In an energy-efficient future, homes may be heated and cooled more sustainably by utilizing giant underground pools of water. A study published this month in Applied Energy looked at how this aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) technology could help significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and store energy produced by other renewable sources.
The research, conducted by a group of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, modeled a hypothetical scenario of sixty homes in Chicago using ATES to store thermal energy. Using data from various climate models, they saw how much heating or cooling homes will need in the future, while also testing the grid’s resilience to disasters.
Results of the model indicated that using ATES could reduce the use of fossil fuels on the grid by up to 40%. Furthermore, this technique also could make the grid more resilient in the face of future extreme heat waves since energy consumption for ATES cooling is relatively steadier than air conditioning-based cooling.
Nevertheless, aquifer thermal energy storage is not a perfect technology yet as there are some criteria for the location of the ATES set up, so it must have access to natural aquifers with specific attributes to make the flow of water more effective. In addition, the cost associated with this technology is more expensive than other energy storage options on the market – up to 20% higher. The team hopes further development and implementation will bring the costs down.
Currently, the majority of ATES projects are located in the Netherlands, though many other areas have untapped potential: Germany, Spain and parts of the U.S. could easily benefit from its adoption. In order to make this a reality, Peter Nico, a biogeochemist at the Berkeley Lab and co-author of the paper believes that the biggest hurdle is cost and awareness. He concludes that lowering the initial capital costs of ATES installation would help considerably lower the overall expenses.
Since ancient days, Humans have searched for ways to store and convert energy – once again we find ourselves looking to nature for a solution. By taking advantage of an already existing natural resource – underground pools of water -we can learn to better utilize and store energy in an effort to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
