On Thursday 17 June, a report by the Court of Audit was published that examined whether drinking water sources are sufficiently protected when drilling for geothermal energy. In its report, the Court of Audit concludes that central government regulations do not sufficiently guarantee this.
EBN participates in Geothermie Delft on behalf of the state and fully supports the importance of protecting drinking water supplies. Safe and responsible extraction of geothermal energy is a precondition for the development of geothermal energy in the Netherlands. It is a pity that not all facts and current events have been included in the reporting surrounding the report. Earlier this year, the Industriestandaard Duurzaam Putontwerp was drawn up by Geothermie Nederland and EBN. As of 2021, all new geothermal well designs must comply with this standard. The industry standard has been drawn up in close collaboration with State Supervision of Mines, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the drinking water sector. With this industry standard, the sector guarantees that geothermal energy is extracted safely and responsibly.
Geothermal energy can make an important contribution to the necessary sustainability innovations of the Dutch energy system and is a precondition for the heat transition in the Netherlands. The technology has great potential to supply sustainable heat to residential areas, greenhouse horticulture and industry. As the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) stated in his response to the report, seven geothermal projects were examined in 2019. Much has already been done in the geothermal sector since 2019 and the recommendations in the report of the Court of Audit are already largely included in the new Mining Act. In order to bridge the situation until this amendment to the law, since 2019 a so-called Temporary Policy Framework (TB) has been used for licensing.
Lessons have been learned from the first generation of geothermal wells and this has translated into the further professionalization of the geothermal energy sector and an Industriestandaard Duurzaam Putontwerp so that we can continue to extract geothermal energy safely and responsibly, without risking the drinking water supply. The geothermal energy sector does not drill in (reserved) drinking water areas, nor has there been any drinking water pollution in the past 10 years. This means that geothermal energy and drinking water can continue to exist side by side. The sector will continue to innovate and engage in dialogue with stakeholders such as the drinking water sector in order to be able to continue to guarantee safe and responsible extraction of geothermal energy.
Listen here to EBN's position in the interview on 21 June 2021 by Herman Exalto, Program Manager Geo-energy, with BNR news radio.
* this article comes from EBN, https://www.ebn.nl/nieuws/aardwarm-en-drinkwater-gaan-goed-samen
