REGEOCITIES : Regulations of geothermal heat pump systems at local and regional level in Europe
Résumé
Building sector represents one of the most important energy consumers in Europe, in particular,heating & cooling (H&C) of buildings . In this context, Shallow Geothermal Energy (SGE), including Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) and Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES, including ATES and BTES), represents a renewable energy source (RES) with a vast potential of energy savings. SGE could achieve up to 70 % energy saving respect to traditional H&C systems, and it is therefore one of the possible technologies introduced in the National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP) of the European countries. However, SGE sector is nowadays tackling challenges related to regulatory barriers at different levels which are affecting the implementation of those systems in cities. REGEOCITIES project is focused on the achievement of the NREAP geothermal targets 2020 marked by countries with ambitious objectives regarding GSHP by means of the removal and clarification of the non-technical administrative/ regulatory barriers at local and regional levels. This project will assess current legal context of SGE in mature (Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands,...) and juvenile (Spain, Romania, Italy,...) countries which have considered the GSHP as an energy source in their NREAP documents. It include local authorities from those countries which have already demonstrated interest in the implementation of the project results as partners of an advisory committee (market actors and administrative organizations, cities networks,...). Project outcomes will be discussed and implemented in order to achieve the objective of developing a common methodology for the regulation of the SGE systems.