GIS-based energy-economic model of low temperature geothermal resources: A case study in the Italian Marche region

This paper presents a computational procedure designed to derive a regional model of the low temperature geothermal potential and its economic exploitability. The model was applied to the Italian Marche region and developed with the support of a Geographic Information System (GIS), which highlights the spatial dependencies in the distribution of geothermic resources. The Low Temperature Geothermal Energy has already gained attention as a renewable energy resource for domestic heating and represents a growing opportunity for investment. Although it is common practice to conduct an accurate evaluation of the geothermal potential and its exploitability on a site during the construction of a single installation, there is not an established practice or guidelines for estimating this resource over large territories. This information could support an institution’s ability to conduct regional energy planning and guide private entrepreneurship to meet new economic opportunities. To address these issues, the main contribution of this work is a model that reduces the distance between the physical knowledge of the territory/environment and economic analysis. The model is based on a useful assessment of low temperature geothermal potential obtained from physical parameters on a regional scale, fromwhich a set of economic indicators are calculated to evaluate the actual economic accessibility to the geothermal energy resource. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.