Several European countries have significant untapped geothermal energy potential, especially for space heating, and to some extent, for electricity generation. However, to utilize geothermal energy on a much broader scale in the future, it is not enough to have a geothermal resource as an exploitation target, but it is also necessary to introduce suitable non-technical support measures. These measures should include tools aiming at mitigating potential geothermal projects’ risks, with the most important one being the resource risk, which can take the form of:

• The short-term risk of not finding an economically sustainable geothermal resource after drilling;
• The long-term risk of the natural depletion of the geothermal resource, making its exploitation economically unprofitable.

Study on risk insurance schemes and correctives measures

This report is still a draft and has to be reviewed by the European Commission