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Community-based development schemes for geothermal energy

Project description

Crowdfunding our way to a geothermal future

Geothermal energy – the Earth’s internal heat – is clean, sustainable and available at any time. Despite the high cost of drilling and exploration, Europe's geothermal electricity capacity is increasing. There are currently 127 plants producing over 3,091 MWe per year and its use for district heating and heating and cooling of buildings is also on the rise. To promote further geothermal market development in Europe, the EU-funded CROWDTHERMAL project aims to empower the public to participate in the development of geothermal projects through social engagement tools and alternative financing schemes like crowdfunding. To do so, it will increase public awareness and the transparency of geothermal projects and technologies. The project will also create a social acceptance model to be used as a baseline for inspiring public support.

Objective

CROWDTHERMAL aims to empower the European public to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects with the help of alternative financing schemes (crowdfunding) and social engagement tools. In order to reach this goal, the project will first increase the transparency of geothermal projects and technologies by creating one to one links between geothermal actors and the public so that a Social Licence to Operate (SLO) could be obtained. This will be done by assessing the nature of public concerns for the different types of geothermal technologies, considering deep and shallow geothermal installations separately, as well as various hybrid and emerging technology solutions. CROWDTHERMAL will create a social acceptance model for geothermal energy that will be used as baseline in subsequent actions for inspiring public support for geothermal energy. Parallel and synergetic with this CROWDTHERMAL will work out details of alternative financing and risk mitigation options covering the different types of geothermal resources and various socio-geographical settings. The models will be developed and validated with the help of three Case Studies in Iceland, Hungary and Spain and with the help of a Trans-European survey conducted by EFG Third Parties. Based on these feedbacks, a developers’ toolbox will be created with the aim of promoting new geothermal projects in Europe supported by new forms of financing and investment risk mitigation schemes that will be designed to work hand in hand with current engineering and microeconomic best practices and conventional financial instruments.

Call for proposal

H2020-LC-SC3-2018-2019-2020

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Sub call

H2020-LC-SC3-2019-RES-IA-CSA

Coordinator

FEDERATION EUROPEENNE DES GEOLOGUES
Net EU contribution
€ 326 875,00
Address
RUE JENNER 13
1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium

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Region
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad
Activity type
Other
Links
Total cost
€ 480 625,00

Participants (25)