Technical Communication

Analytical report

Should Saudi Arabia Invest in Geothermal Energy?

Abdullah A. Al Dayel 201300039

Sec: 104

Dr. Klaus Michelssen

Wed, May 10th 2016

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Foreword: The Inevitable transition:

We live in an age that is riddled with energy consumption needs. The market for clean energy that meets global sustainability standards and regulations has been growing exponentially alongside the surges in fossil fuel prices and the lesser dependency that has risen from the efficient shift in technology.

As a country that is by default completely reliant on the petroleum industry, it is imperative we start diversifying both our income and expenditure to have a better chance at achieving an independent and robust economy before the inevitable demise of fossil fuel consumption.

Since HRH Prince Mohammad bin Salman deputy crown prince and chairman of a multitude of reformative institutions in Saudi Arabia proposed his vision for what and how the kingdom should progress in the next few decades, various institutions – both governmental and private – have been clamoring to address a key issue in our plan for sustainability, renewable energy. According to the VISION 2030 program for Saudi Arabian reform, the amount of electricity that should be provided via means of renewable energy should attain for %4 of the total country's consumption by 2020 [1]. The newly established sector will provide 7,700 jobs for Saudi Arabian nationals by the same time frame.

However, transitions of this kind and magnitude are usually if not always harder to implement than they seem on paper and one of the main hurdles is identifying which energy production technology should we adapt to better suit the needs and utilize existing resources.

Due to the large advancement in scientific discoveries spanning the past century and so, we have currently had various forms of renewable, clean energy production methods that are somewhat reliable and have been established for quite a while. The more mainstream solutions consist of the following:

1. Nuclear.2. Solar.3. Wind.4. Hydro-electric.5. Geothermal.

VISION 2030 is proposing a shift towards the plethora of energy production methods. Specifically; Nuclear, Solar and geothermal. Out of these three venues, providing a combined capacity of 3,450 MW of electricity, attaining to %4 of our gross energy consumption needs by 2020[1]. Of that proposed capacity only 1 MW of geothermal production is to be sanctioned and in this report, I plan to explain my reasoning to why we should intensify our efforts on geothermal power production more than the rest.

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2. The immense potential of geothermal for Saudi Arabia:

2.1 Types of plants:

Before we attempt to exonerate geothermal energy production as the hail-all solution to all our needs, a thorough understanding of the technology is needed.

Geothermal energy is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma [2]. To harness that natural power, we set up strategically placed production plants that are driven by this force of nature. A geothermal power plant works by tapping into steam or hot water reservoirs underground; the heat is used to drive an electrical generator [3].

There are three mainstream methods of cultivating geothermal energy that are being utilized today:

1. Dry steam power plants: Which use the steam produced in underground water reservoirs directly. After the steam has been used to power the turbine, it is then purified of contaminants and re-injected into the earth to sustain the level of water within the reservoirs (fig. 1.1) [3].

Fig .1.1

2. Flash Steam Plants: when hot water is released from the pressure of the deep reservoir, the sudden drop in pressure causes some of the water to instantaneously vaporize to steam (fig 1.2), which in turn spins the turbine as well. Both dry steam and flash steam power plants emit small amounts of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur, but generally 50 times less than traditional fossil-fuel power plants [3].

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(fig 1.2).3. Binary cycle plants: These plants use moderate-temperature water from the

geothermal reservoir. In binary systems, hot geothermal fluids are passed through one side of a heat exchanger to heat a working fluid in a separate adjacent pipe. The working fluid, usually an organic compound with a low boiling point such as Iso-butane or Iso-pentane, is vaporized and passed through a turbine to generate electricity. Pioneers of this technology claim this cycle

system boosts geothermal plant efficiency by 20-40% and reduces plant construction costs by 20-30%, thereby lowering the cost of geothermal power generation [3].

(fig 1.3).

These three types of geothermal power plants are the most commonly used today, they have proved high efficiency and little environmental impact on its surroundings. The largest installation of geothermal power plants in the world exists in The Geysers are in California USA and as of 2004, five countries (El Salvador, Kenya, the Philippines, Iceland, and Costa Rica) generate more than 15% of their electricity from geothermal sources.

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But why in particular do I believe Saudi Arabia has the potential to rely heavily in electrical consumption on geothermal energy?

Simply put, Saudi Arabia's contains the largest chain of underground hot spots (volcanos), which span almost the entire west coast of the country. Lets' dive deeper into the "Harrat".

2.2: Al Harrat Lava Fields:

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Fig 1.4

As can be concluded form above (purple indicates lava fields and volcanic activity), there are many lava fields on the western side of the peninsula. So much so, the volcanic activity is constant at a semi-shallow depth of 500 meters, enabling the installation and operation of such plants in a wide geographical area. Furthermore, water reservoirs are abundant and very little to risk is related to pumping and vaporizing water at these lava sites.

2.3 Current energy needs and consumption:

Fig 1.5

According to the figure above (fig. 1.5), Saudi Arabia currently ranks third in the world in energy consumption. Most of which has been governmentally backed and solicited by means of the Saudi Electricity Company SEC. Local power consumption statistics show that The SEC has complete monopoly over the distribution and provision of electricity in the kingdom, which has for better or worse capped initiatives in determining and constructing viable means of renewable energy production.

In a sectorial report of electrical consumption published by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in July 2015, peak load values have risen to 62,260 MW in 2015 and

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continue to rise annually at an increment of about %7 [4]. Estimated funding required to expand the activities of generation, transmission and distribution are capped at SR 565 Billion all the way through 2020. Coupled with rising prices of fuel for generation and rising consensus towards environmentally friendlier practices, it is imperative we start evaluating the alternatives and begin to initiate renewable energy projects framed by the VISION 2030 as early as possible.

3. Arguments:

Here are a few of the points that could either serve or withhold the cause of installing and operating geothermal power plants in Saudi Arabia:

3.1 With:

Industry capabilities: Saudi Arabia has long standing industry of oil exploration, extraction and production. This should in theory address the issue of deep drilling and its subsidiary complications. Amongst the various contactors that currently operate in the kingdom, onshore drilling mechanisms employed throughout are state of the art and as efficient as the global industry can provide. Moreover, there is an established number of academics and professionals that have been geographically surveying the kingdom for well over 60 years. A wealth of knowledge that can be tapped into for this specific cause as well.

Power generation: since the primary method of generation used in geothermal powerplants consists of steam powered turbines, it can be safely assumed that these centuries old technologies have reached a certain level of advancement and are capable of producing power in efficient and trustworthy ways.

More dependable than the alternatives: Both in terms of availability and environmental footprint. Geothermal energy production is around the clock and relies on an intrinsic feature of our home planet. Thus, rendering it more dependable than solar and wind alternatives that are inconsistent and rely on seasonal and positional variables.

Hybrid systems can provide higher efficiency and more power: addressing issues of heat dissipation and the challenging evaporative characteristics of water would be easier when using various hybrid systems that combine low boiling point chemical compounds with existing structures of plants. Furthermore, solar generation can help address the issue that turbines and pumps need a certain amount of electricity to begin with in order to operate.

Long term sustainability: it has been demonstrated in other projects that long term sustainability can be achived through proper management of reservoirs and the re-injected fluid.

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3.2 Against:

Deep drilling is expensive: although the industry in Saudi Arabia for well drilling and exploitation is at its highest, deep drilling that is an integral function of geothermal power generation is still expensive and wrought with legislative complications.

Centralized system: in contrast to the relative ease of application and usage of solar panels, geothermal power plants are large and centralized. Thus ushering the need to connect to a grid and consequentially link to homes and businesses through power lines.

Many more exist and unless a lengthy study of the matter is conducted, it will be relatively hard to meet our potential in harnessing this natural resource.

4. Conclusion:

There are various methods of which to harness natural resources to generate energy and meet the needs of the growing world population.

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has ste forth a bold plan meant to propel the country out of its slump in development and bring it to the forefront of nations in a little under 2 decades. A plan if implemented will reduce its dependency on oil as has been the norm since its conception and diversify its sources of income. Expenditure of this scale will surely drive the renewable energy industry in the upcoming years, paving the way for an establishment of alternative energy sources. Thus making the country greener and closer to a more productive environment both intellectually and economically.

Despite the fact that the proposed vision does not rely heavily on geothermal energy production, it can be safely assumed that due to the multiple factors which have been displayed in this brief report, that this topic is need of further study and focus.

The various methods of electricity production through geothermal energy harnessing prove it to be versatile and malleable. Further research conducting specifically in this geographical location could serve not only the inhabitants of this country but also those of neighboring nations as well. A fact that can be exploited in various ways, especially in a commercial sense.

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Resources:

1. http://vision2030.gov.sa/sites/default/files/NTP_En.pdf2. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/geothermal-energy/tech.html3. http://plaza.ufl.edu/sarahcon/geothermal.html4. http://www.jeg.org.sa/data/modules/contents/uploads/infopdf/2832.pdf5. https://energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-faqs#geothermal_energy_cost

Figures:

1.1 , 1.2, 1.3: https://www.britannica.com/science/geothermal-energy#ref11356511.4 : http://www.saudicaves.com/lava/harra.jpg

1.5: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2015/07/02/saudi-arabia-field-report-another-potential-oil-crisis-in-the-middle-east/

*Red indicates non-cited material.

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