Matching geothermal potential and heat demand of Europe: the web-map tool of the GeoDH project to promote geothermal district heating

Abstract

The Geo-DH project aims to increase the share of geothermal-based district heating systems in 14 countries of Europe. As one of the core outputs of the project, a web-map viewer was established which gives an overview on the geothermal potential for district-heating on a European scale, to be coupled with areas of heat load adequacy, thus geographically matching the resources and the demands, outlining areas for future developments. In addition to the large-scale overview of potential areas based on the integrated interpretation of pan-European maps showing the geology and geothermal conditions in a uniform system with harmonized datasets, the detailed evaluation of the Geo-DH potential of the targeted countries made it possible to further adjust the prosperous regions. Some country examples representing various geological settings and market conditions underline the future development potentials and also raise attention that the most advanced Geo- DH markets had grown not only due to favorable geothermal potentials, but as a result of exhaustive financial and regulatory supporting schemes.