DOI: 10.5066/p138xveg
title: SUTRA hydrogeologic models of Geologic Thermal Energy Storage (GeoTES) to support techno-economic analyses in select U.S. cities

description: This data release documents sixteen 5-year simulations using the USGS SUTRA groundwater flow modeling software and includes the full output from one 5-year simulation for verification that the model code runs properly. The most recent version of SUTRA (version 4.0) was used to evaluate aquifer (ATES) and reservoir (RTES) thermal energy storage performance to support economic analyses by simulating three-dimensional groundwater and heat transport for layered systems in the following eight metropolitan area cities: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago and Decatur, Illinois; Lansing, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; Phoenix, Arizona; and Portland, Oregon. ATES entails storing hot or cold water directly within aquifers that are often near the surface, contain high-quality groundwater, and are typically relied upon for groundwater production. RTES is a variant of ATES that targets deeper aquifers that are poorly connected with shallower fresh aquifers and surface water bodies, resulting in lower ambient groundwater flow rates and more geochemically evolved waters that tend to be used less for groundwater production. The provided ATES and RTES models permit comparison of the performance of both storage techniques. Estimated subsurface conditions beneath airports within each city are represented to serve as demonstrative conditions for the general area; airports were chosen because of their resource development advantages, including available development space, regular and long-term space cooling demand, and availability of hydrogeologic data that is critical to accurate modeling. Climate-based supply and demand inputs, derived from National Renewable Energy Laboratory ComStock models (Parker and others, 2023), are representative of the cooling load of seven medium-sized office buildings in each city. These hourly, year-long demand profiles are used to construct the simulated energy storage and production schedule. Although city airport locations were used to derive representative hydrothermal model parameters, the airport cooling energy demand was not considered in the ComStock models.

The version of SUTRA utilized in these models is summarized in Voss and others, (2024). Details on the construction of similar thermal energy storage models is provided in Burns and others (2020) and Pepin and others (2025). The SUTRA (version 4.0) executable, python scripts to administer simulations, and example model inputs and outputs are provided in this data release. Further detail on each folder’s contents, including input and output files, and running a model can be found in “readme.txt” files located in the respective folders.

Burns, E.R., Bershaw, J., Williams, C.F., Wells, R., Uddenberg, M., Scanlon, D., Cladouhos, T., van Houten, B., 2020, Using saline or brackish aquifers as reservoirs for thermal energy storage, with example calculations for direct-use heating in the Portland Basin, Oregon, USA: Geothermics, v. 88, p. 101877, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2020.101877.

Parker, A., Horsey, H., Dahlhausen, M., Praprost, M., CaraDonna, C., LeBar, A., amd Klun, L., 2023, ComStock Reference Documentation. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-5500-83819. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy23osti/83819.pdf.

Pepin, J.D., Burns, E.R., Cahalan, R.C., Hayba, D.O., Dickinson, J.E., Duncan, L.L., and Kuniansky, E.L., 2025, Reservoir Thermal Energy Storage Pre-Assessment for the United States: Geothermics, v. 129, no. 103256, 18 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2025.103256.

Voss, C.I., Provost, A.M., McKenzie, J.M., and Kurylyk, B.L., 2024, SUTRA—A code for simulation of saturated-unsaturated, variable-density groundwater flow with solute or energy transport—Documentation of the version 4.0 enhancements—Freeze-thaw capability, saturation and relative-permeability relations, spatially varying properties, and enhanced budget and velocity outputs: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 6, chap. A63, 91 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm6A63.