Germany wants to boost the use of geothermal energy to reduce dependency on Russian gas supplies

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Berlin is looking at ways to reduce its dependency on gas supplied by Moscow.

Transcript

00:00 And out-of-use airports in the outskirts of Berlin may hold the key to helping make Germany

00:05 more energy independent and cleaner.

00:08 It's one of the sites that's being considered for digging of geothermal energy.

00:13 That's a type of renewable energy that is sourced underground.

00:17 This heating plant in a central district of the city is also being raised as a possible

00:21 digging site.

00:23 Chancellor Olaf Scholz said last week that the country's goal is to get as much geothermal

00:28 energy as possible by 2030 with a focus on providing heating to buildings.

00:37 The war in Ukraine forced Germany to massively decrease its reliance on Russian gas.

00:43 The German Geothermal Association says that's when there was a strong spike in interest.

00:50 But the group's managing director says there are obstacles to expanding geothermal use.

00:56 We don't have enough money in the market for geothermal.

01:02 There are some moves of the government in this direction, but it's not fast enough.

01:09 And then we have to be faster, a lot faster in permitting these geothermal installations.

01:15 One study found that more than a quarter of Germany's heating could be served by geothermal

01:20 energy.

01:21 Berlin's local government is currently searching for more places for geothermal energy.

01:25 It plans on starting deep digging in 2025.

01:29 But some environmentalists say that's not enough, that the country should fully eliminate

01:33 the use of fossil fuels.

01:35 There is no other way to be in line with the Paris Agreement and other climate targets

01:42 than renewable energy.

01:44 And that's why it is so important that the German government stops investing in fossil

01:49 fuels and starts pushing really hard and only for 100 percent renewable energies.

01:58 Supporters say geothermal energy will help Germany rely on its own resources.

02:03 And it's more reliable than some other renewable energy like solar.

02:08 We are independent, it's cheaper and you have it every time, especially if it's cold, then

02:17 you often not have enough sun.

02:20 But geothermal energy is a heat flow you have every time, 24 hours, 7 days.

02:25 [WHOOSH]