Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energyeere.energy.govProgram Name or Ancillary Texteere.energy.gov DOE’s Geothermal Program Activities Department of Energy

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy eere.energy.govProgram Name or Ancillary Text eere.energy.gov

DOE’s Geothermal Program Activities

Department of Energy

Geothermal Technologies Program

Enel Stillwater - Courtesy of Enel Green Power – North America

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy eere.energy.gov

Program Mission

Lower the cost of geothermal electricity and reduce the upfront risk of geothermal exploration to establish geothermal energy as a significant contributor to America’s future electricity generation.

2

Mis

sion


FY 2007 Approp.

FY 2008 Approp.

ARRA FY 2009 Approp.

FY 2010 Approp.

FY 2011 Request

FY 2012 Request

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

$5.0$19.3

$368.2

$43.3 $43.1$55.0

$101.5

EGS Low Temp and Coproduced Permeable Sedimentary

IET Ground Source Heat Pumps Systems Analysis

Milli

on D

olla

rsGeothermal Technologies ProgramRecent Budget Trends

Recovery Act funding and steady increases in FY 2009 – FY 2012 budget requests reflect the Administration’s support for geothermal RD&D.

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$111.9

Innovative Exploration

Technologies

$97.2

Ground Source Heat Pumps

EGS R&D

National Geothermal Data System

Low Temperature,

Coproduced & Geopressured

EGS Demos

$44.2

$18.7 $33.7

$62.4


Exploration: Challenges & Approach

Challenges• The exploration phase of geothermal development is a financially

risky venture• Some resources show no surface expressions, making them difficult to

confirm• Making geothermal

competitive with conventional sources

Source: Sierra Geothermal Power

Source: Sierra Geothermal Power

Approach

• Develop exploration tools for resource confirmation in undiscovered geothermal fields to reduce high upfront exploration risk and cost.

• Conduct Regional Data Gathering

• Continue R&D to lower operation and maintenance costs


Innovative Exploration Technologies (IET)

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IET ARRA Funding Breakdown by Technology

Remote sensing$20.0 M

Seismic$21.0 M

Drilling$11.1 M

Technology Description

Remote Sensing Data collected from air/space (LiDAR, InSAR) can be used to identify surface indicators of a geothermal resource for large or inaccessible areas

Seismic A technique used in oil and gas exploration, analyzes sound waves reflected from geologic features to improve drilling success

Shallow Temperature Survey

Shallow (2m) temperature readings can be a quick, cost effective way to target potential geothermal resources

Stress/Strain Measurements

Mechanical relationships between stress and strain can be used to predict the orientation of permeable faults – valuable information when deciding where to drill

Tracers Tracers can be used to gather data on the thermal characteristics of a resource

Drilling Drilling is the most common method for exploration, but is high cost – these methods look at improving techniques and reducing costs

Geochemistry Sub-soil gas, hydrocarbon, and isotope data can be used to identify possible up-flow areas - a simple and cost-effective method to target resources with no surface expression

New Combination of Technologies

Validating combinations of technologies (including those adapted from oil and gas ) can improve the overall exploration well success rate for a variety of geologic formations

New combinations

of technologies$24.5 M

Geochemistry$13.8 M

Tracers$2.5 M

Stress/strain measurements

Shallow temperature survey

$1.0 M

$3.3M

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Project Locations

30 GW of undiscovered

resources

• The USGS estimates there is a

mean of 30 GWe of undiscovered

hydrothermal in the 13 western

states

• Once confirmed, these resources

can be brought online with existing

technologies

Ref. USGS 2008 with projects in Alaska and Hawaii


2011 Progress• Seven new exploration wells have been drilled

• Currently drilling 1 well in the Snake River Plain

• 17 projects in active exploration phases throughout the western U.S.

Project Highlights

Calpine at Caldwell Ranch, CA

Preliminary results from three wells drilled show a good resource and a combined

capacity of about 12MW.

Ormat at Maui, HI

Demonstrating viability and cost-effectiveness of merged gravity-helimagnetics for

geothermal exploration.

Flint Geothermal in Denver, CO

Demonstrating viability and cost-effectiveness of using remote sensing data for

early stage geothermal exploration in Colorado.


Exploration Technologies Roadmapping

How can we advance geothermal exploration

technologies to significantly lower exploration risk and

cost?


Exploration Roadmapping

• Technical roadmapping is ongoing to establish metrics for the area.

• Needs Assessment established 10 technical advancement needs that could lower exploration costs and risk.

• Will use those needs to establish specific metrics and milestones to achieve cost and risk reduction.

• Will use the NGDS to make geothermal data available to the public and reduce the risk associated with the initial stages of geothermal project development.

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Ten Exploration Technology Needs

Non-invasive geophysical techniques and improved data collection and interpretation for existing techniques

Improved invasive measurements tools and techniques

Improved next-generation geophysical airborne data

Improved geochemical techniques to estimate reservoir temperature and processes

High resolution remote sensing data and reliable automated processing methods

Stress/strain data mapping

Multi-disciplinary conceptual models

3-D modeling software

Identification of potential surface signals that identify deeper, hidden systems

Create case study examples of geothermal systems in different settings

Examined five exploration technology areas:

1.Geophysics 4. Geology

2.Remote sensing 5. Cross cutting3.Geochemistry


The Program collaborates with industry, universities and national laboratories on R&D, which drives cost reductions for all geothermal systems.

Power Plant14%

Drilling Systems16%

Fracture Characteriza-

tion11%

High Temperature Downhole Tools

23%Stimulation Prediction

Models5%

Zonal Isolation2%

Analysis6%

Lab Call23%

Total: $111.9 M

Polycrystalline diamond compact drill bit which has worn down in hard rock (right) and must be replaced – adding time and cost to drilling.

The Program is investing in innovative drilling technologies – including hydrothermal spallation, (right) which use superheated water to cut through rock and have no mechanical parts to replace.

Investment in component R&D topics is informed by: • Expert input• Risk assessments• Technology roadmapping

Which inform the program about which technologies can make the biggest impact on cost of electricity.

While some technologies can be critical to a specific subprogram, the technologies developed will benefit the entire spectrum of geothermal resources.

ARRA R&D Subtopic Areas Funding

Component R&D

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DE-FOA-0000522: Geothermal Technology Advancement

for Rapid Development of Resources in the U.S.

• Main Objective: Accelerate the development and use of geothermal energy by addressing the high exploration and drilling risks and costs of development and key technical barriers for enhanced geothermal systems in reservoir creation and sustainability.

• Topic Areas:

1. Advanced Exploratory Drilling Technologies2. Advanced Well Completion Technologies3. Zonal Isolation4. Observation Tools and Data Collection Systems for Reservoir Stimulation 5. Geophysical Exploration Technologies6. Geochemistry/Rock-Fluid Interactions

• Link to FOA: http://eere-exchange.energy.gov

Please submit any questions regarding the FOA to [email protected]

http://eere-exchange.energy.gov/

mailto:[email protected]



Useful Links

• GTP Home Page: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/index.html

• GTP Project Database: http://www4.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/projects

• Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0000522: http://eere-exchange.energy.gov

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/index.html

http://www4.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/projects



Thank you for your attention

13

Documents

Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energyeere.energy.govProgram Name or Ancillary Texteere.energy.gov DOE’s Geothermal Program Activities Department of Energy