Measures to Remove Geothermal Energy Barriers in the European Union

Colmenar‐Santos, Antonio; Palomo, Elisabet; Rosales-Asensio, Enrique; Borge-Díez, David

doi:10.3390/en11113202

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Use of low-temperature geothermal heat from relatively shallow wells is well established in volcanic regions with high geothermal gradients (e.g., [3,4]). For sites in intraplate regions with moderate heat flow, such as the UK, many workers have identified the combination of social, technical, economic, and regulatory barriers to the adoption of this technology (e.g., [5][6][7]). The most significant issue is recognised as economic, due to the capital cost of drilling being such a high proportion of project lifecycle costs [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repurposing Hydrocarbon Wells for Geothermal Use in the UK: The Onshore Fields with the Greatest Potential

2020

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One potential opportunity for the decarbonisation of heat supply in the UK is the repurposing of onshore hydrocarbon wells for the production and/or storage of geothermal heat. This paper reports an investigation into the most favourable candidate sites for such repurposing, taking into consideration the available thermal energy outputs and technological options for heat use. A GIS mapping model was generated, combining public domain data on onshore wells and production data from onshore fields, provided by the UK Oil and Gas Authority, with available subsurface temperature data. This model has thus integrated information on location, depth, operational status, and bottom-hole temperature for onshore hydrocarbon wells with production rates from onshore fields in the UK. Of the 2242 onshore hydrocarbon wells thus reported, 560 have the potential to be repurposed, 292 of which are currently operating. Using aggregated water production data for all operating wells in each field, the fields with the greatest potential for geothermal repurposing are ranked. Two of these, the Wytch Farm and Wareham fields, are selected for more detailed analysis. Wytch Farm, the largest onshore oilfield in western Europe, produces water at ~65 °C that might yield a feasible thermal power output of ~90 MW. If an end use could be found where it might substitute for burning of natural gas, the value of this output would be ~£90,000 per day or ~£30 million per year. However, this field is located in a protected landscape where local development would be restricted by planning regulations. The Wareham field is not in a protected landscape, but the low temperature, ~44 °C, and low flow rate limit the scope of potential end uses. Nonetheless, these and the other highly ranked fields have potential heat outputs that are significant compared with other geothermal heat projects, thus offering the possibility of making useful contributions to the decarbonisation of UK energy use.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repurposing Hydrocarbon Wells for Geothermal Use in the UK: The Onshore Fields with the Greatest Potential

2020

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“…In particular, Rivera et al [76] evidenced that geothermal potential at city scale represents an opportunity, particularly if integrated within urban smart electricity and thermal grids, because this reliable technology can provide heating, cooling, and electricity. Furthermore, nowadays the thermal capacity of low-enthalpy geothermal installations shows a global growth of approximately 7% per year, but is possible to exploit also high-enthalpy installations for electricity and a renewable energy mix [77].…”

Section: Geothermal Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

RES Implementation in Urban Areas: An Updated Overview

Delponte

Schenone

2020

Sustainability

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In the past, national energy planning guided the development of a central program for infrastructure investment over a defined time period. However, in the current geopolitical context, environmental damage, fossil fuel depletion, and territorial imbalance caused by the centralised energy model are all factors that require a change of energy structure, establishing actions to invest in energy diversification, and solid commitment to local renewable energies. This also implies an enhancement of the role played by local bodies, and particularly by municipalities, in achieving the targets of the Kyoto Protocol and now of the Paris Agreement, because renewable sources need to be studied, applied, and exploited at the local scale. Within this framework, this paper is organized as an overview on the promotion and implementation of the major RES technologies in the deployment of the new energy paradigm at the urban scale, taking into account multiple targets. A survey of existing literature underlines how the RES topic is mostly approached as a problem of energy supply and implementation of technology, but actual sustainability in terms of a social development process and improvement of quality of life by residents is often neglected. Then, this overview stimulated the authors to highlight three main critical issues and gaps and support the need of an all-encompassing approach as a final recommendation for a general RES urban planning advancement.

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“…The above-mentioned systems do not depend on great geothermal anomalies; they can be installed in many other places where a certain heat conductivity of the ground and some initial temperature conditions can be found [5]. In exchange for this wide availability, these systems are not able to use geothermal energy directly; they need to include a heat pump in their core.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on Geospatial Distribution of the Efficiency and Sustainability of Different Energy-Driven Heat Pumps Included in Low Enthalpy Geothermal Systems in Europe

et al. 2020

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This research work aims at a multinational study in Europe of the emissions and energy costs generated by the operation of low enthalpy geothermal systems, with heat pumps fed by different energy sources. From an economic point of view, natural gas and biogas prices are, usually, lower than electricity ones. So it may be advantageous to use these energy sources to feed the heat pumps instead of electricity. From the environmental point of view, it is intended to highlight the fact that under certain conditions of electricity production (electricity mix), more CO2 emissions are produced by electricity consumption than using other a priori less “clean” energy sources such as natural gas. To establish the countries where each of the different heat pumps may be more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly, data from multi-source geospatial databases have been collected and analyzed. The results show that in the majority of cases, the electric heat pump is the most recommendable solution. However, there are some geographic locations (such as Poland and Estonia), where the gas engine heat pump may be a better alternative.

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Measures to Remove Geothermal Energy Barriers in the European Union

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Repurposing Hydrocarbon Wells for Geothermal Use in the UK: The Onshore Fields with the Greatest Potential

Repurposing Hydrocarbon Wells for Geothermal Use in the UK: The Onshore Fields with the Greatest Potential

RES Implementation in Urban Areas: An Updated Overview

Study on Geospatial Distribution of the Efficiency and Sustainability of Different Energy-Driven Heat Pumps Included in Low Enthalpy Geothermal Systems in Europe

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