Low-temperature geothermal energy has recently gained more attention as a possible use of geothermal energy in geographic areas that are not typically associated with geothermal energy use. The attractive features of low-temperature geothermal utilization include, but are not limited to its stable, baseload energy output, low environmental impact, and the renewability of the resource. West Virginia University (WVU) presents itself as a possible attractive location for the expansion of geothermal resource utilization within the eastern United States due to the elevated temperatures in the eastern counties of West Virginia recently identified by the work of Frone, Richards, and Blackwell at Southern Methodist University. WVU has an extensive district heating system that supplies the campus buildings at the 30,000-student university with steam for both heating in the winter and steam for a distributed system of absorption chillers for cooling in the summer. This paper presents a feasibility analysis of the WVU case study using both energetic and economic analyses to assess scenarios of the potential integration of geothermal energy in an eastern-US district heating system. Process simulations have been performed using Aspen Plus to simulate the steam distribution system based on the current distribution pipeline on the WVU campus. The flow pattern, including the temperature, flow rate, and pressure of geothermal hot water is optimized to determine a number of design parameters for the geothermal system. These design parameters include the number of geothermal injection and production wells, the potential use of auxiliary heating equipment using natural gas, and the system of injection wells. This work is coupled with reservoir simulation studies described in a companion paper by Bedre and Anderson. The objective function for the optimization of the system is the Equivalent Annual Operating Cost, which includes the initial investment in the cost of drilling and fluid distribution equipment, as well as the operation and maintenance costs. Additionally, for comparative purposes, the cost of the heat per BTU delivered is estimated.

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