The Geothermal Energy in Italy and in the Basilicata Region

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1 The Geothermal Energy in Italy and in the Basilicata Region ENER-SUPPLY ENergy Efficiency and Renewables SUPporting Policies in Local level for EnergY Partner: Municipality of Potenza Dr. Patrizia Carlucci in collaboration with Dr. Luigi Salviulo Acknowledgements: We would like to thank the Università degli Studi della Basilicata and especially Prof. Giacomo Prosser - Dipartimento di Scienze geologiche for their kind cooperation Link:

2 Summary The Geothermal Energy in Italy and in the Basilicata Region References

3 The Geothermal Energy in Italy and in the Basilicata Region The project Ener Supply funded by the South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme, aims to strength the skills of local and regional institutions in 11 countries of South-Eastern Europe in the fields of renewable energy sources (RES) and energy efficiency (EE ). One of the main objectives of the project concerns the development of maps on renewable energy sources (RES) concerning the local areas under investigation. Especially, in the field of geothermal energy, the maps are aimed to describe the current state of the Italian geothermal potential with particular reference to Basilicata region. About the Basilicata, information regarding the existing potential geothermal resources are extremely scarce. This is mainly because specific field research activities have never been carried out in Basilicata, unlike what happened in other regions like Tuscany, Lazio and Campania. For the purposes of the study, firstly we have collected all available data about the geothermal structure of the national territory. Then, information regarding the territory of Basilicata were extrapolated. In particular information were obtained from data available from oil exploration which has extensively involved some areas of the region. Once collected all the available data, these latter have been reported in a GIS format for the development of some maps at a regional scale, which contain the main geothermal information. In particular the following maps have been designed: 1) The geological map of Basilicata region that has been designed with the geological map of the Southern Appennine. The map shows that main feature of the Basilicata western area is the presence of different translated and/or overlapped lithological complex. The main lithological complex outcropping the Basilicata region are: Mesozoic-Cenozoic calcareous-dolomitic Complex: this represent the main structure of the western Lucanian Apennine;

4 Mesozoic calcareous-silicic-marly Complex: this consists of argillites, marls and rigid behaviour calcareous-silicic rocks; Geological Complex with prevailing clastic elements where sandstones and clays are widespread; Alluvial Complex related to valley courses; Mt. Vulture Volcanic Complex where are identified pyroclastics sediments. 2) Map of the heat flow in the Basilicata region. It shows and highlights areas with different heat flow as well as the isotherms at 1000, 2000 and 3000 km depth. 3) Map of wells and springs in the Basilicata region. It shows the maximum temperatures recorded at the drillings for oil exploration. Some interesting temperatures arise in the Vulture area and in northern area of the province of Matera. In addition, the Inventory of geothermal resources of Basilicata includes three thermal springs: Spring of Bagni San Cataldo (City of Bella), with water at 25 C; Spring Principale (City of Latronico), with water at 21.5 C; Spring Solfura (City of Latronico) with water at 22 C. The map shows the tables with the description and the location of wells and springs. 4) Hydrogeological Map of the Region Basilicata, i.e. a portion of the Hydrogeological Map of Southern Italy. From an hydrogeological point of view, the Basilicata region shows two clearly different district: Western sector: here outcrop strongly fractured calcareous and karst massif where important aquifers are identified. These aquifer generate important springs characterized by high capacity; Intermediate and Eastern sector: here impermeable geological complex are widespread. Only some massive and fractured lithologies locally show less important aquifers.

5 Primary permeability rocks (alluvial deposits, actual detrital deposits, travertine and volcanic deposits) also may locally produce important aquifers. Finally, from the ISPRA site it was possible get information about the Gravimetric map of Italy and the adjacent seas at 1: scale. Due to the scale it was not considered appropriate to extrapolate a map regarding the region. Currently, ISPRA is working to produce a Gravimetric Map of Italy on a scale 1: which will offer more detailed information. In conclusion, at present the data regarding the region of Basilicata are few because there were not specific activities aimed at the exploitation of geothermal resources. Certainly there are some areas that, from a geological, structural, tectonic and hydrogeological point of view, may suggest the presence of geothermal sources which tend to the average enthalpy (Area del Vulture, Val d Agri, Appennino campano-lucano). However, at present there are not studies which shed light on this issue. In these cases, assuming the existence of workable geothermal reservoir, some district heating systems, fully realized with adequate average enthalpy sources, could be a possible solution. It is possible to stimulate the establishment of systems such as geothermal heat pumps that could supplement the energy needs of public buildings, greenhouses, farms and private settings. Unfortunately, in this case, the main obstacle is still the high cost of implementation, especially with reference to the drilling operations for the insertion of probes.

6 References Ministero dell Industria del Commercio e dell Artigianato, legge 9 dicembre 1986 n. 896 Disciplina della ricerca e della coltivazione delle risorse geotermiche - Inventario delle risorse geotermiche nazionali ENEL S.p.A. DPT/VDAG ENI -AGIP SERG CNR IIRG ENEA AMB/ANV Valutazione del potenziale geotermico nazionale (1993) Ministero dell Industria del Commercio e dell Artigianato, legge 9 dicembre 1986 n. 896 Disciplina della ricerca e della coltivazione delle risorse geotermiche CNR ENEA- ENEL ENI /AGIP - Inventario delle risorse geotermiche nazionali, Regione Basilicata Rapporto (1987) Della Vedova B., Mongelli F., Pellis G., Squarci P., Taffi L. & Zito G. (1991) Heatflow map of Italy. Int. Inst. for Geothermal Research-CNR, Pisa (con aggiornamento di Della Vedova nel 2001) Cataldi R., Mongelli F., Squarci P., Taffi L., Zito G. & Calore C. (1995) Geothermal ranking of italian territory. Geothermics, 24, Tamburriello G., Balasco M., Rizzo E., Harabaglia P., Lapenna E. e Siniscalchi A. (2008) Deep electrical resistivity tomography and geothermal analysys of Bradano foredeep deposits in Venosa area (Southern Italy): preliminary results. Annals of geophysics, Vol. 51, N. 1, Websites Carta gravimetrica d Italia, scala 1: (formato pdf)