| Title | From Geothermal Plays to Potential assessment: a Systematic Geothermal Evaluation of Italy |
|---|---|
| Authors | Trumpy E., Galione M.R., Yang L., Manzella A |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | The last national wide assessment of Italian geothermal resource was conducted in 1990s as part of the National Inventory of the Geothermal Resources project. This classification, carried out by a joint venture involving ENEL, AGIP, CNR and ENEA, was based on underground temperature distribution combined with a qualitative hydrogeologic evaluation of geological formations. Afterward, other geothermal resource assessments were performed, often at the local scale, using numerical and semi-automated methodologies. Over time, various approaches for geothermal resource assessment have been developed and applied world-wide as no universally accepted standard currently exists. In this case study, we applied a multi-level approach to rank the geothermal resources in the Italian territory. Firstly, the Italian territory was ranked on the basis of the geological setting and the main process of heat transfer following the protocol proposed by Moeck in the 2014, thus 27 distinct geothermal plays (Level 1) were identified. Secondly, 16 plays containing borehole data on reservoir rock properties and temperatures were selected. For these, the geothermal potential was estimated using Python-based 1D HIP Calculator that calculates the total amount of heat available in the reservoir, known as Heat in Place (HIP) (Level 2). All the resulting data from both Level 1 and Level 2 plays were organised into GIS layers, enabling the rapid identification of the most promising geothermal areas across Italy. |