Geothermal Field Development in the European Community Objectives, Achievements and Problem Areas

Abstract

Achievements and problem areas are reviewed with respect to various engineering implications of geothermal field development in the European Community (EC). Current and future development goals address three resource settings. (a) low enthalpy sources (3O-15O0C), an outlook common to all Member states as a result of hot water aquifers flowing in large sedimentary units with normal heat flow, widespread throughout the EC; (b) high enthalpy sources (<150DC) in areas of high heat flow which, as a consequence of the geodynamics of the Eurasian plate, are limited to Central and South-West Italy and to Eastern Greece; (c) hot dry rocks (HDR), whose potential for Europe, and also the difficulties in implementing the heat mining concept, are enormous. A large scale experiment conducted at medium depth in Cornwall (UK) proves encouraging though. It has provided the right sort of scientific inputs to the understanding of the mechanics of anisotropic brittle basement rocks.