Below is the list of the funded projects in the area of Geoenergy under the GSI Short Calls.
Lead Applicant: Dr Mark Coughlan, Host: Gaeletric
Project Title: Irish sea suitability mapping for novel offshore foundations (ISSMaNOF)
Project Description: The Irish Sea has one of Europe's best offshore renewable energy resources. Current vagaries about the geological conditions may significantly impact offshore infrastructural development. The ISSMaNOF project aims to utilise extensive geophysical and geological data gathered by INFOMAR to generate value-added mapping products within the context of offshore foundation feasibility. Report
Lead Applicant: Mr Ricardo Pasquali, Host: Terra Geoserv
Project Title: Irish soil thermal properties project (ISTP)
Project Description: The Irish Soil Thermal Properties Project (ISTP) will quantify the thermal properties of Irish soils and develop guidelines to estimate design parameters for ground source heating systems. A reference dataset to complement to the existing EPA/Teagasc data and facilitate the uptake of shallow geothermal energy as well as civil engineering applications.
Report
Lead Applicant: Mr Ricardo Pasquali, Host: Terra Geoserv
Project Title: Integrated interpretation and modelling of Tellus aeromagnetic, gravity, radiometric and multispectral analysis of satellite imagery datasets for exploration and identification of deep geothermal target areas in the midland valley terrane (DeepGeo)
Project Description: The DeepGeo project aims to develop a new holistic deep geothermal model to identify potential targets in the Midlands Terrain using geophysical data. The project will integrate the Tellus Midland datasets with historical mineral exploration data, Bouguer gravity data combined with spectral analysis of satellite imagery from the selected targets. Report
Lead Applicant: Dr Deirdre Lewis, Host: SLR Consulting
Project Title: Investigation of Irish Carboniferous Palaeokarst for CO2 Geological Storage & deep geothermal resources
Project Description: This seed project will identify deep drilling targets for CO2 geological storage and geothermal energy resource assessment onshore Ireland. Karstified reservoirs within Tournaisian and Visean carbonates of the Campine Basin in Belgium comply with the depth and safety restrictions for geological CO2 storage (Laenen 2004). The hottest spring waters in Britain emanate from palaeokarst in the Carboniferous Limestone near Bath (Adams et al. 2017), and thermal springs in Ireland are likely to flow through deep karst conduits (e.g., Blake et al., 2016). There is abundant evidence from quarries, outcrops and boreholes of Palaeozoic palaeokarst in Ireland (pers. comm. Jones and Kelly, 2017). This project will compile, map, quantify and assess evidence of presumed ancient karst features in Ireland based on quarries, deep mines, borehole records, seismic data, and known uplifted structural blocks. The final deliverable will add additional GIS layers to the existing SEAI Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Project which is a guide to deep drilling targets for enhanced porosity and permeability at depth onshore Ireland. It is a further development of the Play Fairway Analysis Methodology and Toolkit for deep exploration onshore Ireland, leading to a demonstration deep drilling project. Report