Environmental risk assessment for aquifer thermal energy storage
This report has been prepared by Pacific Northwest Laboratory at the request of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The US Department of Energy represents the United States in the IEA for Annex IV, the IEA task for research and development in aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES). Installation and operation of an ATES system is necessarily intrusive to ground-water resources. Therefore, governmental authorities usually require an environmental risk assessment to be performed before permission to construct an ATES system is granted. Writing an accurate statement of risk presupposes a knowledge of aquifer and ground-water characteristics and that an engineering feasibility study has taken place. Effective and logical presentation of the results of the risk assessment can expedite the grant of approval. Introductory remarks should address questions regarding why the ATES project has been proposed, what it is expected to accomplish, and what the expected benefits are. Next, the system configuration, including the aquifer, ATES plant, and well field, should be described in terms of size and location, design components, and thermal and hydraulic capacity. The final element of system design, the predicted annual operating cycle, needs to be described in sufficient detail to allow the reviewer to appreciate the net hydraulic, thermal, and hydrochemical effects imposed on the aquifer. Risks may be environmental or legal. Only after a reviewer has been introduced to the proposed system`s design, operation, and scale can risk issues can be identified and weighed against the benefits of the proposed ATES system.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 10117104
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-8365; ON: DE93006604
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jan 1993
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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