energies

Editorial
Geothermal Systems—An Overview
Anna Sowiżdżał

Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology,
30-059 Krakow, Poland; [email protected]

Abstract: This editorial aims to summarize 10 articles (7 scientific papers and 3 review papers) that
contributed to the Special Issue “Geothermal Systems—An Overview”. This Special Issue contains
information on both shallow and deep geothermal systems, and analyzes geothermal resources (low
and high temperature) in various locations around the world.

Keywords: geothermal systems; geothermal energy; geothermal resources; geothermal technologies

Geothermal energy, a clean and renewable energy source, has been used for thousands
of years all over the world. Depending on the existing resources and available technologies,
this kind of energy can be used for different purposes and in different ways. This variety
and specificity of utilization cause geological and engineered geothermal systems to be
classified differently based on their geological location, method of formation, dominant
heat transfer mechanism, or availability. The world needs an energy transition. The
current use of fossil fuels is causing environmental damage, leading to the depletion of
natural resources and, in many regions, to a significant degradation of environmental
quality due to the emission of significant amounts of pollutants into the atmosphere. It
is necessary to transform the energy sector, which is largely responsible for greenhouse
gas emissions. Renewable energy sources, including precisely clean and environmentally
friendly geothermal energy, play an important role in the transformation process. Problems
associated with the effective use of geothermal energy were dedicated to an Energies Special
Issue under the title Geothermal Systems.
Citation: Sowiżdżał, A. Geothermal Geothermal system is a very broad concept. A thorough understanding of geothermal
Systems—An Overview. Energies systems requires the integration of expertise from various disciplines such as geology,
2022, 15, 6377. https://doi.org/ physics, chemistry, hydrogeology, and many others. The concept of geothermal systems
10.3390/en15176377 has been well illustrated in previous studies [1,2]. Geothermal systems are not only techno-
Received: 30 July 2022
logical systems that extract geothermal energy, but also reservoirs of heat. The description
Accepted: 25 August 2022
of geothermal systems therefore covers issues such as geophysical and geochemical signa-
Published: 1 September 2022
tures of geothermal systems, heat transfer and regional heat flow, geothermal anomalies,
mathematical modelling of geothermal systems, heat extraction from geothermal reservoirs,
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
geothermal resource assessment, environmental aspects of geothermal energy development,
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
as well as many other aspects of efficient use of geothermal energy.
published maps and institutional affil-
This Special Issue was designed to cover all types of geothermal systems, from low
iations.
to high temperatures. Papers analyzing the possibilities of using geothermal energy in
conventional or unconventional ways were invited. As a result of the work, the Special
Issue contains 10 articles [3–12], of which 7 are scientific articles [3–9] and 3 are review
Copyright: © 2022 by the author.
papers [10–12]. This editorial presents an overview of the articles published in this Special
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Issue. The Special Issue contains works related to shallow and deep geothermal systems
This article is an open access article as well as energy storage. The issues of various utilization of low- and high-temperature
distributed under the terms and geothermal resources are widely discussed. Review papers address the use of shallow
conditions of the Creative Commons geothermal systems for heating and cooling [10]; the development of the enhanced geother-
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// mal system (EGS); carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies [11]; and
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ the prospects for using hydrocarbon deposits from the autochthonous Miocene formation
4.0/). (Eastern Carpathian Foredeep, Poland) for geothermal purposes [12].

Energies 2022, 15, 6377. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176377 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energies

Energies 2022, 15, 6377 2 of 5

The keywords in these 10 articles are: low-enthalpy geothermal sources, electromag-

netic heating, flows in porous media, partial differential equations, geothermal energy,
fluid geochemistry, deep geothermal resources, sedimentary basin, carbonate reservoirs,
geothermal, hot dry rock (HDR), enhanced geothermal system (EGS), CO2 sequestration,
cross-impact method, MICMAC, silica sinter, thermoluminescence dating, ground pene-
trating radar, northwestern basin-and-range province, Alvord/Pueblo valleys, confined
aquifer, heat storage, ATES, groundwater modeling, heat transport modeling, thermal
imbalance, urban engineering, geographical information system (GIS), ground source heat
pump (GSHP), shallow geothermal energy, borehole heat exchanger (BHE), geothermal
waters, chemical composition, Outer Carpathians, Carpathian Foredeep, principal com-
ponent analysis, statistical analysis, shallow geothermal energy, borehole heat exchanger,
collector, grout, geoenergetics, techno-economic analysis, optimization, CCUS (carbon
capture, utilization, and storage), Poland, earth sciences, and petroleum field.
One of the important issues related to the use of renewable energy sources, including
geothermal energy, is energy storage. This topic appears in several publications of the spe-
cial issue. Almeida et al. [3] presented down-hole electromagnetic heating of deep aquifers
for renewable energy storage. Electromagnetic heating is an emerging method for storing
renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar and wind electric power, into aquifers. The
authors have demonstrated that underground electromagnetic heating is a highly efficient
method of storing renewable energy that can help solve the problem of its intermittency.
Bulte et al. [7] present numerical interference modeling of thermally unbalanced
aquifer energy storage systems in Belgium. This paper presents the results of a numerical
model built using FEFLOW® software to simulate groundwater flow and heat transport
in a confined aquifer. The study was conducted in Brussels, where two thermal energy
storage systems (ATESs) were installed in adjacent buildings that use the same aquifer
consisting of mixed sandy and silty sublayers. The results of the simulation indicated that
in the long term, the joint operation of two ATES systems is inefficient.
The Special Issue also published a study related to the use of shallow geothermal
resources. Ramos-Escudero et al. [8] presented a case study in the region of Murcia,
Spain. The authors assessed the potential of shallow geothermal systems used for heat-
ing and cooling, integrated with the socio-economic environment. To achieve results,
they developed a GIS-based methodology to estimate the resource, energy, economic,
and environmental potential of shallow geothermal on a regional scale. The method
was applied to the Region of Murcia (Spain). The authors conclude that by combining
resource and technical potential depending on the climatic conditions in the analyzed
region, the average energy demand of a residential building for heating varies from
3200 to 6200 kWh/year, and for cooling from 3800 to 5200 kWh/year. The average energy
needs of the residential building for the heating needs vary from 3200 to 6200 kWh/year
and the cooling needs vary from 3800 to 5200 kWh/year. Economic analysis shows that
the payback period for GSHP investments ranges from 8 to 20 years, with an average
of 11 years. Considering the 10-year period, the cost of producing energy from shallow
geothermal in the region ranges from EUR 0.13 to EUR 0.18/kWh.
Ahmed et al. [10] present a literature review on the use of shallow geothermal energy
(SGE) for heating and cooling purposes, as well as the latest developments in materials, as
well as new innovative structures and approaches associated with the techno-economic op-
timization of these systems. The article contains state-of-the-art and technological advances
regarding borehole heat exchangers (BHTs), including information on the thermal conduc-
tivity of the rock surrounding the BHE, innovative borehole heat exchanger structures,
grouting materials, bore heat exchanger collectors, and heat carrier fluids. The paper also
touches on the important topic of underground thermal energy storage (UTES) systems,
which store thermal energy in natural underground formations. A UTES uses aquifers
(ATESs) or boreholes (BTESs) to store sensible heat by lowering or raising the temperature
of water. In conclusion, the authors state that ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a promis-
ing technology with great potential toward decarbonizing the heating and cooling sector
Energies 2022, 15, 6377 3 of 5

in Europe. The authors also pointed out the benefits of using BTES technology to store
surplus solar, and thermal energy waste collected in the summer that can be used in the
winter. Techno-economic analysis indicated that the high initial cost of shallow geothermal
systems creates financial obstacles for households. Therefore, GSHPs without subsidies are
more expensive heating solutions compared to heating systems based on solid fuels.
An important aspect is the topic of the development of the enhanced geothermal
systems (EGSs). Pajak ˛ et al. [5] presented the criteria of selecting locations and technolo-
gies used in CO2- EGS Systems. This is the first paper included in this special issue on
the EnerGizerS project (CO2 -Enhanced Geothermal Systems for Climate Neutral Energy
Supply) implemented by a Polish-Norwegian consortium. Another article on the same
project is a review paper prepared by Sowiżdżał et al. [11]. Within the EnerGizerS project,
the international consortium of scientists has conducted research aimed at the detailed
identification of potential geological structures for the location of CO2 -EGS systems in
Poland and Norway, combining the requirements for both the EGS (enhanced geothermal
system) and CCS (carbon, capture, and storage) technologies. The first is a technology
for harnessing the energy stored in hot dry rocks, while the second is an important tech-
nology used for improving the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from the burning
of fossil fuels. A system combining both technologies is an enhanced geothermal system
using supercritical carbon dioxide as the working fluid (CO2–EGS). This kind of system is
an interesting alternative due to the added benefit of the geological storage of CO2 during
geothermal energy extraction. The development of CO2 -EGS technology is the goal of
the Polish–Norwegian project currently underway in Poland (EnerGizerS). The authors in
paper [5] presented the results of a study to determine the most important factors relevant
to the selection of the location of CO2-EGS systems. These factors are connected with reser-
voir parameters, as well as existing wells and other infrastructure, formal restrictions, the
availability of CO2 sources, and others presented and discussed in detail in the paper [5].
Review article prepared by Sowiżdżał et al. [11] focuses on the combination of
two technologies—the enhanced geothermal system (EGS) and carbon capture, utiliza-
tion, and storage (CCUS). An overview of the world’s major CCUS and EGS systems
provides a good basis for the development of such investments, especially in those coun-
tries that are just beginning to develop such technology. The paper presents 15 examples
of CCUS hubs in North America, South America, Australia, Europe, and Asia, as well as
9 selected EGS projects located in the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and
the United States.
Two of the presented papers concern the Carpathian Foredeep area located in the
southern Poland [7,12]. This is primarily an area of hydrocarbon exploration, but in recent
years the province has also become an object of geothermal interest, as can be seen in the
papers. In this area, possibilities surrounding the effective utilization of low-temperature
geothermal resources in hydrogeothermal systems are analyzed.
Jasnos [7] presented the hydrogeochemical characteristics of geothermal waters from
the Mesozoic formations in the basement of the central part of the Carpathian Foredeep
and the Carpathians in Poland. The research was conducted using multivariate statistical
methods. The study provided results of water sampling of the Cretaceous, Jurassic, and
Triassic aquifers of the Miechów Trough, submerged under the central part of the Miocene
formations of the Carpathian Foredeep and the Flysch formations of the Outer Carpathians.
Detailed analysis of the chemical composition of potentially geothermal waters from
a statistical point of view can be diagnostic, indicating certain anomalies in relation to their
background. These may indicate the existence of zones that would be of interest from the
point of view of exploiting the waters for various purposes.
Chmielowska et al. [12] presented prospects for using hydrocarbon deposits from the
autochthonous Miocene formation located in Eastern Carpathians (Poland) for geothermal
purposes. The paper had two main goals. The first objective was to review geothermal
and petroleum facts surrounding the eastern Carpathian foredeep. Another equally im-
portant objective is to find out the location of abandoned oil and gas wells (AOGWs) with
Energies 2022, 15, 6377 4 of 5

a prospective geothermal potential. In many regions characterized by high geothermal

potential, there are a significant number of abandoned oil wells. Their conversion to
geothermal wells can bring a number of benefits in many cases. The analysis made by the
authors in this paper indicates that the area of natural gas deposits in the eastern part of
the Carpathian foredeep in Poland may also be of interest for geothermal investments.
The hydro-chemical characterization of groundwater was presented in [7], but was
also the focus of the paper [4]. Guglielmetti et al. shows results on the hydrochemical char-
acterization of groundwaters’ fluid flow through the upper Mesozoic carbonate geothermal
reservoirs in the Geneva Basin. The study analyzed major ions, trace elements, and iso-
topes of oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur, strontium, and carbo, and the results indicate that the
sampled waters are of meteoric origin, the carbonate aquifers act as preferential host rocks
for geothermal waters, and a partial contribution of Cenozoic sediments can be observed in
some samples.
Mowbray and Cummings [6] presented the results of a study of hot springs in the
Al-vord/Pueblo valleys in southeastern Oregon, USA. In this area, hot springs have been
active in a 4-acre area in Mickey Springs for more than 30,000 years. The present study
investigated the evolution of these springs, where three different sinter morphologies were
tentatively identified. Currently, the high-temperature springs, steam vents, and mud
boilers are concentrated in a 50 m × 50 m area near the southern edge of the source area.
In summary, the Special Issue contains 10 interesting articles on geothermal systems. It
contains information on both shallow and deep systems, and analyzes geothermal resources
(low and high temperature) in various locations around the world (in countries such as
Belgium, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA).
I invite you to read more in papers [3–12].

Funding: The editorial has been prepared under the AGH-UST statutory research
Grants No. 16.16.140.315/05.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: Any remaining issues are solely the authors’ responsibility.
Conflicts of Interest: The author declare no conflict of interest.

References
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[CrossRef]
Energies 2022, 15, 6377 5 of 5

10. Ahmed, A.A.; Assadi, M.; Kalantar, A.; Sliwa, T.; Sapińska-Śliwa, A. A Critical Review on the Use of Shallow Geothermal Energy
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