Energy, economic and environmental GIS–based analysis of shallow geothermal potential in urban areas—A Spanish case example

During the last decades, both population growth and increasingly concentration in cities turn these areas into major consumers of energy, mainly due to heating and cooling energy demanded by residential and commercial sectors. In parallel, the promotion of renewables and policies aimed to decrease fossil fuel dependence and save emissions have addressed mostly solutions based on renewable energy resources. Under this scenario, this paper evaluates the feasibility of vertical Ground Source Heat Pump systems based on the spatial study of the site–specific parameters affecting their performance at a local scale. A GIS–based energy, economic and environmental multidimensional approach is then proposed to analyze the heating and cooling energy demand by considering the urban pattern and the real space available for the installations. The paper explores and compares different Borehole Heat Exchanger Ground Source Heat Pump systems by using the G.POT method applied to residential customers. Two Spanish residential locations are included as case study. From the results, geothermal resource gives highly beneficial results also for cooling energy demand, which is not usually considered in geothermal analysis. The proposed renewable system can be also evaluated from this multidimensional perspective on both commercial and tertiary sector, as well as in other locations with a diversity of heating and cooling energy demand profiles.