The history of the ground and subsurface in our region and what are to tasks to come (De historie van de bodem en ondergrond in onze regio en voor welke opgaven staan wij nu): powerpoint

Board of governors conference "Bodem en Ondergrond" (Bestuurlijke conferentie Bodem en Ondergrond). Omgevingsdienst West-Holland organized the conference to discuss the use and future possibilities for use of the subsurface and the problems associated with using the subsurface. The geology of the subsurface in the area of the Omgevingsdienst West-Holland is not very promising. Oil & gas discoveries are limited and mostly not economic and also for geothermal energy the geology seems not optimum. Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage (STES) on varying depth is already used and likely to be used extensively in the near future. The geology of the area is reasonably known due to the oil & gas exploration, but still very limited certainly on larger depth. Many problems occur in geothermal installations due to aggressive water that corrodes pipes, installations and also degrades the permeability characteristics of the reservoir rock. The risks of geothermal energy are large and often the preliminary investigations are limited and consultants, project developers and owners of projects have limited or insufficient knowledge on geology. STES when extensively used may have implications for near surface groundwater and ground temperatures. A major problem in the area of West-Holland is the peat oxidation that may require serious changes in land use to be reduced.