The mission of the Horizon 2020 funded CROWDTHERMAL project is to empower the European public to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects, with the help of alternative financing schemes and social engagement tools. The project team has developed a set of reports, addressing social, environmental, financial, and risk mitigation aspects of community-financed geothermal projects.
The objective is to turn CROWDTHERMAL into a one-stop-shop for enquiries about empowerment in geothermal projects through community funding.
The project organised its first international conference on 7 April 2022 in a virtual format.
Opening session
Geothermal energy to decarbonise cities
Financing of Geothermal projects
Social Engagement in Geothermal projects
CROWDTHERMAL Core Services
The project team is currently finalising a set of core services with regard to the alternative financing of geothermal projects. These services encompass environmental studies, financial aspects, financial risk mitigation, social sciences, and the geothermal sector. The core services will assist the geothermal sector, contributing to an accelerated market development in Europe.
CROWDTHERMAL aims to provide services to:
- Communities of citizens keen to become actors in the energy transition process. The benefits for these communities could be economical or environmental.
- Geothermal project developers interested in involving the community to increase commitment and/or fundraising.
- Local authorities interested in involving the community to develop a Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plan 2030.
Therefore, the main objective of the CROWDTHERMAL First International Conference was to present the core services to the pre-identified target groups, and to receive feedback and input for their further improvement.
Opening
09:30 – Welcome
- Áurea Perucho, Director of CEDEX
- Margarita de Gregorio, GEOPLAT Coordinator
- Isabel Fernández Fuentes, CROWDTHERMAL project Coordinator – Download slides
10:00 – Keynote speech ‘Geothermal in the energy transition and the role of the society’ (Francisca Rivero, Secretary General at IDAE)
Geothermal energy to decarbonise cities
Moderator: János Szanyi, CROWDTHERMAL Advisory Board member
10:20 – Present and future of geothermal energy in Europe: the Vision of the city of the future
Adele Manzella, Researcher at CNR-IGG, ETIP-DG, CROWDTHERMAL Advisory Board – Download slides
10:35 – Geothermal DHC, contribution to decarbonising cities
Gregor Götzl, Coordinator of Geothermal DHC Cost Action – Download slides
10:50 – Geothermal in district heating, examples from CROWDTHERMAL case studies in Hungary
Szeged DH: Tamás Medgyes, District Heating Company of Szeged – SZDH – Download slides
Mórahalom DH: Gábor Bozsó, INNOGEO – Download slides
11:10 – Geothermal energy in civil construction
Fernando Pardo, Director, Geotechnical laboratory, CEDEX – Download slides
11:25 – Q&A
11:40 – Coffee break
Financing of Geothermal projects
Moderator: Matthias Toennis, CROWDTHERMAL Advisory Board member
12:00 – Geothermal projects financing, challenges and economic benefits
Thomas Garabetian, EGEC – Download slides
12:15 – Geothermal energy in the NextGeneration funds in Spain
Maite Fernández de Retana, IDAE – Download slides
12:30 – Alternative financial schemes and risk mitigation for geothermal projects
Ronald Kleverlaan, CFH, and Christina Baisch, GeoT – Download slides
12:45 – Geothermal in buildings cooperatives, Example of the community fund CROWDTHERMAL Case Study 2
Marcel Hendricks, EAI310 Cooperative, Spain – Download slides
13:00 – Q&A
13:30 – Lunch break
Social Engagement in Geothermal projects
Moderator: Susana Batel, CROWDTHERMAL Advisory Board member
14:30 – Social acceptance problems in the Strasbourg’ Geothermal Energy project
Gerard Pol-Gili, Head of Renewable energies Strasbourg – Download slides
14:45 – Geothermal social perception
Jan Hildebrand, IZES – Download slides
15:00 – Geothermal Social Licence to Operate
Amel Barich, GEORG – Download slides
15:15 – Local authorities working with the community, CROWDTHERMAL Case Study 3 in Iceland
Ottó Elíasson or Sesselja Ingibjörg, EIMUR – Download slides
15:30 – Q&A
15:45 – Coffee break
CROWDTHERMAL Core Services
Moderator: Isabel Fernandez, Project Coordinator
16:15 – CROWDTHERMAL Services for communities, local authorities and project developers
Marcio Tameirao, LPRC – Download slides
16:30 – Panel discussion with representatives from the 3 stakeholder groups:
- Energy community (Aniol Esquerra, Ecoserveis)
- Local authorities (Joaquin Villar, Junta de Andalucia and Gerard Pol-Gili, Head of Renewable energies Strasbourg)
- Project developers (Gábor Bozsó, INNOGEO)
- Real-estate developers (Alberto García, Via Celere)
17:15 – Wrap-up and conclusions (Margarita de Gregorio, GEOPLAT) & Future of CROWDTHERMAL (Isabel Fernandez, Project Coordinator)
17:30 – Closing the conference
