HEATING ENERGY
Where the Earth’s heat becomes scarce
Researchers at EPFL have calculated just how much geothermal energy might be used for heating in the region around Lake Geneva.
The warmer the colours, the greater the heating potential in the ground. | Illustration: A. Walch et al. (2020)
Geothermal energy in the region around Lake Geneva could potentially cover some 40 percent of all its heating needs – that’s 4.65 terawatt hours. This is based on calculations made by Alina Walch of EPFL, although they also show there is too little energy in the cities, and too much in the countryside. Her study takes both the temperature and the constitution of the soil into account, and also assumes a minimum distance of five metres between geothermal probes so that they don’t draw heat from each other.
