The GeoERA MUSE (Managing Urban Shallow geothermal Energy) project is investigating resources and possible conflicts of use associated with the use of shallow geothermal energy in European urban areas.
The project involves 16 partners across Europe, 6 work packages and 13 pilot areas for investigation.
Work Packages (WP)
WP1: project management, internal communication and general dissemination
WP2: Technical aspects of shallow geothermal energy use in urban areas
WP3: Management strategies and action plans for a sustainable and efficient use of shallow geothermal energy
WP4: Testing and implementation of developed methods and workflows in urban pilot areas across Europe
WP5: Information systems, targeted communication and stakeholder interaction
WP6: Cross-cutting issues and capitalising on knowledge inside GeoERA
Pilot Areas
The chosen pilot area for Ireland is Cork City as it has a long history of ground source heat use, and more readily available data than other parts of Ireland.
As a project partner, Geological Survey Ireland is mainly contributing to WP4 with the following specific objectives:
Test and implement developed assessment and mapping methods for shallow geothermal energy (SGE) resources (derived from WP2) and case studies for open- and closed-loop systems.
Test and implement developed joint methods for assessing conflicts of use associated with SGE (derived from WP2)
Assess and evaluate existing regulation measures and application of the developed methods and management concepts (derived from WP3) for SGE.
Produce spatial output datasets in the pilot areas.
Geological Survey Ireland will also deliver:
A fact sheet for the pilot area including the main findings of MUSE - see below
A summary report about the outcomes in the pilot area
Datasets for web presentation of the selected pilot area - see online viewer below