A cross-national and local survey of underground thermal energy storage perceptions: survey instrument

Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) offers the potential to manage seasonal demand for heat, thereby reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Horizon EU project PUSH-IT (Piloting Underground Storage of Heat In geoThermal reservoirs) is testing three ways to store heat up to 90°C, in mines, boreholes and aquifers. The project also explores governance, policies, business models, and societal engagement. We worked with market research agency Johnson Lubbock Partners (JLP) to manage and distribute a 15-minute online questionnaire (N=5,800) to nationally representative samples (n=1,000) across each of four countries (Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom) and locally representative samples (n=300) in each of six communities within 20 km of pilot sites (Figure 1). The questionnaire examined awareness of and attitudes towards UTES, trust in operators, awareness of engagement practices, and the impacts of engagement on understanding and support. This research note shares the survey instrument we used to gather this data.