GeoPower Europe 2010

GeoPower Europe 2010 is the official event of the European Geothermal Energy Council.

The 2nd annual GeoPower Europe 2010 conference and exhibition will focus on policy, finance, and real project opportunities. This senior-level summit will bring together policy-makers, utilities, developers and investors from around the world to share ideas and define the actions needed to drive forward geothermal investment and development.

Geothermal energy has huge potential in Europe, both for large-scale power generation and for direct heating and cooling. The biggest challenge preventing widespread exploitation of this resource is the upfront cost of developing geothermal energy and the risks associated with drilling. Developers struggle to raise the finance required for new exploration, either from government sources or from private investors. For this to change, governments (both the EC and national governments) need to take action. They need to create the right regulatory environment by providing feed-in tariffs for geothermal power, offer direct funding to key projects, and, ideally, there needs to be a Europe-wide risk insurance scheme for geothermal energy.

GeoPower Europe 2010 s hand-picked faculty of industry leaders will set out their vision for 2050 and determine the steps required to overcome financial and regulatory barriers and scale up geothermal power production and district heating to meet 20% of Europe s future energy demand.