Stable underground temperatures provide a reliable source of shallow geothermal energy. This study is one of the few to investigate the potential of closed geothermal systems for cooling cold stores. We inventoried 47 vegetable cold stores in Slovenia and evaluated the capacity of two hypothetical 50 m deep geoprobes that would intersect five typical, but hydrogeologically different, interstitial aquifers in Slovenia. The mathematical simulation showed that the most optimal natural conditions for the use of shallow geothermal energy for cooling are in the Sava Basin, where taking into account the rapid groundwater flow (7.2 m/day) increases the estimated excess heat uptake by more than 900% compared to the analytical calculation. The estimated potential of natural cooling systems decreases from the Sava basin towards the Drava, Mur, Savinja and Krka basins. Our study quantitatively confirms that, when excess heat from cold stores is input to the ground, areas with rapid groundwater flow are more favourable for the recovery of groundwater temperatures at the site of an individual geoprobe than areas without groundwater flow.

Taken from the article:

ADRINEK, Simona, PRESTOR, Joerg, PESTOTNIK, Simona, RMAN, Nina. Effects of groundwater flow on end-temperature of closed-loop systems used for cooling. Renewable energy. [Print ed.]. 2026, vol. 256, [article no.] 124234, 14 p. ISSN 0960-1481. DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124234. [COBISS.SI-ID 246318595]