The European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) Geothermal Market Report confirms the trend towards the steady growth observed in recent years, but also notes the need for greater recognition in order to enable the full deployment of geothermal energy in Europe.
Installed geothermal electricity capacity in Europe amounts to 2.8 GWe, producing over 15 TWh per year. In Europe there are 117 plants, 16 of which were inaugurated in 2017. The new additions are quite significant, with 330 MWe of new geothermal electricity capacity coming online, mainly in Turkey.
The use of geothermal for heating is also increasing, supported by the construction of new district heating networks and the retrofitting of old ones, thanks to local and national planning identifying geothermal heat as a cost-efficient solution to meet heating needs. In 2017, 9 new plants were inaugurated, adding over 75 MWth across France, the Netherlands and Italy. The number of new plants coming online each year is on an upward trend, with an average annual growth rate of 10% in recent years.
Looking at individual geothermal heating systems, the shallow geothermal market remains the largest segment of the sector in terms of number of installations, installed capacity and energy produced. Individual geothermal heating systems, or geothermal heat pumps, represent over 20 GWth of heating capacity in Europe, with nearly 2 million installed units.
