[TheAntiDoomer]

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/23065/

Lab fellow Pete McGrail says the liquid, is used to absorb the heat from hot water that's been pumped from underground into a geothermal plant's heat exchanger. The liquid can potentially boost the rate of heat capture by 20 to 30 percent. Researchers engineered proprietary nanomaterials made up of metals linked by organic molecules. They found that adding the nanomaterials to a fluid such as hexane or pentane significantly enhanced the heat-trapping properties of the liquid.

[Graeme]

Global Geothermal Power Capacity to Exceed 18.4 GigaWatts by 2015, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Climate change is one of the important factors in geothermal energy sector. As geothermal energy is virtually greenhouse gas emission-free, there exists potential to mitigate huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal energy is accessible 24x7, eliminating the variability problems that are related to other renewable technologies such as solar and wind. Governments also play an important role in driving the geothermal industry. Several legislations are being announced and implemented for supporting development of geothermal resources. Several novel direct-use technologies are emerging, mainly in the Air Conditioning sector that are supporting the growth of geothermal industry. Through the introduction of new technologies, installation challenges related to geothermal energy, mainly related to costs could be solved.

The United States and Asia Pacific are the leaders in exploiting geothermal energy resources as stated by the new market research report on geothermal energy. Currently, the most well known applications of geothermal energy are generation of electric power and space heating. The US, the Philippines, Mexico, Indonesia, and Italy are the leading countries in geothermal energy sector, accounting for more than three quarters of global electricity production using geothermal energy. The major 10 countries generate more than 95% of the world's total electricity generated using geothermal energy. Main resources of geothermal energy are hot regions or areas along the tectonic plates. For instance the Pacific Ring of Fire holds the highest potential for generating geothermal electricity. Indonesia is a country with the highest potential of about 25-30 GW, while the US and Latin America follow closely. Regions such as Oceania and Horn of Africa (North-Eastern Africa) also offer huge geothermal potential.

earthtimes

[americandream]

Increased capacity....extended economic activity ala capitalism. Gains essentially neutralised as hole deepens.

Global Geothermal Power Capacity to Exceed 18.4 GigaWatts by 2015, According to New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Climate change is one of the important factors in geothermal energy sector. As geothermal energy is virtually greenhouse gas emission-free, there exists potential to mitigate huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Geothermal energy is accessible 24x7, eliminating the variability problems that are related to other renewable technologies such as solar and wind. Governments also play an important role in driving the geothermal industry. Several legislations are being announced and implemented for supporting development of geothermal resources. Several novel direct-use technologies are emerging, mainly in the Air Conditioning sector that are supporting the growth of geothermal industry. Through the introduction of new technologies, installation challenges related to geothermal energy, mainly related to costs could be solved.

The United States and Asia Pacific are the leaders in exploiting geothermal energy resources as stated by the new market research report on geothermal energy. Currently, the most well known applications of geothermal energy are generation of electric power and space heating. The US, the Philippines, Mexico, Indonesia, and Italy are the leading countries in geothermal energy sector, accounting for more than three quarters of global electricity production using geothermal energy. The major 10 countries generate more than 95% of the world's total electricity generated using geothermal energy. Main resources of geothermal energy are hot regions or areas along the tectonic plates. For instance the Pacific Ring of Fire holds the highest potential for generating geothermal electricity. Indonesia is a country with the highest potential of about 25-30 GW, while the US and Latin America follow closely. Regions such as Oceania and Horn of Africa (North-Eastern Africa) also offer huge geothermal potential.

earthtimes

[polkit595]

Geothermal does not mitigate the Greenhouse effect changes.

When fossil fuels are used, energy stored under the ground is released into the atmosphere as heat and gases, increasing the energy in the atmosphere.

Geothermal does exactly the same thing ; takes energy from the ground and releases it into the atmosphere.
It is not "green".

[Outcast_Searcher]

When fossil fuels are used, energy stored under the ground is released into the atmosphere as heat and gases, increasing the energy in the atmosphere.

Geothermal does exactly the same thing ; takes energy from the ground and releases it into the atmosphere.
It is not "green".

No, it is not the same thing at all. As long as it doesn't burn hydrocarbons and produce greenhouse gases, then it has the potential to be as green as solar. The extra heat can be quickly dissipated to space, as long as the atmosphere isn't screwed up with too many greenhouse gases holding the extra heat in.

I'm not saying Geothermal is good from a cost or competitive standpoint -- that is another issue. But saying it is no different than burning fossil fuels is wrong.

[Graeme]

You can get a better idea of the volume of gases released relative to fossil-fuel plants, and the economics of geothermal, by viewing the Wikipedia site:

Fluids drawn from the deep earth carry a mixture of gases, notably carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3). These pollutants contribute to global warming, acid rain, and noxious smells if released. Existing geothermal electric plants emit an average of 122 kilograms (269 lb) of CO2 per megawatt-hour (MW·h) of electricity, a small fraction of the emission intensity of conventional fossil fuel plants.[12]


Geothermal power requires no fuel (except for pumps), and is therefore immune to fuel cost fluctuations, but capital costs are significant. Drilling accounts for over half the costs, and exploration of deep resources entails significant risks. A typical well doublet (extraction and injection wells) in Nevada can support 4.5 megawatts (MW) and costs about $10 million to drill, with a 20% failure rate.[17]

In total, electrical plant construction and well drilling cost about 2-5 million € per MW of electrical capacity, while the break–even price is 0.04-0.10 € per kW·h.[18]

[hillsidedigger]

I think geothermal is a very good solution and that a crash federal program with only a few dozen billion dollars invested each year for several years could supply all of America's electicity needs within just, oh, maybe 8 to 12 years.

No heat needs to be released into the atmosphere for the fluid can be recycled. In other words send it back down the pipe already very hot so needing little additional heating to boil.

I say 'fluid' for water is not necassarily the best thing to use. Many fluids boil at a lower temperature than water.

[johnsmithh]

As geothermal energy is virtually greenhouse gas emission-free, there exists potential to mitigate huge amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. Geo thermal energy takes energy from ground and release it in the atmosphere. Geothermal power provides 0.416 percent of the annual world energy consumption.Geothermal energy is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, avoiding problems of variability associated with other renewable technologies like wind and solar.

[dorlomin]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... reen-power


More wind that concrete at the moment but its interesting that after years of pointing out the technology exists for an excellent low carbon base energy source someone is finally getting round to running the numbers.

[dissident]

I am not seeing those numbers in this piece. There is nothing said about how many gigawatts Iceland could export. Do they even have geothermal plants of any significant size at all? I am hoping that geothermal can be tapped, but so far it is all boutique scale with more talk than action.

[Graeme]

UK eyes plugging into Iceland's geothermal power

Britain's energy plans call for tapping Iceland's geothermal resources in a move that could rekindle talk of creating a "supergrid" for electricity linking the continent, UK, North Africa and Iceland.

But experts say the project is too expensive and technically challenging to be feasible in the foreseeable future.

"Interconnectors in North West Europe will lead to electricity flows following the rules of supply and demand. So it will flow where it is needed, which is good for our security of supply," the UK's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) said.

UK energy minister Charles Hendry and the Icelandic ambassador have discussed the idea of an interconnector to transport renewable energy from Iceland's geothermal and hydro sources to UK homes.

Hendry plans to visit Iceland again next month to discuss the matter further, DECC said.

Interconnectors are high voltage power cables that link electricity grids.

The EU Commission aims to use these to integrate Europe's national electricity grids into one pan-European power market.

However, the connection to Iceland would require the world's longest interconnector, spanning 1,800 kilometres on the seabed of the North Atlantic at depths of up to 3,000 metres.

"Laying an underwater (power) cable of unprecedented length to Iceland would be hugely expensive. It involves a leap into the conceptual wilderness beyond supergrids," said David Stokes, director at consultancy Timera Energy.

Reuters

independent

[dorlomin]

http://www.globalskm.com/Knowledge-and- ... eland.aspx

Mr Jackson continued, “SKM’s analysis suggests that a Feed in Tariff level of approximately 300 £/MWh for electrical generation and combined heat and power projects is required to develop these geothermal projects in the UK. This is approximately equal to five Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) /MWh.”

“For heat only projects a Renewable Heat Incentive of 30 to 70 £/MWh is needed.”

“The UK already has world leading drilling skills and these could be applied to support geothermal projects and develop new techniques to make Engineered Geothermal System power plants more commercially attractive.”

“With the right skills and supporting mechanisms in place, the resulting energy production could make a significant contribution towards achieving the UK’s sustainable energy needs as well as enhancing the UK’s capabilities in sustainable energy,” he added.

The current tarrif is 14p kWh or in theory £140.00 mWh. So should be competative for home heating.
http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/SUSTAINABILITY/ ... 202012.pdf

[Graeme]

Pinpointing America’s Geothermal Resources with Open Source Data

When it comes to harnessing America’s vast geothermal energy resources, knowing where to look is half the battle.

Geothermal energy -- the heat contained within the earth -- represents a growing part of the country’s clean energy mix. Still, for continued growth of this industry, gaining easy access to reliable, comprehensive geothermal data remains a critical barrier.

To help solve this challenge, the Energy Department is partnering with the Arizona Geological Survey -- among other public and private sector contributors -- to create the National Geothermal Data System at www.geothermaldata.org. This interactive, open source database provides project developers and other industry partners with the critical information they need to cut the time to identify and develop new production areas and reduce upfront discovery costs.

The National Geothermal Data System collects data from a growing number of key sources -- including university research centers, state geological surveys and private industry. The system provides updates on the latest industry statistics -- from information on geology, faults and seismicity to details on heat flow, temperature and well characteristics. Over the past year, the data system has added information from more than one million oil, gas, water and geothermal wells, and expects to include data from at least three million wells by the end of the year.

In addition, the data system features interactive maps and data sets that make it easy for project developers and researchers to customize the data to their needs. Just as important -- the data system’s open source standards and protocols can be leveraged by software developers to create innovative apps and tools that adapt to this evolving U.S. energy industry.

With its comprehensive, growing suite of interactive, open data tools, the National Geothermal Data System helps the geothermal industry know exactly where to look. As America’s geothermal industry continues on the path forward, this important new data set is helping U.S. companies get the data they need to grow our nation’s domestic energy production.

Check out the National Geothermal Data System and find more information on its interactive tools at www.geothermaldata.org.

To learn more about the building blocks of geothermal energy technology -- take a look at our Geothermal Basics page.

energy.gov

[Graeme]

I would like to start a new thread on this topic because this source of energy will take on increasing importance over the next few decades, and because I have some expertise in conventional geothermal and hence interest (cooling towers in my avatar).

Geothermal energy exploitation can conveniently be divided into three main groups: conventional geothermal, low temperature geothermal and enhanced geothermal. Conventional geothermal energy is extracted from areas mainly around the circum-Pacific along the so-called "ring of fire". Countries that exploit conventional geothermal energy include New Zealand, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, western Canada, western USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile. There are a few countries in Europe and Africa that can exploit conventional geothermal energy: namely; Iceland, Italy and Turkey (Europe), and Kenya and Ethopia (Africa). Geothermal wells drilled to exploit conventional geothermal energy are typically approximately 3km deep where hot water (>200C) under pressure in permeable rocks can discharge or flash to steam without stimulation.

Low temperature geothermal resources are less than 150C near the ground surface, and are used in direct use applications such as ground-source heat pumps (GSHP) for domestic heating/cooling, greenhouses fisheries and mineral recovery. This sector will take on increasing importance in future as pointed out in wiki:

Approximately 70 countries made direct use of 270 petajoules (PJ) of geothermal heating in 2004. More than half went for space heating, and another third for heated pools. The remainder supported industrial and agricultural applications. Global installed capacity was 28 GW, but capacity factors tend to be low (30% on average) since heat is mostly needed in winter. The above figures are dominated by 88 PJ of space heating extracted by an estimated 1.3 million geothermal heat pumps with a total capacity of 15 GW.[4] Heat pumps for home heating are the fastest-growing means of exploiting geothermal energy, with a global annual growth rate of 30% in energy production.[29]

Enhanced geothermal energy is typically extracted from impermeable granite reservoir rocks at similar temperatures to conventional geothermal but at greater depth (around 5km). Rather than drilling a single well as in conventional geothermal, enhanced geothermal exploitation requires a two well circuit. One well is a production well while the other is an injection well. Cold water is injected down to the reservoir to fracture the reservoir rock (like fracking but only water is used), then hot water rises up the production well where it flashes to steam near the surface. This steam is then used to power turbines like in conventional geothermal. Enhanced geothermal system (EGS) energy will also take on increasing importance over the next few decades particularly in USA. The limitations of this method are the costs of drilling deep wells and pumping water down the reservoir as well as demonstrating that heat mining can be sustained over long periods. Conventional geothermal has been operating in NZ for 50 years, whereas the sustainability of enhanced geothermal has yet to be proven.

EGS technologies, like hydrothermal [conventional] geothermal, can function as baseload resources that produce power 24 hours a day, like a fossil fuel plant. Unlike hydrothermal, EGS appears to be feasible anywhere in the world, depending on the economic limits of drill depth. Good locations are over deep granite covered by a 3–5 kilometres (1.9–3.1 mi) layer of insulating sediments that slow heat loss.[5] EGS wells are expected to have a useful life of 20 to 30 years before the outflow temperature drops about 10 c (18 f) and the well becomes uneconomic.
EGS systems are currently being developed and tested in France, Australia, Japan, Germany, the U.S. and Switzerland.

The reason EGS is going to take on increasing importance is because of an excellent report written and lead by Professor Tester (MIT) in 2007.

A comprehensive assessment of enhanced, or engineered, geothermal systems was carried out by an 18-member panel assembled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to evaluate the potential of geothermal energy becoming a major energy source for the United States. Geothermal resources span a wide range of heat sources from the Earth, including not only the more
easily developed, currently economic hydrothermal resources; but also the Earth’s deeper, stored thermal energy, which is present anywhere. Although conventional hydrothermal resources are used effectively for both electric and nonelectric applications in the United States, they are somewhat limited in their location and ultimate potential for supplying electricity. Beyond these conventional resources are EGS resources with enormous potential for primary energy recovery using heat-mining technology, which is designed to extract and utilize the earth’s stored thermal energy. In between these two extremes are other unconventional geothermal resources such as coproduced water and
geopressured geothermal resources. EGS methods have been tested at a number of sites around the world and have been improving steadily. Because EGS resources have such a large potential for the long term, we focused our efforts on evaluating what it would take for EGS and other unconventional geothermal resources to provide 100,000 MWe of base-load electric-generating capacity by 2050.

GEA: From DOE’s standpoint, what advancements have been made in EGS since the MIT Report and why is EGS a big part of the portfolio in advancing geothermal technologies?

"Energy Department research in safe, efficient stimulation and monitoring methods has helped advance a number of EGS demonstration projects.

When it comes to harnessing America’s vast geothermal energy resources, knowing where to look is half the battle.

Geothermal energy -- the heat contained within the earth -- represents a growing part of the country’s clean energy mix. Still, for continued growth of this industry, gaining easy access to reliable, comprehensive geothermal data remains a critical barrier.

To help solve this challenge, the Energy Department is partnering with the Arizona Geological Survey -- among other public and private sector contributors -- to create the National Geothermal Data System at http://www.geothermaldata.org. This interactive, open source database provides project developers and other industry partners with the critical information they need to cut the time to identify and develop new production areas and reduce upfront discovery costs.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has just released its 2012 update on the state of geothermal in the U.S. You can download the report here (9.7Mb):

Here is the latest news on EGS and GSHP in USA.

Sustainable Energy Expert - Geothermal Bill in US Senate Offers Hope for Energy Security

“During this time of gridlock in Washington it is very refreshing to see senators Jon Tester of Montana and Mark Begich of Alaska taking a strong leadership position that connects renewable energy deployment to providing both energy security and creating jobs in America.

“If passed, their bill will accelerate our utilization of geothermal energy on a very large scale – including the deployment of geothermal heat pumps and using geothermal heat directly for heating homes. In addition, the bill provides for loan assistance to developers, which directly addresses the higher risks and uncertainties associated with exploration.

“The development of our indigenous geothermal resources is clearly in the best interests of the country as it can provide sustainable base load electric power and heat, complementing efforts to increase other renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydro and biomass.

Further geothermal news will be posted in this thread.

[diemos]

http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/201 ... eothermal/

[Graeme]

Here are the conclusions in the Tester report:

We have found a positive correlation between the development of new EGS fields and continued declines in delivered costs of energy. This finding reflects not only the economies from new techniques and access to higher value resources, but also the inevitable cost of competitive power sources. Analysis suggests that, with significant initial investment, installed capacity of EGS could reach 100,000 MWe within 50 years, with levelized energy costs at parity with market prices after 11 years. It is projected that the total cost, including costs for research, development, demonstration, and deployment, required to reach this level of EGS generation capacity ranges from approximately $600 -$900 million with an absorbed cost of $200-$350 million.

In this period, we expect that the development of new EGS resources will occur at a critical time when grid stabilization with base-load power will be needed to avoid redirecting expensive natural gas facilities when they are most in demand worldwide.

EGS power lacks a demonstration of its capability at the present time. As pointed out in this report, this can be accomplished with a proven application of R&D support. We expect that the cost of power potential demonstrated in this chapter warrants a comprehensive research and demonstration effort to begin moving toward the period when replacement of retiring fossil and nuclear units and new capacity growth will most affect the U.S. electrical supply.

[Keith_McClary]

http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/01/warm-and-fuzzy-on-geothermal/

I found this via Tom's article. Click on it for a 2100x3000 image:

Poster 42" x 60" $65

[Graeme]

U.S. Game Changing Renewable - Geothermal Power

The biggest weakness of renewable power advocates is the fact that the sun doesn’t always shine, nor the wind blow.

Geothermal power, which does not suffer from down time, is slowly gaining ground in the United States.

According to the U.S. government’s Energy Information Administration, “Geothermal is one of the main renewable energy sources used to generate U.S. electricity, even though its growth has not been as strong as wind and solar over the last three years during a big push to increase generation from renewables. Geothermal energy's greatest growth potential is in the western states.”

A number of factors impact on the growth of U.S. geothermal power generating capacity. These include the cost of new, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technology, still in early development, with current cost estimates for EGS being generally higher than those for both conventional geothermal plants and other, more mature renewable technologies like wind power.

A second factor impacting the development of geothermal plants is geography, as most geothermal power plants up to now have generally been limited to areas with accessible deposits of high temperature ground water. Another inhibiting geographical factor is a relative lack of access to high voltage electrical transmission lines.

To round out the picture, completing a geothermal power generating project can take anywhere from four to eight years, longer than completion timelines for other renewable power sources such as solar or wind. Further inhibiting development is the fact that geothermal plants involve significant exploration and production risk, which can result in high development costs.

So, why the optimism? EGS technology, which creates underground steam reservoirs when water is injected deep into the ground, is gaining ground worldwide despite its expense, with 252 megawatts of demonstration projects under development in Iceland and Italy.

According to Iceland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Ossur Skarpheoinsson, “the age of the geothermal is just beginning,” commenting that geothermal energy is now the “backbone of the Icelandic economy,” providing for 66 percent of Iceland’s primary energy comes from geothermal resources.

But perhaps the biggest change in geothermal’s U.S. prospects is a bill to promote U.S. geothermal energy development, now before the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Given Washington’s sudden interest in U.S. energy independence, it would seem that geothermal power is at last acquiring some friends on Capitol Hill, a game changer for any efforts to restructure the U.S. power industry, King Coal and Big Oil are not going to be pleased.

oilprice

[Graeme]

State Department Announce $6 Billion For Geothermal In Southeast Asia

As you may have read in last week's Energy & Environment Newsletter, the State Department has announced a new $6 billion initiative to promote and finance the development of 12 GW of geothermal resources in Indonesia. The following are some initial elements of the effort:

The monies will come from leveraging existing financing authorities at Ex-Im, OPIC, USTDA, and State.

The goal is to export U.S. goods and services to Jakarta, develop resources in Sumatra, and transmit the renewable power to Singapore. The Singapore government is interested in drastically reducing its coal fleet and to promote itself as a "eco-friendly" city-state.

The underlying policy rationale surrounds overcoming the difficult FDI climate in Indonesia, which the U.S. is hoping to overcome through this initiative. This will also align with the Administration's diplomatic Asia "pivot" efforts.

Currently, State is looking to garner private sector interest for this initiative, and is seeking companies for a potential Southeast Asia due diligence mission.

There will be a major announcement – likely by Secretary Kerry – this September at the ASEAN Summit in Brunei.

mondaq

[Graeme]

More info and links on geothermal:

What's Around the Corner for Geothermal Energy
Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS technology, is being developed to produce energy from hard-to-reach geothermal resources, such as those with less water or those in harder beds of rock. This advanced technology would expand the capabilities of geothermal power many times over. The Department of Energy estimates that EGS could produce at least 100,000 megawatts of electricity within 50 years.[9]

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, is a major investor in EGS. The organization is funding research and developing informational tools to help advance the technology.[10]

Another emerging technology, known as hybridization, pairs geothermal with solar technologies to increase the efficiency of energy capture and electricity generation at a given well site. The concept could prove very valuable in the sunny, geothermal-rich western U.S. states. One such project is under construction in Turkey.[11]

nrdc