GIS-based selection methodology for viable District Heating areas in Castilla y León, Spain

Abstract

The present research presents a novel methodology that using geospatial tools is intended to facilitate the inclusion of geothermal energy in the urban sector by selecting viable zones for geothermal district heating's The methodology is a three-step screening process based in Castilla y León (Spain), whose starting point is taking the information needed from the spatial data infrastructure about its geology, provinces and buildings and further adding selected criteria to narrow the results such as thermal conductivity, population density, energy consumption, etc. This process is intended to help with site selection of district heating's as a tool that can be applied everywhere as long as the base material is available and its key point is its agility to study multiple sites and display the information in a visual representation. As a result, the methodology provides a range of suitable sites that can be studied in detail in the future, based on the needs that the user seeks to cover.