A multidisciplinary methodology is proposed for analyzing opportunities to use existing boreholes and an open-loop groundwater heat pump to provide summer cooling needs for large university buildings in Turin (NW Italy). The approach starts from a model of the buildings to determine the time profile of the cooling load. This curve is then coupled with a model of the off-design behaviour of the heat pump, which allows calculation of its energy performance (coefficient of performance, electricity consumption, etc.) as well as profiles of water discharge to the aquifer in terms of mass flow rate and temperature. Covering the peak energy needs of the buildings requires a variable amount of groundwater during the day. This could be provided varying the withdrawals from the aquifer but, as possible alternatives, two storage system solutions are examined: (1) chilled water storage and (2) groundwater storage. Simulations show that in both cases the use of storage systems produces environmental advantages, as the extent of the thermal plume reduces significantly. Moreover, chilled water storage presents a benefit in terms of reduced total primary energy consumption. The additional costs incurred by storage systems could necessitate public funding as well as system optimization. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.