Geothermal energy is considered a core technology of the heating transition – in order to accelerate its expansion, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWK) has presented a draft for a Geothermal Energy Acceleration Act and submitted it to the associations and federal states for approval last Friday. The law (GeoWG) deals with both deep geothermal energy, which begins at a depth of 400 meters, and the near-surface variant of the technology (up to 400 meters). According to the ministry, it is intended to lay the foundations for ten terawatt hours of energy to be generated from geothermal energy by 2030. That would be around ten times as much as at present. At the moment, the ministries are also coordinating with the associations. The draft bill is due to go before the cabinet in August.