Legal reform being sought to simplify geothermal regulations in Austria
The Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna (source: Dennis G. Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0 
Carlo Cariaga
9 Apr 2026
The Economic Affairs Committee in Austria has approved a comprehensive reform proposal that aims to simplify regulations applicable to deep geothermal drilling.
After months of negotiations, a motion filed by the Green Party has been approved by the Economic Affairs Committee of the National Council of Austria that seeks for a comprehensive reform of geothermal energy legislation. The reforms seek to simplify regulations associated with deep geothermal development, specifically associated with the Mineral Resources Act and the Water Resources Act.
The motion was filed by Member of Parliament Mag. Lukas Hammer who stated that the Federal Government must now draft a bill based on the motion. He urged the government to prioritize the implementation of this proposal, bemoaning the fact that a similar proposal had been rejected in 2025, resulting in wasted time.
The motion seeks amendments of the following clauses:
- Under the Mineral Resources Act, lateral drilling requires the explicit consent of landowners regardless of target depths. This leads to significant delays and makes it complicated to make corrective decisions, such as changing the drilling trajectory due to unforeseen geological obstacles. The proposal seeks to extend the tolerance period for drilling at depths of 700 meters.
- A similar clause is presented under the Water Resources Act. The proposal seeks to introduce an obligation to tolerate drilling at a defined depth, as this poses no concrete impairment to the property owners.
In any case, geothermal drilling must be done in compliance with the highest safety and environmental standards to ensure that groundwater resources and drinking water supply is adequately protected.
Currently, the most advanced deep geothermal project in Austria is in Vienna where drilling and well testing had already been completed. Exploration work has also begun in Graz and in the Lower Austria region.
Source: OTS and Parlament Österreich
