Geothermal Energy for Heat and Power Production in South Holland

Abstract

As the energy transition accelerates, there is growing interest in exploring different renewable energy sources to help reduce emissions from heating and electricity. One of the more promising options, under the right conditions, is geothermal energy, which can provide a stable and relatively low-carbon supply of heat and/or power. In the Netherlands, medium-depth (>500 m) geothermal heat has mostly been used for heating greenhouses, with electricity production from geothermal sources not yet explored.

This thesis provides a techno-economic assessment of medium-depth geothermal energy systems in South Holland, the Netherlands, evaluating their potential to meet local heat and electricity demands sustainably and with a profit. Two case studies were analyzed in this thesis. The first investigated a geothermal district heating system for the TU Delft campus, incorporating a large-scale heat pump to increase heat extraction from the reservoir. The second examined a combined heat and power (CHP) system for the Royal IHC facilities in Kinderdijk, based on an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The work relied on thermodynamic modeling together with subsurface and economic simulations to select working fluids, size the main components, and assess economic indicators such as Levelized Costs of Heat/Electricity (LCOH/LCOE), Net Present Value (NPV), payback times, and internal rate of return (IRR).

The findings reveal a sharp difference in feasibility between the two cases. The geothermal heat pump project in Delft proved to be promising for district heating applications, whereas the ORC-based power generation system proved to be both technically and economically unviable under the assessed conditions, mainly due to the low temperature of the geothermal brine and the small scale of the project. A subsequent evaluation of a heat pump alternative for the Kinderdijk site indicated limited economic competitiveness under the current market price assumptions for heating.

Overall, the work suggests that the viability of geothermal projects is highly dependent on the quality of the geothermal resource, the scale of implementation, and the end-use requirements. Integrating heat pumps with medium-depth hydrothermal resources appears as a technically promising and financially attractive strategy for decarbonizing district heating networks, whereas low-temperature ORC systems for power generation remain unsuitable in regions with insufficient subsurface temperatures. The study shows the importance of site-specific assessments in ensuring the successful deployment of geothermal energy systems.