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Sustainability
Volume 14
Issue 1
10.3390/su14010496
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Communication

How Far Is Far Enough? The Social Constitution of Geothermal Energy through Spacing Regulations

by
Daniel Horn
1,
Matthias Gross
1,2,
Maria Pfeiffer
1 and
Marco Sonnberger
1,*
1
Environmental Sociology, Institute of Sociology, University of Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
2
Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), 04318 Leipzig, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010496
Submission received: 30 November 2021 / Revised: 29 December 2021 / Accepted: 30 December 2021 / Published: 4 January 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Geothermal Energy)
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Abstract

This article argues that the sociotechnical context in which near-surface geothermal energy is embedded draws out its characteristic of being temporarily depletable. Thereby, the minimization of unavoidable side effects, such as cold plumes, which result from the social constitution of geothermal energy, is a crucial area of consideration. Using the situation in Germany as a touchstone, we discuss how cold plumes and interferences from neighboring ground source heat pumps test the limits of the existing regulatory framework, requiring negotiations between different knowledge sets stemming from areas as diverse as planning law, geology, cultural habits, and engineering. This makes the operation of geothermal energy highly uncertain and continuous negotiations on sustainable modes of extractions a pressing issue.
Keywords: energy transitions; geothermal heat; geology; sociotechnical systems; cold plumes; unintended side effects; STS energy transitions; geothermal heat; geology; sociotechnical systems; cold plumes; unintended side effects; STS

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MDPI and ACS Style

Horn, D.; Gross, M.; Pfeiffer, M.; Sonnberger, M. How Far Is Far Enough? The Social Constitution of Geothermal Energy through Spacing Regulations. Sustainability 2022, 14, 496. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010496

AMA Style

Horn D, Gross M, Pfeiffer M, Sonnberger M. How Far Is Far Enough? The Social Constitution of Geothermal Energy through Spacing Regulations. Sustainability. 2022; 14(1):496. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010496

Chicago/Turabian Style

Horn, Daniel, Matthias Gross, Maria Pfeiffer, and Marco Sonnberger. 2022. "How Far Is Far Enough? The Social Constitution of Geothermal Energy through Spacing Regulations" Sustainability 14, no. 1: 496. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010496

APA Style

Horn, D., Gross, M., Pfeiffer, M., & Sonnberger, M. (2022). How Far Is Far Enough? The Social Constitution of Geothermal Energy through Spacing Regulations. Sustainability, 14(1), 496. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010496

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