Defining the Shallow Geothermal Heat-Exchange Potential for a Lower Fluvial Plain of the Central Apennines: The Metauro Valley (Marche Region, Italy)

Marco Taussi, Walter Borghi, Michele Gliaschera and Alberto Renzulli
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Marco Taussi: Dipartimento di Scienze Pure e Applicate, Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Via Ca’ Le Suore 2/4, 61029 Urbino, Italy
Walter Borghi: GEOCON Studio Associato per la Geologia e la Sicurezza, Via Gozzi 10/A, 61032 Fano, Italy
Michele Gliaschera: GEOCON Studio Associato per la Geologia e la Sicurezza, Via Gozzi 10/A, 61032 Fano, Italy
Alberto Renzulli: Dipartimento di Scienze Pure e Applicate, Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, Via Ca’ Le Suore 2/4, 61029 Urbino, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: In this work we assessed the shallow geothermal heat-exchange potential of a fluvial plain of the Central Apennines, the lower Metauro Valley, where about 90,000 people live. Publicly available geognostic drilling data from the Italian Seismic Microzonation studies have been exploited together with hydrogeological and thermophysical properties of the main geological formations of the area. These data have been averaged over the firsts 100 m of subsoil to define the thermal conductivity, the specific heat extraction rates of the ground and to establish the geothermal potential of the area (expressed in MWh y −1 ). The investigation revealed that the heat-exchange potential is mainly controlled by the bedrock lithotypes and the saturated conditions of the sedimentary infill. A general increase in thermal conductivity, specific heat extraction and geothermal potential have been mapped moving from the coast, where higher sedimentary infill thicknesses have been found, towards the inland where the carbonate bedrock approaches the surface. The geothermal potential of the investigated lower Metauro Valley is mostly between ~9.0 and ~10 MWh y −1 and the average depth to be drilled to supply a standard domestic power demand of 4.0 kW is ~96 m (ranging from 82 to 125 m all over the valley). This investigation emphasizes that the Seismic Microzonation studies represent a huge database to be exploited for the best assessment of the shallow geothermal potential throughout the Italian regions, which can be addressed by the implementation of heating and cooling through vertical closed-loop borehole heat exchanger systems coupled with geothermal heat pumps.

Keywords: borehole heat exchangers; geothermal potential; shallow geothermal energy; heat-exchange; thermal conductivity; specific heat extraction; Metauro Valley (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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