ENERGY SECURITY: INVESTIGATING GEOTHERMAL HEAT SINKS FOR AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS AT AIRPORTS IN SOUTH AFRICA – A TECHNOECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

The use of renewable energy instead of carbon intensive fossil fuels for energy to reduce our ever-increasing global carbon emissions that is accelerating climate change is now a common trend. The uptake of rene wable energy, however, needs to increase exponentially if the countries of the world are to follow the reduction by 1.5 or 2 pathways as per the Paris Agreement to arrest climate change. Air conditioning is a significant energy user in buildings especi ally in warmer countries like South Africa and accounts for a significant amount of electricity being consumed within a year. Air conditioning systems that adopt water cooled chillers also consume significant amounts of water to make up in losses due to evaporation. In their 20 to 25-year lifespan air conditioning systems place a great burden on the environment. This cost to the environment also costs the owners of the air conditioning systems. Finding a way to save on the amount of water and electricity used for cooling towers of air conditioning systems so that the natural environment cools the chillers without huge costs for electricity to drive fans and water to make up for evaporative losses, is a financial win for owners of air conditioning systems as well as a contribution to the environment by way of reduction in carbon emissions. This paper investigates the adoption of geothermal heat sinks to serve as a replacement to cooling towers at an airport environment in South Africa, showing the technical and economic assessment (technoeconomic assessment) based on the geothermal heat sink installation at Hotel Verde in the Western Cape of South Africa.