The Federal Government has introduced a draft bill for a Geothermal Energy Acceleration Act to boost the country’s sluggish expansion of climate-neutral heat supply. The new act is designed to speed up planning, approval and realisation of geothermal energy projects, by implementing digital procedures, shortening deadlines and creating new roles, such as project managers, as well as by simplifying legal requirements for geothermal site selection.
Background and objectives
Germany aims to be greenhouse gas-neutral by 2045. But the heating sector has a lot of ground to make up: It uses 50% of the country’s fossil fuels, while less than 20% of its fuel comes from renewable energy. Geothermal energy could be a crucial part of the solution, as it provides a dependable and year-round source of climate-neutral heating. But Germany has yet to tap into its full potential: Less than 2% of the country’s heating needs are currently met from geothermal sources.
The Federal Government’s draft bill, presented on 3 July 2025, is intended to significantly accelerate the expansion of geothermal energy. The goal is to gradually switch the heat supply over to climate-neutral sources. Measures to speed up the planning, approval and realisation of geothermal projects include digitalising and simplifying mining and water rights procedures. Under the bill, future heating pipelines will also be built more rapidly and put on an equal legal footing with gas pipelines.
Geothermal energy is in overriding public interest
The centrepiece of the draft bill is the creation of a Geothermal Energy Acceleration Act (Geothermie-Beschleunigungsgesetz, “GeoBG-RefE”). According to section 4 GeoBG-RefE, until net greenhouse gas neutrality is reached in 2045, building, operating or modifying a facility specified in section 2 nos. 1 to 4 is in the overriding public interest and benefits public health, safety and security. This provision follows the example of section 2 Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz), which has been a successful and well-established tool for accelerating the expansion of renewable energies (see Erneuerbare Energien als „Freiheitsenergien“ | Gleiss Lutz (German only)). Public interest comes up against its limits, however, where national and alliance defence is concerned.
Facilitation of seismic exploration
In future, obstacles to seismic exploration will be reduced in order to identify suitable locations for geothermal projects. According to the draft bill, surveys conducted with seismic vibrator trucks on paved roads are typically not seen as a significant disturbance to strictly protected animal species (section 6 GeoBG-RefE) – provided that such species are not deliberately disturbed. Property owners and authorised users must also tolerate measures such as the installation of measuring equipment or the use of private thoroughfares by vehicles conducting such surveys (section 7(1) GeoBG-RefE). The aim is to speed up the development of potential geothermal sites on a legally sound basis.
Streamlined and faster approval procedures, harmonisation of mining law
The draft bill incorporates three main measures to significantly accelerate approval procedures for geothermal projects. Firstly, procedures are to be digitalised. Mining permits – for deep geothermal projects, for example – can in future be obtained electronically from the “single body” referred to in section 57e(2) Draft Federal Mining Act (Bundesberggesetz, “BBergG-E”). The law also introduces new provisions for heating pipelines: section 8(2) GeoBG-RefE references proven rules from the Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz), which already apply to gas pipelines. This will help streamline, digitalise and speed up permit procedures. Heating pipelines will be placed on the same legal footing as natural gas and hydrogen pipelines.
Secondly, official deadlines for several types of projects will be shortened. Mining law approvals for deep geothermal installations, thermal storage facilities or hydrogen storage facilities must be completed within a year (section 57e(6) BbergG-E). Smaller geothermal heat pumps (under 50 megawatts) will have a three-month deadline. To prevent delays from procedural uncertainty, documents will be treated as complete if the authority fails to respond in a timely manner.
Thirdly, for complex projects such as heating pipelines or water rights procedures, authorities will be able to appoint a project manager to structure and oversee the procedure on behalf of the project developer, for example by creating procedural plans, setting interim deadlines, and controlling timelines. This model is based on the proven and well-established section 2b 9th Ordinance on the Implementation of the Federal Emissions Control Act (9. Verordnung zur Durchführung des Bundes-Immissionsschutzgesetzes).
Conclusion and outlook
The draft bill is a significant advancement, for the first time establishing dedicated primary legislation on geothermal energy, and explicitly confirming its overriding public interest. Building on the previous coalition’s proposal, it also highlights the cross-party consensus on the importance of geothermal energy for meeting Germany’s climate goals. But questions remain, for instance regarding extraction tax on thermal water circulation under mining law. Establishing a reliable system for managing subsidies will likely be essential for the future growth of geothermal energy.
Forward
