Defining the Range of Water Withdrawals That Are Forbidden and Regulated for Geothermal Energy Development and Use Projects: A Case Study of Lindian County, Northeast China

The current study reveals a deficiency in knowledge regarding the assessment of the breadth of prohibitions and restrictions on water withdrawal for the development and utilization of geothermal resource projects involving water withdrawal. To resolve this matter, this report outlines the extent of water withdrawal prohibitions and restrictions for geothermal energy development and use projects, with a particular focus on Lindian County’s medium- and low-temperature geothermal resources of the sedimentary basin type. A comprehensive consideration of geological, hydrological, and other factors was made in light of the need for global energy transformation and the benefits and drawbacks of geothermal energy. The study first divided Lindian County into 17 zones using the zoning method of dominant sign and superposition method, which was then combined with the hierarchical analysis method. The evaluation indexes were then quantitatively graded and evaluated in the 17 zones using the linear weighted sum method, and each zone’s suitability for water abstraction was ultimately determined. The limited and banned water withdrawal range of the Lindian County geothermal energy development and utilization project is defined based on the water withdrawal characteristics of the 17 subareas. The rational development of geothermal energy, the preservation of the natural environment, and the advancement of the geothermal industry in Lindian County are all greatly impacted by this study, which offers a more sophisticated methodology for the assessment of water withdrawal type projects of sedimentary basin-type medium- and low-temperature geothermal resources.