Could Geothermal Energy Rescue Germany's Fading Coal Towns?

Europe's largest economy is walking a precarious tightrope toward carbon neutrality, trying to balance energy security with climate goals as this summer's heat waves create mounting pressure on the continent's energy grids while simultaneously highlighting the importance of mitigating emissions. The German government aims to source 100 percent of the national energy mix from renewables by 2035, but has hedged some of its energy-transition rhetoric in recent months against the backdrop of major energy market volatility. Germany has made a legally binding pledge to phase out the dirtiest fossil fuel entirely by 2038, but there is cause for speculation that the government may be reconsidering its near-term strategy. Back in March, when the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz began and thereby ushered in Europe's third energy crisis in four years, Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his priorities clear "We must supply this country with electricity.