Simulation study of the Lower Cretaceous geothermal reservoir for aquifer thermal energy storage

The aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) has gained attention in several countries as an installation for increasing the energy efficiency of geothermal systems and the use of waste heat. The Lower Cretaceous reservoir is known as one of the most prospective for geothermal purposes in Poland. However, in the southern part of the Mogilno–Łódź Trough (Central Poland) is considered to have a lower geothermal potential. The aim of this paper is to study whether the Lower Cretaceous reservoir in this area is suitable for aquifer thermal energy storage. Prior to dynamic simulations in Feflow© software, a regional Petrel© static parametric model which includes a multidisciplinary approach was prepared. A methodology of fitting Petrel’s structural and parametrical model to Feflow requirements is provided within this paper. The performance simulation of 4 systems has been conducted for 30 years. Increasing precipitation potential is expected for aragonite and calcite along with a temperature increase, while silica precipitation carries a much smaller risk. The paper presents potential for ATES systems in the Lower Cretaceous reservoir of the study area with the best doublet location having thermal recovery ratio of 0.47 and 0.34 for 30 and 40 K temperature differential scenario. An imbalance in heat injection/production in the storage system can cause the reservoir to cool faster than in conventional geothermal heating installation. ATES can provide a successful geothermal reservoir boosting in the case of applying a balanced injection of waste heat. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10653-021-01130-7.