Northern Limburg has two geothermal projects where water is pumped from deep underground in order to heat greenhouses. It is one of the ways in which the Netherlands wants to replace natural gas. But the wells in Limburg have gone silent and there are also problems elsewhere. The State Supervision of Mines (SodM) therefore indicates it would prefer to see the emergence of companies that specifically focus on geothermal energy.
Now geothermal energy is something that growers just do on their own. The Netherlands has 18 geothermal projects, and they are by growers. With half of these projects there is an 'issue', either not in operation or currently being inspected. "It's as if a leasing company with its own fleet of cars, also has its own oil drilling operation," is the analogy used by Wouter van der Zee of SodM.
Source: Financieel Dagblad