Abstract
Mesozoic sandstone aquifers in the North German Basin offer significant potential to provide green and sustainable geothermal heat as well as large-scale storage of heat or chill. The determination of geothermal and subsurface heat storage potentials is still afflicted with obstacles due to sparse and partly uncertain subsurface data. Relevant data include the structural and depositional architecture of the underground and the detailed petrophysical properties of the constituting rocks; both are required for a detailed physics-based integrated modeling and a potential assessment of the subsurface. For the present study, we combine recently published basin-wide structural interpretations of depth horizons of the main stratigraphic formations, with temperature data from geological and geostatistical 3D models (i.e., CEBS, GeotIS). Based on available reservoir sandstone facies data, additional well-log-based reservoir lithology identification, and by providing technical boundary conditions, we calculated the geothermal heat in place and the heat storage potential for virtual well doublet systems in Mesozoic reservoirs. This analysis reveals a large potential for both geothermal heating and aquifer thermal energy storage in geologically favorable regions, and in many areas with a high population density or a high heat demand. Given the uncertainties in the input data, the applied methods and the combination of data from different sources are most powerful in identifying promising regions for economically feasible subsurface utilization, and will help decrease exploration risks when combined with detailed geological site analysis beforehand.
Highlights
IntroductionIn many regions of the world, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, more energy is consumed for heating and cooling purposes than for electricity
This proportion of energy consumption by the different sectors is in direct contrast to the energy provided from renewable sources: While the installation of renewable energy for electricity has reached levels of more than 50% in Germany by 2021, only 14% of the heat is generated from renewable sources [1]
In the study presented here, we focus on the estimation of the heat in place and the heat storage potential of a given area as indicated below
Summary
In many regions of the world, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, more energy is consumed for heating and cooling purposes than for electricity. In Germany, for example, 56% of all primary energy consumption is in the heating-and-cooling sector, while only 25% are needed for electricity provision [1]. This proportion of energy consumption by the different sectors is in direct contrast to the energy provided from renewable sources: While the installation of renewable energy for electricity has reached levels of more than 50% in Germany by 2021, only 14% of the heat is generated from renewable sources [1]. An efficient reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector needs to address the heating and cooling market
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