The role of standards and regulations in the open-loop GWHPs development in Italy: the case study of the Lombardy and Piedmont regions

Groundwater Heat Pump systems (GWHPs) represent one of the most suitable technologies to be applied for heating and cooling purposes in buildings. This paper explores the urban and regional standards and regulations with which Piedmont and Lombardy Regions (Northwestern Italy) are equipped: the in-force regional and municipal regulatory references to which a new geothermal project must comply (i.e., authorization requests and plant final testing operations) were taken into consideration, highlighting the potential and limits connected to different diffusion rates of GWHP systems by means of the Turin and Milan cities contexts analysis. To promote a rapid but sustainable diffusion in the medium and long period of open-loop geothermal solutions in densely urbanised contexts, urban planning instruments must pursue the following aim: to ensure adequate long-term protection of the groundwater bodies, through an understanding of the subsoil in the decision-making process heating and cooling of buildings in densely urbanised areas. The multilevel analysis performed is proposed as a guide to allow professionals to understand the various regulatory processes that guide the authorization methods of new geothermal plants.