The Milan Metropolitan Area is one of the most densely populated regions in Italy and Europe and, consequently, has an extremely high thermal power demand. In this study a regional scale assessment of the potential of a shallow alluvial aquifer to host low enthalpy geothermal systems is presented. The study area lies on a layered phreatic aquifer complex and presents advantageous hydrogeological characteristics that make low enthalpy geothermal supply an attractive heating/cooling solution from a carbon footprint and an economical point of view. In this context, different analytical solutions were used to estimate the thermal potential of closed- and open-loop systems based on the distribution of hydraulic and thermal parameters of the shallow aquifers. The thermal potential of closed-loop systems (ground-coupled heat pumps - GCHP) was estimated through the ASHRAE analytical equation considering the hydraulic and thermal parameters of the ground, the groundwater temperature, and the characteristics of the system. The thermal potential of open-loop systems (groundwater heat pumps - GWHP) was estimated by considering the local regulation on the abstraction and the conservation of the quantity and the quality of the groundwater as well as preventing excessive groundwater table drawdown or rising and thermal short-circuit. The results were compared with heat demand rates of the buildings in the municipalities of the study area and, finally, the most profitable shallow geothermal system configuration is discussed.

米兰大都市区是意大利和欧洲人口最稠密的地区之一，因此对火电的需求非常大。在这项研究中，提出了对浅冲积含水层承载低焓地热系统潜力的区域规模评估。研究区域位于层状潜水层含水层上，并具有有利的水文地质特征，从碳足迹和经济的角度来看，这些特征使低焓地热能成为有吸引力的加热/冷却解决方案。在这种情况下，基于浅层含水层的水力和热力参数分布，使用了不同的分析解决方案来估算闭环和开环系统的热势。考虑到地面的水力和热力参数，地下水温度和系统特征，通过ASHRAE分析方程估算了闭环系统（地面耦合热泵-GCHP）的热势。开环系统（地下水热泵-GWHP）的热潜能是通过考虑当地对地下水的提取和保护以及减少地下水量和水质的当地法规以及防止过多的地下水位下降或上升以及热力短缺进行估算的-电路。将结果与研究区域市政建筑物的热需求率进行比较，最后讨论了最有利的浅层地热系统配置。