Geothermal Energy and Society

This book addresses the societal aspects of harnessing geothermal resources for various uses, including power production, heating, and cooling. It introduces a theoretical framework for a social scientific approach to the field and presents a preliminary collection of empirical case studies on geothermal energy and society from around the world.

By providing a conceptual and methodological framework for the study of geothermal energy and societies, this book—now in its second edition—brings together information and analyses that have previously been sparse and fragmented. The contributors explore the diverse aspects of the relationship between harnessing geothermal resources and the societies and local communities in which these developments occur. After introducing geothermal technologies, renewable energy concepts, as well as their social and policy contexts, along with the regulatory and environmental aspects of geothermal energy, the book analyzes and discusses global case studies. It also compares the social engagement tools applied in this field with those used in other sectors. This second edition is fully updated and includes new, previously unpublished case studies. The book will be useful to researchers from a range of disciplines who wish to explore the issues surrounding energy and society. It is also a valuable resource for geothermal experts and postgraduate students seeking to study the field in greater detail.

Chapter “Societal Engagement in Geothermal Energy in the United Kingdom: Early Lessons from a Nascent Sector” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Adele Manzella is a senior scientist and a geophysicist at the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IGG). Her main research activity has been geothermal exploration, primarily through geophysical (electromagnetic) methods and data integration. She has been working on geothermal data organization, information portals, and geothermal data statistics. National and international research project coordination and strategic research and innovation planning in the field of geothermal energy have been her main activities for two decades. Adele coordinated three national projects and has been a partner and work package or task leader in ten European projects, mostly dedicated to geothermal assessment and research and innovation strategy. She is a member of the Board of Directors and Secretary of the International Geothermal Association; co-Chair of the European Energy Research Alliance Joint Program Geothermal (EERA-JP Geothermal), recognized by the European Set Plan.

Agnes Allansdottir is a social psychologist who specializes in international comparative social research on the ever-changing relationship and the ongoing dialogues between societies and scientific and technological developments. She has been highly engaged with

social scientific research on science, society, and technological developments for years, mostly as a principal investigator on international and comparative empirical research projects. Her research interests include public views on developments in the life science, cultural understanding of nature and natural processes, and issues about climate change and energy transitions. Further, she has repeatedly given advice, based on her research, to policymakers at national, European, and international levels. Agnes studied in her native Iceland, in Aix-en-Provence in France and at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK.

Anna Pellizzone is an RRI expert and a citizen and stakeholder engagement professional, experienced in designing and running participatory processes on research and innovation. She is currently a scientific advisor for the Giannino Bassetti Foundation (FGB) and the Italian National Research Council (CNR). Anna has ten years of experience in European and national projects. She currently sits in the Advisory Board of the EU project SSH Centre and PUSH-IT and is part of the ETIP-Geothermal Working Group on Social Sciences and Humanities. In the frame of the scientific collaboration with the Italian National Research Council, Anna contributed to the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of the European Technology & Innovation Platform on Geothermal (ETIP-Geothermal) and to the Core Group on Societal Engagement of the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA).