| Title | Geothermal Development Archetypes: A Tool for High Grading Public Sector Investment in Geothermal |
|---|---|
| Authors | R. Dunphy, S. Blake |
| Year | 2026 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | For geothermal heating the determination during exploration of what is a suitable geothermal resource, and potentially the geothermal technology used to exploit the resource, is heavily dependent on the nature of the heat end use. This is a fundamental difference between low-enthalpy geothermal exploration versus hydrocarbon exploration, which tends to be resource led. The consequence of this is that uses of practices and processes from other resource sectors need to be appropriately considered, and adapted, for the development of low-enthalpy geothermal resources. Recognizing the above, a key concept developed in the Geological Survey Ireland National Geothermal Database project is that of the Geothermal Development Archetype (GDA). GDAs are defined by combining understanding of geothermal play types, extraction technologies, heat demand characterization, and geographic environment. In the short term, these can provide a simple mechanism to transfer learnings on exploration risk, heat supply cost and potential stakeholder issues from one region or play fairway to another. In the longer term the GDA concept can also act as a prioritization tool for governmental led investment by creating an inventory of GDAs that can be used to identify focal areas for data gathering, such as seismic, exploration drilling, and piloting. This paper presents an example of how defining a GDA based on the key variables of geothermal reservoir, nature of heat demand, people and place, and extraction technology fed into the a development of a business case for Government investment where no geothermal specific data had existed to inform the economics. |