Geothermal energy could help central and eastern Europe break away from coal and gas, but it needs a quicker uptake and government backing to help meet renewable energy targets, advocates say. Countries like Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Romania and Croatia sit over the Pannonian basin, which has huge potential for geothermal energy and is over 10°C per kilometre hotter than the European average, making them a prime location for geothermal deployment. Moreover, district heating systems inherited from Soviet times mean much of the infrastructure required for geothermal heating already exists. Martin Hojsík is a Green M ... (full story)