GEOBEST2020+

Geothermal energy promises to be a local, versatile, clean, and renewable resource that will help achieve Switzerland’s energy and climate goals. Worldwide, numerous geothermal projects have been successfully operating for decades. Unfortunately, some have also been aborted during the reservoir construction or operation phase. Today, adequate risk governance of induced seismicity is perceived as essential for establishing safe and economically viable geothermal projects.

In Switzerland, the subsurface is under the sovereignty of the cantons. Therefore, the cantonal authorities in charge of the permitting, concessioning, and regulatory oversight must have access to independent, state-of-the-art seismological expertise. Furthermore, independent seismic monitoring and competent project oversight are important contributions to risk governance and can build and maintain public acceptance of geothermal projects.

GEOBEST2020+ ensures that the Swiss Seismological Service (SED), the federal agency for earthquakes, can provide seismological expertise and baseline seismic monitoring services to the cantons at no cost and independently of the operators of geothermal projects:

Seismological consulting

SED experts can support the cantonal authorities with:

• defining induced-seismicity-related content requirements for all relevant cantonal authorizations mandatory for geothermal projects,
• reviewing seismological aspects of permit and concession requests submitted by the project operators,
• providing independent, canton-specific information on geothermal energy and seismicity to the public.

Seismic monitoring and earthquake alarming

SED can provide the baseline seismic monitoring, including:

• installation of a customized seismological monitoring network,
• automatic real-time earthquake analysis, rapidly reviewed by experienced seismologists,
• earthquake alerting via SMS and email to defined stakeholders,
• providing a rapid preliminary assessment of the natural or human-made origin of seismic events,
• operation of a public, project-specific web page with real-time earthquake and background information,
• operation of a public-access archive of the recorded seismological data.