Archive for September, 2007
How to assess geothermal resource potential
Question: I live near a geothermal hot spring. Does that mean that there are geothermal power resources underground? How do I go about finding out? — John from Moscow, Idaho
Karl Gawell’s Answer: Hi John. Thanks for your inquiry. I wish I could take a look at the spring. I came across one on a mesa just off a bike trail in the desert in New Mexico, and it was quite a beautiful sight. There was boiling water on the surface and all kinds of mineral deposits in and around the spring with patches of different colors.
The best answer I can give you to the first part of your question is a definite maybe. I would say that the chances are pretty good that you live near a geothermal resource. However, whether or not it is a resource that could be used for electrical power would require further exploration.
For a geothermal power resource you really need three things: 1. Hot water (do you happen to know the temperature of the spring?) 2. Permeability in the rock, and 3. Both of these attributes at a depth that is economically reachable.
There are a great many things one can do to assess resource potential including magnetic surveys, aerial photography, shallow temperature gradient grids (2m), fault mapping, and geothermal chemistry analysis (on springs like the one listed above.) Once the results from these activities are known, it may be worthwhile to invest in temperature gradient well(s) and if that checks out, you might move on to attempt to drill production wells. Geothermal resources have all the risk of petrochemical exploration and hopefully, as awareness and pricing adjust to meet the current state of power production, the reward will be similar as well. Until the reward more closely matches the risk, geothermal exploration and development will be hampered by lack of funding, particularly in the early stages of exploration and drilling.
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Colorado thinks it might be hot
Estimated to contain some of the best geothermal resources in the U.S., Colorado is trying to expand its geothermal development and catch up with other western states like Nevada and California that have begun to take advantage of their abundant resources.
Fossil fuel industries in Colorado have potential synergies with the “mining of heat,” for geothermal electric power plants.
“Recent studies undertaken by the Colorado Geological Survey show that our state’s potential to generate clean, renewable ‘base load’ power using the earth’s heat is much greater than previously assumed,†said Paul Bony, Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA)’s Manager of Marketing and Member Services.
The Colorado Geological Society and other researchers indicate that Colorado’s geothermal electric potential is the 4th greatest in the nation; however, there is not yet a single geothermal electric power plant in the state.
If one thinks about areas like Steamboat Springs in the Yampa Valley, they might be right. Now the geothermal harvest technology has come to the point that a 125F temperature delta is enough to produce energy. There are some resources that had been set aside as low quality that may now be viable for production.
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Constellation’s publicity stunt
Via Yahoo News:
BALTIMORE, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG – News) today announced that its subsidiary, Constellation NewEnergy, will work with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) to ensure that its “Your tempo: Olafur Eliasson” exhibition is matched by regional geothermal energy. Constellation NewEnergy has secured green power for the duration of the exhibition (Sept. 8, 2007 through Jan. 13, 2008).
With the exhibition exploring numerous environmental issues including global warming, SFMOMA wanted an energy partner to help reduce the exhibition’s carbon footprint. Given SFMOMA’s support of locally produced renewable power, Constellation NewEnergy was selected in part because of its ability to match the exhibit’s electricity usage with energy generated by the Geysers Geothermal Facility located in Northern California. This clean energy purchase is the equivalent of avoiding the emissions from more than 100 barrels of oil.
Constellation’s Soda Lake geothermal plant
Photo Credit: Anonymous (with permission)
OK, we can understand Constellation Energy wanting to get some of the PR value from green, but this is pretty lame. First off, Constellation is simply buying green energy from the Geysers (Calpine or NCPA.) Secondly, 100 barrels of oil is an interesting comparison – why? Because almost no electricity is generated in the US from oil right now, and that’s certainly the case in California. How about coal? How about the positive impacts on greenhouse gas emission. Nope, just a publicity stunt.
The odd thing about this is Constellation doesn’t even talk about its Soda Lake, Nevada geothermal plants. Why not simply make an arrangement to supply the juice from there? Why not mention that Constellation is a geothermal operator working to provide green power? This is a hollow and transparent act. 2 comments
Corn Hog
Buy a $10 Ticket to buy this E85 Chopper
The Iowa Farm Bureau and Orange County Choppers have teamed up to build this great looking bike to increase ethanol awareness. It’s a great message, you don’t have to be a tech-weenie to be able to have a cool vehicle that also has a little lighter footprint on the planet. This plus what Tesla is doing on the electric vehicle front should help to start change the perceptions that your only choice is to drive a dorky looking, efficient car.
The drawing is tomorrow, September 7, so there’s still time to buy that ticket (if you can get to Iowa.) An aside: MeV owns an E85 vehicle, we can attest that the fuel works great. As a California company, it is disappointing as there are only 4 gas stations with E85 in the whole state. 2 comments
Glitnir to invest $1B in geothermal
Via Inside Greentech:
2 commentsIceland’s Glitnir Bank released a report today on the booming geothermal market in the U.S., and it intends to be a part of it.
The bank, which opened its first U.S. office in New York today, said it plans to invest $1 billion in U.S. geothermal energy projects over the next five years.
“The challenges are numerous, but the potential is huge,” Arni Magnusson, managing director of sustainable energy for Glitnir, told a press conference today.
[…]
In its report, Glitnir predicts a more than six-fold increase in the annual sales of electricity from geothermal sources in the United States to $11 billion in 2025, up from $1.8 billion now.
The report said geothermal energy could fill up to 20 percent of California’s electricity needs, 60 percent of Nevada’s and 30 percent of Hawaii’s.
Glitnir is no stranger to geothermal, with 90 percent of all houses in Iceland being heated geothermally.
But it says the U.S. is a global leader in geothermal, with a current installed capacity of 2,800 megawatts and annual electricity generation of 16,000 gigawatt hours. Current projects, when completed, could bring that installed capacity up by another 2,800 megawatts, according to Glitnir.
