Estimating the technical shallow geothermal potential for heating: A case study of Lörrach, Germany
Typ
Examensarbete för masterexamen
Program
Sustainable energy systems (MPSES), MSc
Publicerad
2021
Författare
Gupta, Siddhant
Modellbyggare
Tidskriftstitel
ISSN
Volymtitel
Utgivare
Sammanfattning
The production of heat accounts close to 50% of global final energy consumption to day and was responsible for nearly one-third of global energy related CO2 emissions.
Despite this, the heating sector is often left in the backdrop. But as governments
pledge to keep the warming to 1.5◦C and pass ambitious climate laws, there has
been a surging interest to decarbonize the heating sector. Heat pumps are touted as
an important element in the fight against climate change and towards decarboniz ing the heating sector. The extraction of shallow geothermal energy using borehole
heat exchangers (BHEs) is a promising approach for decarbonisation of the heating
sector. However, high installation costs and strict regulations often act as barriers.
The optimal site-specific system depends on the existing regulations and the local
hydeogeological conditions.
In this study, a method to estimate the technical potential of shallow geothermal
energy for heating BHEs is presented, and the reduction in CO2 emissions that can
be achieved by completely tapping this resource is calculated. The method combines
the ground thermal properties, estimation of suitable areas for BHE installation and
an analytical equation for determining the theoretical geothermal potential in order
to estimate the technically available potential. Two scenarios are formulated and
compared in order to evaluate the achievable reduction in CO2 emissions.
The method is used to provide a first estimate of the technical potential of geother mal energy for heating for a district in south-western Germany. The technical po tential of the district of Lörrach is estimated to be 1.29 TWh, which can cover
40.6% of the total heat demand. The findings further show that geothermal energy
has a high decarbonizing potential in the studied region, and switching to geother mal energy for heating can save up 245.22 kton CO2/ year,which is equivalent to
more than 50% reduction in CO2 emissions. The work conducted in this thesis can
contribute towards the advancement of decarbonisation strategies for the heating
sector by providing an estimate on the potential for renewable heat generation from
shallow geothermal energy.
Beskrivning
Ämne/nyckelord
heating , geothermal , heat pumps , borehole heat exchangers