France:

Paris Geothermal Boom Brings Deep Drilling to Crowded Suburbs (Bloomberg)

Work on the floor of the drilling rig at the geothermal energy
extraction site in Paris. Photographer: Kosuke Okahara/Bloomberg

Squashed between a highway overpass and a towering suburban shopping center east of Paris, a drilling rig is completing the second of two geothermal wells aimed at capturing the earth’s natural heat for homes and offices.

The project is one of five around the French capital being built by Engie, the new name for GDF Suez SA, accelerating a geothermal boom in the region. Greater Paris already boasted the world’s largest concentration of deep geothermal wells linked to heating networks, even before these latest additions. An energy law making its way through the French parliament that seeks to spur renewable energy could lead to more.

“This is the most active period for geothermal in two decades,” Damien Terouanne, head of Engie’s Cofely Reseaux unit that specializes in heating and cooling networks, said in an interview. “The geology of the Paris region is favorable and its population density makes projects worthwhile.”

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