Modelling vSGPs (very shallow geothermal potentials) in selected CSAs (case study areas)

Abstract

Very shallow geothermal energy resources are amongst the RES (renewable energy sources). They can be expressed as TC (thermal conductivity) (W/m∗K) and VHC (volumetric heat capacity) (MJ/m3∗K) of unconsolidated ground, and can be obtained from a depth of 10 m below the Earth's surface. Utilising horizontal and vertical heat collector systems, these geothermal energy sources can be harnessed for heating and cooling purposes of residential and industrial buildings. To ensure proper prediction of available potentials at landscape or even local scale, downscaling of the already existing pan-European vSGP (very shallow geothermal potential) at a scale of 1:250,000 is required. Therefore, we applied an advanced methodology to 14 European CSAs (case study areas) from which we selected two German and one Austrian area for demonstration purposes. To ensure comparability across CSAs, national and case study related datasets were standardised and harmonised. Standards and unified spatial data processing methods across CSAs ensure comparability and seamless visualisation. Laboratory investigations on TC demonstrate valid modelling results for three depth layers, visualised in a publicly available WebGIS.