CrowdThermal Presentation | A Vision for Citizens' Empowerment in Geothermal Projects

CROWDTHERMAL supports the European Green Deal aiming at reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. To reach this goal the involvement of society is needed.

Geothermal energy is green, available 24 hours a day. CROWTHERMAL contributes to decrease dependency on fossil fuels in Europe by empowering local communities to directly participate in the development of geothermal projects via alternative financing schemes and engaging communication strategies.

To support the participation in geothermal projects, CROWDTHERMAL is analysing the perception of geothermal energy and will develop a public engagement approach making extensive use of social media. Since the project started in September 2019, the CROWDTHERMAL team has developed a set of reports, addressing social, environmental and financial aspects of community financed geothermal projects.

CROWDTHERMAL formulates new financing models for community funding at national and international levels covering Member States and the EU alike. Community funding will enable citizens to collectively finance geothermal projects that will not only benefit them but also the society as a whole. The financial models are currently being developed and will be validated with the help of three geothermal Case Studies in Iceland, Hungary and Spain and through an European survey conducted by European Federation of Geologists’ (EFG) Third Parties.

A presentation, with the aim of sharing CROWDTHERMAL’s concept and ideology with citizens and entrepreneurs, is organised by CROWDTHERMAL and EGU General Assembly on Wednesday, 28th April, 2021, 11:04 a.m. CET. This presentation also aims at providing EU citizens and entrepreneurs with:

fundamental knowledge in geothermal project,
alternative financing supports (especially crowdfunding),
risk mitigations,
access to an EU energy community,
the empowerment of individuals and citizens for launching geothermal projects.

Through this opportunity, CROWDTHERMAL hopes to expand the CROWDTHERMAL network, and to provide opportunities to test CROWDTHERMAL concepts in a growing European geothermal energy market.

Quinonez, G., Fernandez, I., Hildebrand, J., Friederichs, G., Baisch, C., and Elíasson, O.: CROWDTHERMAL – A vision for citizens’ empowerment in geothermal projects, EGU General Assembly 2021, online, 19–30 Apr 2021, EGU21-9442, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-9442, 2021.

Click here to participate in the CROWDTHERMAL Presentation, through vEGU21.