeds, it would not only be a great piece of engineering, but an even greater progress for our heat transition. Because then you could use geothermal energy independently of the thermal water in many places where it has not been possible so far, and also in larger quantities,” said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to the project.

Ambitious 2030 plans

“Our goal is to tap as much geothermal energy as possible by 2030,” Scholz said during an event in Bavaria. The Federal Government had previously set a target of 100 additional geothermal projects by 2030. In addition, there is a target to supply ten times as much geothermal energy into heating networks.

‘This is ambitious, but a secure and affordable supply of renewable energy is an advantage not only four our citizens, but also very decisive for our economy,” added the Chancellor.

Source: Reuters, Handelsblatt, and Bundesregierung