To enable reliable exploration strategies for geothermal energy that have inherently lower economic and technical risks and hence increase public support, the multi-national, multi-disciplinary, and publicly funded FindHeat project is developing a novel, conceptual model-based geothermal exploration workflow. This workflow specifically focuses on faster turnaround times for exploration and appraisal of geothermal resources, making better use of legacy data and non-invasive geophysical techniques, and constraining uncertainties with respect to the size of the heat source and the range of possible heat production rates. Comprehensive social science research complements the technical work to set the foundation for new communication strategies that allow geothermal operators to earn the public trust that improved geothermal exploration and appraisal will lead to a more efficient and sustainable exploitation of geothermal energy. The workflow is being tested and validated at eight geologically diverse geothermal plays situated in Iceland, France, UK, Spain, and Netherlands, which allows us to demonstrate its economic and technical benefits as well as its societal impact.

This study evaluates the geothermal potential in an Area of Interest (AOI) in the southeast of Gran Canaria, focusing on location selection near the rift zone and NW-SE vertical fracture zones.

Via a 3D resistivity model nine conductive bodies were identified in the AOI. Then interpretations of the location of these bodies were constructed based on magnetetelluric (MT), density, and S-wave velocity data with geochemical analyses of gas emissions, groundwater chemistry, temperature gradients and the geological history of the AOI. Eventually the geothermal potential of these locations within the AOI was assessed via six criteria: degree of hydrothermal alteration, depth, hydrothermal activity, marine intrusion, top-down area size and fracture density.

Finally a conceptual geological model of the most promising location was made with a sub-vertical fracture system. Several scenarios were tested as part of a sensitivity analysis, all of which are plausible and therefore not irrelevant. In these scenarios key parameters such as porosity, permeability, geothermal gradients, and the permeability ratio (kz/kx/ky) within the fracture zone were varied. One of the main findings was that the 10/10/1 permeability ratio, considered the most realistic for sub-vertical fractures, showed minimal impact on production performance.