Geothermal handbook: PlanninG and Financing power Generation t e c h n I c a L r e p o r t 2 / 2

Public Consultation and Communication 
While geothermal power is an attractive energy alternative, it faces many challenges which may be 
viewed differently by each stakeholder. In some instances, lack of public awareness about different 
geothermal technologies can cause confusion. For instance, since two 5-km deep geothermal drillings 
for an EGS project induced a minor earthquake in Basel in 2007, public concerns about the impacts 
of geothermal drilling have been voiced in Germany and Switzerland. In the heat of the debate, the 
public did not distinguish between hydrothermal technology and EGS, and therefore incorrectly 
attributed the risk of seismic disturbances to geothermal development in general. 
The objective of engaging stakeholders is to identify, raise, and discuss solutions to all environmental 
and social issues that might affect local communities. The target audiences should include 
representatives of the affected community and land-owners, government officials, geothermal 
industry and related industry interests (e.g., mining, oil, and gas), financial institutions, law firms, 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community groups. 
For projects supported by international financial institutions, public consultation is required, and the 
project sponsor initiates such consultations as early as possible. In the process of consultations, 
project-affected groups and local NGOs are involved and their views about the project’s environmental 
and social aspects are taken into account. The environmental and social safeguard policies of the 
World Bank Group, for example, require that for projects with major environmental impacts (Category 
A projects), the borrower consults these groups at least twice: (a) before the terms of reference for the 
environmental assessment (EA) are finalized; and (b) once a draft EA report is prepared. In addition, 
the borrower consults with such groups as necessary throughout the project implementation to 
address EA-related issues that affect them.