Geothermal Needs R&D

By Johnny Kilroy on January 12, 2010 From Renewable Energy campaign

Despite its ancient roots, Geothermal is an industry in its infancy. The success rate of initial production wells is currently only about 25%.[1]  So there’s a lot of room for improvement.

In a new report titled “Research and Development in Geothermal Exploration and Drilling,” Dan Jennejohn, of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), identifies areas for improvement.

A geothermal project goes through several development phases:
1) Land acquisition
2) Pre-drilling exploration
3) Permitting to drill
4) Exploration drilling
5) Permitting for a plant
6) Plant construction
7) Well field development
8) Operation.

Nearly half of the cost, and much of the investment risk, of a geothermal power project is in the exploration and drilling phases.[2]

Geography has a lot to do with assessing geothermal resources.  From the Great Basin, where development is advanced, to the Pacific Northwest, where it is less so, the strategy will differ based on the lay of the land.

The report suggests improving technologies that are already widely used, to improve exploration and drilling. 

By maximizing the results of remote sensing (satellite, hyperspectral, LiDAR), pre-drilling exploration surveys (3D seismic, magnetotelluric, geochemical), and exploration drilling (thermal gradient hole, core drilling), geothermal developers will be closer to certainty and profitability in their prospects.

Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the federal government is investing $350 million in geothermal research, development, and demonstration, as well as $50 million toward geothermal heat pumps for buildings.

 

 

 

SOURCES

1.  Jennejohn, Dan.  Research and Development in Geothermal Exploration and Drilling.  Geothermal Energy Association.  Washington, D.C.  Dec 2009.  Accessed:  11 Dec 2009.  http://www.geo-energy.org/reports R&D_in_Geothermal_Exploration_and _Drilling.pdf.

2.  Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program.  National Geothermal Action Plan (Draft).  2009.  Accessed:  11 Dec 2009.  http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/pdfs/ngap.pdf.

 

This was Geothermal Needs R&D, an entry in our Renewable Energy Campaign from January 12, 2010. It was filed under Geothermal

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