Picture caption: Test drilling to explore the potential to use geothermal heat on campus
Geothermal energy available in Yorkshire’s aquifers is one possible route for helping Yorkshire and the UK establish energy independence. Evidencing this energy potential will open up discussion and action for routes of geothermal energy use across the breadth of energy users, both urban and rural, in our community.
To understand the potential for geothermal energy use in Yorkshire it is essential to quantify the likely temperature, and therefore likely heat output, of the water in the subsurface environment and locate appropriate aquifers for use across a range of potential geothermal systems.
This project builds on work with Leeds City Council and the Geothermal Campus project. It will provide a baseline profile of Yorkshire’s shallow (less than 150 m) subsurface water temperature using the Environment Agency’s water observation wells located across the Yorkshire region. So far data collection and analysis have been carried out at 18 key boreholes (with depths greater than 100m) which will be used for the development of baseline temperature models for Yorkshire. These locations have been selected as both accessible for temperature measurement, representing a diversity of sites across Yorkshire and for their representation across the breadth of aquifers.
The project has generated some baseline temperature gradient data and has the methodology and tools in place to also investigate seasonal/long-term changes in temperature gradient, conductivity and water levels.
Data collected will:
- Allow economic consideration of the potential for geothermal energy use for heat, energy storage and cooling. It is essential to have constraints on the current subsurface conditions. The data will be used to build an initial model of the aquifer temperatures across Yorkshire.
- Support the work at the University of Leeds campus and the wider Leeds urban area to constrain temperature in the shallow aquifers and build dynamic models of potential geothermal systems in the area, working with Leeds City Council and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero across some projects.
- Facilitate the extension of the models across the wider Yorkshire area, using data from the iCASP-funded project and any further collection of seasonal data and expanded locations, to allow for the development of a model that would enable inclusion and reducing the risk of using geothermal energy in sustainable energy models.
- Incorporates the data as an exemplar higher resolution data set within a wider UK model currently under construction by a third-party company.
Outputs
- Alongside the subsurface modelling aspect of the project, data models will also be used to evidence the potential for geothermal solutions in ongoing research with Leeds City Council and other organisations around governance and policy. They will be used to help develop and support business/economic models for future uptake and reducing the risk of geothermal energy use.
- Continuation of this work with Yorkshire Water would allow the assessment of the geothermal capacity of daily outflowing water and the development of a strategy of energy capture and use that could act as an exemplar for water companies across the UK.
Project Team
Dr Emma Bramham – University of Leeds
Dr James Van Alstine – University of Leeds
Duration
October 2023 – April 2024