UK Geoenergy Observatories: new facilities to understand the future energy challenges

Decarbonisation of energy supplies will require development of new technologies to store energy, heat and waste gases and to act as alternatives to batteries are required for storing renewable energy to make it available during periods of peak demand. The subsurface has the potential to deliver these new technologies through Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), aquifer storage of heat and compressed air, and extracting geothermal energy. The heterogeneity of the subsurface and lack of detailed knowledge of its static and dynamic properties makes modelling of the efficacy of such proposed technologies difficult. Geoscientists require new experimental facilities where subsurface properties can be studied at unprecedented detail to underpin realistic simulations. The British Geological Survey, on behalf of the Natural Environment Research Council, is developing two new experimental facilities. The planned UK Geoenergy Observatory at Ince Marshes in Cheshire will allow a wide variety of datasets to be gathered on rocks, fluids and fluid transport, bespoke experiments to be undertaken and the properties of a volume of the rock to be understood. It will consist of four different arrays of newly-drilled and extensively-cored boreholes which will characterize the subsurface in greater detail than has previously been possible.