fbpx
in Deep Geothermal, National (Spanish) information, Miembro Promotor GEOPLAT
15 Nov 2022

Assessment of deep geothermal energy potential in Catalonia

Deep geothermal is a renewable energy resource, non-polluting that has a high potential for exploitation in various areas throughout Catalonia. Deep geothermal includes the energy resources of low (30-10 ºC), medium (100-150 ºC) and high temperature (> 150 ºC).

Depending on the type and origin of the reservoir it can be directly used for thermal leisure uses in balneotherapy, in urban district heating networks, greenhouses or industry in a broad sense or even to power production. The use of deep geothermal resources in the EU is in full expansion in countries such as France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland or Belgium, among others.

Deep geothermal resources are a renewable energy source existing in several places in Catalonia, little known and with a very high exploitation and use potential. With the aim of enhance the knowledge of this type of resource as a renewable energy in Catalonia, the ICGC carries out the GeoEnergia-GP project. Its objectives are the identification and quantification of the available base geothermal resources and the theoretical amount of geothermal energy resource recoverable in Catalonia. It includes the following dissemination tools:

  • The downable “Deep Geothermal Resources in Catalonia (RGOPCat): synthesis of their potential” (v1.0; ICGC, 2022). It aims to show the location and classification of deep geothermal resources based on their geological settings or geothermal plays and summarize the evidence and actual uses associated with each of them. Based on the available data, the synthesis also includes an estimate of the depths and temperatures that could be reached in each of the reservoirs identified as well as their potential uses.
  • The GIS viewer Geoindex – Deep geothermal is the dissemination tool related with the GeoEnergia-GP project progress. The datasets that can be viewed in it are based on the outcomes of the project Geothermal Atlas of Catalonia (AGC) (Puig et al., 2013) carried out with the support of the Catalan Energy Institute.