| Title | Regeocities: integration of shallow geothermal systems in urban planning |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dumas, P; Angelino, L |
| Year | 2016 |
| Conference | European Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | shallow geothermal, regulations, planning, cities |
| Abstract | The ReGeoCities project (01/05/2012 to 30/06/2015) worked on the integration of shallow Geothermal Energy at a local and regional level. It examined and promoted best practices and an intelligent regulatory framework, supporting cities to reach their Sustainable Energy Action Plans and the 2020 climate and energy goals. The main ReGeoCities results include: a . Increased awareness amongst policy and decision makers from local and regional authorities about the potential of this technology. One objective of the ReGeoCities project was to present best practices of shallow geothermal projects in order to replicate them all over Europe. b .The simplification of the administrative and regulatory procedures and, in some cases, the filling of regulatory gaps. Decision makers from municipal and local authorities as well as energy authorities need to put better regulatory frameworks in place, and procedures at a local level should be simplified. In collaboration with local authorities and private bodies involved in local energy planning, the ReGeoCities project has produced some key recommendations for the regulation of shallow geothermal in Europe. c .Innovative financial models. Financial incentives schemes for supporting ground source heat pumps are not available in all European countries, although the competition in the heating sector can be considered as unfair with fossil fuels still receiving subsidies. Financial incentives have been phased out in several countries, as shallow geothermal energy is deemed competitive on the market. In other countries support is still required, and in some support needs to be introduced to start a development at all. Thus financial support is still required in emerging markets where they should be tailored for both individual and collective installations. Possible schemes are grants, tax reduction, and interest free loans, which should have a link to quality, and certification etc. d .The training of technicians, civil servants and decision-makers of regional and local authorities in order to provide the technical background necessary to approve and support projects. These training activities are supported by promoting shallow geothermal best practices on small and large systems, cooling applications etc. The objective of this paper is to present the main project results and especially those regarding the integration of shallow geothermal systems in urban planning. The paper will describe where and when a Shallow Geothermal Energy system is favourable in a building and in a city. Therefore, analysis of the different aspects for consideration with respect to the integration of shallow geothermal systems in different typologies buildings and in different city zones will be made. The report consists of three parts, where the first part comprises integration of geothermal systems in buildings, especially during refurbishment and the second part comprises integration of geothermal systems in cities. The implementation of GSHP during the phase of refurbishment of existing buildings is considered very important since these actuations are expected to dominate the construction sector within the next years. |