Since nearly 50 % of Europe's energy demand is in the heating and cooling sector, it is expected that geothermal energy will play an important role in the transition to a decarbonized energy system. However, deep geothermal energy is currently harvested mainly from areas with very favorable geothermal conditions. As these areas are geographically limited, the use of geothermal energy in less favorable regions is essential for unleashing the full potential of geothermal energy, since they make up the majority of the total geothermal potential in Central Europe. Motivated by the growing interest in deep geothermal energy among, e.g., energy companies and communities, this text reviews the state of the art in deep geothermal energy with focus on direct heating in geothermally less favorable regions. It provides an overview of technologies used to generate heat from the deep underground and discusses main technical and non-technical risks associated with deep geothermal projects. The text addresses readers with an interest in geothermal energy but does not require a background in geoscience or engineering sciences. It is suitable as textbook for Geothermal Energy courses for undergraduate students from different disciplines.

The potential for energy transformation from geothermal heat is limitless. For millennia natural sources of this energy, in the form of thermal springs, have been used by populations for heating, cooking and bathing. Modern-day usage has been extended to electricity generation from binary cycle power plants, heat extraction from geothermal heat pumps and use in greenhouses for industrial crop growing. Perspectives for Geothermal Energy in Europe highlights the status of geothermal energy in countries where natural sources of this energy are available. It concludes with a presentation of current geothermal policy and regulations within Europe, and discussion of how this fits in with the EU Energy and Climate Framework.Suitable for students, academics and practitioners in the fields of energy studies, geology and the earth sciences, electrical engineering and environmental economics, this book is the first comprehensive review of the practicalities of geothermal extraction and use in Europe.

This book explores the intrinsically multiscale issue of renewable energy transition from a local, national and transnational perspective, and provides insights into current developments in the Upper Rhine Region that can serve as an international model. Organised around the exploration of stakeholder issues, the volume first describes a framework for public action and modelling and then articulates a triple complementary focus from the viewpoint of law, economics and sociology. This multidisciplinary approach is anchored in the social sciences, but also explores the ways in which technological issues are increasingly debated in the implementation of the ecological transition. With a focus on the Upper Rhine Region of France, Germany and Switzerland, the contributions throughout analyse how concrete regional projects emerge, and whether they are carried out by local authorities, private energy groups, network associations or committed citizens. From this, it appears that real-world energy transition modes can be best understood as permanent transactional processes involving institutional regulations, economic levers and barriers and social interactions. This book will be of interest to advanced students and scholars focusing on renewable energy transition, stakeholder issues, environment and sustainability studies, as well as those who are interested in the methodological aspects of the social sciences, especially within the fields of sociology, law, economy, geography, political science, urbanism and planning.

The superior goal of the gebo research association was making important contributions for the future reliable drilling under the existing “hot-hard-rock” conditions in Niedersachsen and their development to the geothermal drillings with sustainable geological subsurface heat exchangers. This goal should be achieved due to the solid research and innovative technology approaches in their combination within one concept for pioneering methods in deep geothermal drillings in hard rock, to be more exact - in interdisciplinary cooperation on engineers and scientists - in cooperation between industry and University, researchers and users Gebo research association comprised scientists and technicians of different research institutions and universities who are working in 33 projects. The individual projects were assigned to one of the 4 main research fields or focus areas. Gebo research association started its activities with 7 project partners participating: - Technische Universität Braunschweig (TUBS) - Technische Universität Clausthal (TUC) - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) - Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (UGOE) - Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik (LIAG) - Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) - Energie-Forschungszentrum Niedersachsen (EFZN) Baker Hughes, an industrial partner, participated in the association and supplies it with its experience and additional funds.

This book contains a collection of papers presented at Engineering Solutions for Sustainability: Materials and Resources II, a special symposium organized as part of the TMS 2015 Annual Meeting & Exhibition and held in Orlando, Florida, March 15-19, 2015. With impending and burgeoning societal issues affecting both developed and emerging nations, the global engineering community has a responsibility and an opportunity to truly make a difference and contribute. The papers in this collection address what materials and resources are integral to meeting basic societal sustainability needs in critical areas of energy, transportation, housing, and recycling. Contributions focus on the engineering answers for cost-effective, sustainable pathways; the strategies for effective use of engineering solutions; and the role of the global engineering community. Authors share perspectives on the major engineering challenges that face our world today; identify, discuss, and prioritize engineering solution needs; and establish how these fit into developing global-demand pressures for materials and human resources.

Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies provides state-of-the-art coverage in both non-fossil energy conversion and storage techniques, as well as in their environmental assessment. This includes goal and scope, analysis boundaries, inventory and the impact assessment employed for the evaluation of these applications, as well as the environmental footprint of the technologies. The book compiles information currently available only in different sources concerning the environmental assessment of sustainable energy technologies, allowing for the comparative assessments of different technologies given specific boundary conditions, such as renewable potential and other specific features of discussed technologies. It offers readers a comprehensive overview of the entire energy supply chain, namely from production to storage, by allowing the consideration of different production and storage combinations, based on their environmental assessment. - Provides an overview of the environmental assessment process of renewable energy conversion and storage technologies - Includes state-of-the-art approaches and techniques for the comprehensive environmental assessment of individual sustainable energy conversion and storage technologies and their applications - Features comparative assessments of different technologies