Joint roadmap signed for solar thermal and geothermal in France

Geothermal heating plant of Sipperec in Rosny-sous-Bois, France (source: SIPPEREC)

The French Association of Geothermal Professionals (AFPG) and the Renewable Solar Energy Union (Enerplan), organizations representing the geothermal and solar energy sectors respectively in France, have signed a joint roadmap to promote the coupling and deployment of complementary solutions that combine solar thermal and geothermal energy (ST-Géo).

Click here to access the joint roadmap (in French).

Still largely underexploited in France, these two renewable heat and cold production sectors without combustion each represent enormous potential for decarbonizing the country. Taken into account in projects for buildings, industrial applications or heat networks, geothermal and solar energy offer effective combined solutions to gain energy sovereignty. Their combination also makes it possible to achieve inter-seasonal storage of solar heat, in order to take advantage of the abundance of past summer heat during the winter period.

This joint ST-Géo roadmap formalizes the collaboration between AFPG and Enerplan, whether technical, regulatory or in terms of communication, to inform prescribers and project owners on the relevance of these virtuous combinations. While there is a need to optimize the use of biomass energy in line with the EnR Choix approach recommended by Ademe for the Heat Fund, ST-Géo solutions should also be more systematically studied. The work of AFPG and Enerplan will contribute to this.

In 2023, the public authorities published an Action Plan for the development of geothermal energy. An equivalent plan for solar heat must be developed in the coming months and adopted in 2025 by the public authorities. In order to contribute to the latter, Enerplan unveiled the professionals’ proposals on June 25 during the Etats Généraux de la Chaleur Solaire. The actions proposed on the ST-Geo coupling of this roadmap will be included in this future action plan for solar heat.

Source: AFPG via email correspondence