Energy, Resources and the Environment

How to assess geo-exchange potential for shallow geothermal energy at regional scale?

loveless September 9, 2015

Words on Wednesday aims at promoting interesting/fun/exciting publications on topics related to Energy, Resources and the Environment. If you would like to be featured on WoW, please send us a link of the paper, or your own post, ERE.Matters@gmail.com

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By Eloisa Di Sipio

Galgaro A., Di Sipio E., Teza G., Destro E., De Carli M., Chiesa S., Zarrella A., Emmi G., Manzella A. 2015. Empirical modeling of maps of geo-exchange potential for shallow geothermal energy at regional scale. Geothermics, 57, 173-186 doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2015.06.017

In the frame of the economic crisis occurring since 2008 in Europe, the use of renewable energy resources is expected to increase in order to overcome the economic dependence on fossil fuels and ensuring energy supply for the European economic development.

Therefore, in the next future the use of geothermal resource both for power and heat generation is likely to increase, given its ability to meet part of the global energy needs and to produce low levels of greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG), reducing significantly CO2 emissions in the atmosphere.

To assess the geothermal energy exchanging ability of closed-loop Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP) systems, a specific procedure able to combine ground and GSHP parameters was developed.

The methodology is based on different input parameters: i) the thermal conductivity of the ground, ii) the undisturbed ground temperature at 50 meters depth b.g.l. and iii) the monthly energy loads of the building considering a standard case study. The maximum energy requirements in a year has been estimated for a reference residential building (100 m2) with standard insulation and transmittance, according to the normative UNI EN ISO 6946, and usual requirements on heat pump efficiency (coefficient of heating performance COP =4.5 and cooling energy efficiency ratio EER = 4.0). The parameter adopted to link the ground thermal properties to the building thermal requirements is the total length (Ltot) of the group of vertical borehole heat exchangers (BHE) required to satisfy the energy building needs of the reference building.

Since the modeling has empirical character, it was applied to four regions of Southern Italy within the VIGOR Project (http://www.vigor-geotermia.it/). The obtained geo-exchange potential maps are conceived for energy planning purposes at regional scale and, due to the complexity of the different system components (house type, geological conditions, heating/cooling needs), provide a first and rough estimation of the geo-exchange potential of the areas taken into consideration. They do not replace detailed site-specific analyses, which, instead, are necessary for GSHP design purposes.

However, the proposed methodology can be easily exported in other contexts were use of shallow geothermal resources is planned. In fact the maps show the thermal energy that could be exchanged through the unit area by BHEs for a recent or a recently renovated building, taking into account the local geological and climatic conditions. Higher values of the geo-exchange potential identify more suitable place for shallow geothermal exploitation, implying a lower total length of the BHE field required for the GSHP system and then lower installation costs.

Main geological features (a) and geo-exchange potential maps for shallow closed loop systems (b) of four Southern Italy regions.

Eloisa Di Sipio is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IGG) of the National Research Council (CNR), Italy. Awarded in 2015 of a Marie Sklodowska Curie (MSC) fellowship, she will start the research cooperation with the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany, in November 2015. Main research interests concern shallow geothermal energy resources, hydro-geological topics and petrophysical characterization of lithological materials. She is involved also in dissemination and outreach activities addressed to general public. Eloisa is currently chair of the Early Career Hydrogeologist Network – Italy (ECHN-Italy) and member of the International Geothermal Association (IGA).

For more information, you can contact her at eloisa.disipio@gmail.com, or follow her on the LinkedIn or ResearchGate pages.

Data4Sustain – a new webGIS renewable energy feasibility tool

loveless September 2, 2015

Words on Wednesday aims at promoting interesting/fun/exciting publications on topics related to Energy, Resources and the Environment. If you would like to be featured on WoW, please send us a link of the paper, or your own post, at ERE.Matters@gmail.com.

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Blog by Darren Beriro, British Geological Survey

British Geological Survey (BGS) and consortium members Land Quality Management, Nottingham Energy Partnership, Nottingham Geospatial Institute, Positive Homes and University of Nottingham Estates Office are working on a new project called Data4Sustain. The project is being led by LQM and has attracted prestigious funding from UK’s Innovation agency, Innovate UK[1] (Solving Urban Challenges with Data – Feasibility Studies[2]) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Over the next 12 months, Data4Sutain will produce a prototype web-based geographical information system (webGIS) for landowners, developers, community groups, local authorities, and their advisors to conduct renewable energy feasibility studies.

The prototype webGIS will display information about when a renewable energy technology (e.g. geothermal, hydro, wind, solar) is expected to be viable at a given site or building. The webGIS will utilise urban datasets and combine these with technology specific ‘operating windows’ to identify the most attractive location for new installations. As the renewable energy sector matures there is increasing expectation (i.e. removal of FITs, etc) for efficient decision-making and investment. Data4Sustain aims is to facilitate this process in both the short and long-term siting of such technologies.

If you are interested in contacting the project team please email or call LQM on 0115 7484080. To register your interest in Data4Sustain and keep up to date with the latest developments please sign-up to the Data4Sustain mailing list.

[1] Innovate UK is the new name for the Technology Strategy Board – the UK’s innovation agency. Taking a new idea to market is a challenge. Innovate UK funds, supports and connects innovative businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth. For further information visit https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk

[2] Feasibility Studies is a single-company or collaborative R&D grant scheme run by Innovate UK that allows businesses the opportunity to test an innovative idea and its feasibility to be developed and eventually taken to market. Feasibility studies are a way for companies to carry out exploratory studies which could lead to the development of new products, processes, models, experiences or services. The study could involve for instance investigating the technical feasibility of a new idea.

https://www.gov.uk/innovation-get-details-about-innovate-uk-funding-competitions#feasibility-studies

Living with water: A closer look at deltas

Kristen Mitchell August 31, 2015

Where the Selenga River meets the Lake Baikal. Credit: Galina Shinkareva (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Costal deltas often host large cities due to their prime location of where rivers meet the sea. In many cases these areas have been protected from rising sea levels and flooding rivers by engineered ‘gray’ infrastructure. However, this infrastructure appears to only protect these cities on short timescales. Engineered deltas contribute to relative sea level rise, caused by shrinking land masses in these areas due to sediment loss. Thus, this gray infrastructure appears to cause long term sustainability problems for some of the largest cities in the world. In the August 7^th edition of Science Temmerman and Kirwan explore green alternatives to traditional gray infrastructure that have the potential to restore natural wetlands to delta areas, increasing land area and provide flood protection. In the same issue, Tessler et al. explore the economic costs of conventional delta engineering along with the long term environmental and sustainability impacts of gray infrastructure.

Dr. Kristen Mitchell is an experienced geoscientist and marine chemist with specific experience promoting educational outreach and fundraising initiatives in support of science-specific policy and research. She works with policy makers, commercials entities, and universities to educate and inform their communities of the importance of crafting sustainable solutions. She has worked with key players across the world to execute plans and deliver results related to my scientific studies and projects. For more information, you can contact her at drkristenmitchell@gmail.com, or follow her Tweets @dr_kmitchell.

Living with water: Water management infrastructure

Kristen Mitchell August 28, 2015

Irrigation dam Ban Bo Wi, Thailand.
Credit: Sarah Garré (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Keeping water out is only half of the battle. Making water available to communities is the other half of the battle. Engineered structures have the ability to do both, dams and dikes can keep flood waters out and they can also divert water to large metropolises and irrigate agricultural lands. But even countries like The Netherlands, which is known for its world class water management engineering, are examining their use of this built infrastructure to make way for ‘green’ infrastructure. Green infrastructure, which can provide more flexible and more cost effective water management strategies while maintaining a larger proportion of natural features, is being investigated for its efficacy in both developed and developing nations. Science, in its second of three debates on water management policies explores the positives and negatives both of gray and green infrastructure in the Policy Forum: Water security: Gray or green?

Dr. Kristen Mitchell is an experienced geoscientist and marine chemist with specific experience promoting educational outreach and fundraising initiatives in support of science-specific policy and research. She works with policy makers, commercials entities, and universities to educate and inform their communities of the importance of crafting sustainable solutions. She has worked with key players across the world to execute plans and deliver results related to my scientific studies and projects. For more information, you can contact her at drkristenmitchell@gmail.com, or follow her Tweets @dr_kmitchell.