WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS DOE Geothermal Energy Program John T. Finger Geothermal Research Department Sandia National Laboratories 1 1 Sandia

WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

DOE Geothermal Energy Program

John T. Finger

Geothermal Research Department

Sandia National Laboratories1

1Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the U. S. Department of Energy under contract DE-ACO4-94AL85000.


World Interest is Heating Up

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1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

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United States Rest of World

1. United States: 2850 MWe2. Philippines: 1909 MWe3. Italy: 785 MWe4. Mexico: 755 MWe5. Japan: 547 MWe

World Total: 8500 MW


Two Kinds of Geothermal Application

Direct Use(30-acre Greenhouse, NM)

Power Generation(The Geysers, CA)


Heat and Power for the 21st Century

60 MWt

2500 MWe114 MWt

28 MWt

30 MWt

54 MWt

40 MWe51 MWt

200 MWe69 MWt

102 MWt

22 MWt Greater Than 20 MW

Less than 20 MW

30 MWe

Installed:

Over 2800 MW (electric)

Over 500 MW (heat)


Why a Federal Geothermal Program?

Energy

- Balance national energy portfolio

Economics

- Capture domestic and international markets

Environment

- Limit impacts of power production

Mission: To work in partnership with U.S. industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply.


U.S. Industry

Industry Partnerships

Innovative subsystems

Diagnostics while drilling

University Research

GeoPowering GeoPowering the Westthe West

Drilling ResearchDrilling

Research

Field Verification

Energy Systems Research

Energy Systems Research

Core researchExplorationEGS

Geoscience and

Supporting Technologie

s

Geoscience and

Supporting Technologie

s

Near-term technology development

Advanced Plant Systems

Industry Support

Geothermal System

National Laboratories

Program Structure


Double the number of States with geothermal electric power facilities to eight by 2006.

Reduce the levelized cost of generating geothermal power to 3-5 cents/kWh by 2007.

Supply the electrical power or heat energy needs of 7 million homes and businesses in the United States by 2010.

Supply 10%of electricity used in the western states by 2020.

Geothermal Program Goals

Technology

Capacity

Deployment

GeoPowering the West

Program Goal


GeoPowering the West

• Announced January 2000• Initiative to dramatically

increase the use of geothermal energy in the United States

• Increase focus on direct use• Technology is increasingly

competitive• 300 communities in 10 states

with viable resources within 5 miles


• Regionally-Based

• Focus on Priority Areas

• Leverage Resources and

Replicate Results

• Coordinated Activities

Guiding Principles


Why Is Industry Ready Now?

• Green Power / Deregulation

• Improved Economics

• Smaller, Lower-Risk Projects


Major Technical Issues

Reservoir location and characterization

Reservoir enhancement Fluid treatment in power plants High-cost drilling and completion


Federally Supported Research

Universities Industry partnerships Small Business Innovation

Research (SBIR) National Labs


University Programs

Earth and Geosciences Institute - University of Utah

Geothermal Lab - Southern Methodist University

Stanford Geothermal Program Geo-Heat Center - Oregon Institute

of Technology


Industry Partnerships

Projecttype

Numberof

projects

DOEFY00funds

DOEtotal

funds

Partner-shipfunds

Smallpowerplants

5 $750k $6M $7.1M

Enhancedsystems

9 $1.7M To be evaluated

Resourcedefinition

7 $827k $6.8M $1.7M


Small Business Innovation Research

Phase I - 4 projects; $377k funding; high-temperature logging tools and transducers

Phase II - 5 projects; $3.7M funding; expert systems, high-temperature electronics


National Labs

NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) – Power plants

INEEL (Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) – Reservoir characterization

Sandia National Laboratories – Drilling research


NREL Focus

NREL aims to make geothermal power plants, primarily using low- to moderate-temperature resources, operate more efficiently and with less maintenance. This effort includes development of different power-cycle technologies and new materials.


NREL Program Areas Condensation of

mixtures Heat exchanger

linings Air-cooled

condensers Non-condensable

gas removal


INEEL Focus

INEEL work in geophysics and geoscience is directed toward improved location and definition of geothermal reservoirs. It is particularly important to understand orientation of and flow patterns through large fracture systems in the reservoir.


INEEL Program Areas

• Resource Identification and Assessment

– Exploration

– Fracture Analysis

• Resource Productivity and Sustainability


Sandia Focus•Sandia works to reduce the cost of drilling and completing geothermal wells. This is critical for increasing power on-line, because the well field (production and injection) can represent up to 50% of a power project’s capital cost.•Geothermal drilling is expensive, compared to oil and gas drilling, because the rocks are hot, hard, abrasive, and fractured, and often contain corrosive fluid. The number of geothermal wells drilled each year is small, so there is little incentive for industry to develop geothermal drilling technology.


Sandia Program Areas

Diagnostics-While-Drilling: real-time, high-speed data from downhole

High temperature electronics: better measurements for drilling and reservoir evaluation

Hard-rock drill bits: penetrate faster, last longer

Lost circulation: mitigate or prevent loss of drilling fluid to the formation


• Generated > $200m annual sales & economic impact for oil & gas applications

• Contributed to savings > $200k/well & world-record performances: ROP > 2,200 ft/hr; Single bit run > 22,000 ft; Cumulative run > 180,000 ft

PDC Bits reduced drilling costs

Program Accomplishments

HT Electronics better measurements for drilling and reservoir evaluation

Develop downhole logging and drilling tools that provide reliable, accurate data under geothermal conditions

• Silicon-on-Insulator components

• Thermal batteries

• Complete logging assemblies


• Demonstrated 30-55% savings:• Showed production correlation

(Sandia field tests; Well data)

Slimhole Drilling lower exploration costs


Lost Circulation Control safe, efficient drilling Developed monitoring instruments, now commercialized, for mud properties & flow rate:

• Mud Density Meter

• Rolling Float Meter



• Advanced Direct Contact Condensers (FY1999) Improves efficiency of flashed and dry steam power plants by as much as 5%

• CaP Cement (FY2000) Used in harsh, hostile environments (hypersaline brine, high CO2

content, high acidity, up to 320°C)

R&D 100 Awards

Southeast Geysers Effluent Pipeline

• Extends reservoir lifetime by 7 to 10 years, improves output by >50 MW

• Jointly funded by industry, State, Federal, and local agencies


Research Needs

Cheaper drilling Better reservoir exploration and

identification Better reservoir evaluation and

management More efficient power plants for lower

temperatures


Electric Generation Potential

• Top 3 States:– Nevada– California– Utah

• Other High Potential States:

– Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming

Geothermal Energy Potential


Geothermal Basics

Geothermal energyuses the Earth’s natural heat for some useful purpose. Because the center of the Earth is so hot, almost any location could provide energy if we drill deep enough, but there are only limited locations where hot rock comes near enough the surface for this to be economical.

Documents

WORKSHOP ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS DOE Geothermal Energy Program John T. Finger Geothermal Research Department Sandia National Laboratories 1 1 Sandia