Quantifying the technical geothermal potential from shallow borehole heat exchangers at regional scale

Alina Walch, Nahid Mohajeri, Agust Gudmundsson and Jean-Louis Scartezzini

Renewable Energy, 2021, vol. 165, issue P1, 369-380

Abstract: The extraction of shallow geothermal energy using borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) is a promising approach for decarbonisation of the heating sector. However, a dense deployment of BHEs may lead to thermal interference between neighboring boreholes and thereby to over-exploitation of the heat capacity of the ground. Here we propose a novel method to estimate the technical potential of BHEs which takes into account potential thermal interference as well as the available area for BHE installations. The method combines simulation of the long-term heat extraction through BHEs for a range of borehole spacings and depths and includes an optimisation step to maximise the heat extraction. Application of the method to a case study in western Switzerland, from an available area of 284km2, yields an annual technical potential of 4.65TWh and a maximum energy density of 15.5kWh/m2. The results also suggest that, for a minimum borehole spacing of 5m and a maximum borehole depth of 200m, the cumulative installed borehole depth should not exceed 2km/ha. The estimated technical potential can be used by urban planners for the techno-economic analysis of BHE systems and by policy makers to develop strategies that encourage the use of shallow geothermal energy.

Keywords: Shallow geothermal energy; Borehole heat exchangers; Potential estimation; Numerical modelling; Geographic information systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:165:y:2021:i:p1:p:369-380

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2020.11.019

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