Why Geothermal

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Geothermal Technologies Program
25x25 Geothermal Energy Opportunities
Curtis Framel US Dept. of Energy Golden Field
Office
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Geothermal Technologies Program
Work in partnership with U.S. industry and
utilities to establish geothermal energy as an
economically competitive contributor to the U.S.
energy supply, capable of meeting a large portion
of the Nations heat and power needs by 2025.
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What is GPW?Initiative Established in 2000
GeoPowering the West (GPW) Goals
GeoPowering the West (GPW) Identifies and
develops processes to resolve market and
institutional barriers inhibiting geothermal
resources through stakeholder interaction and
bringing those who can benefit from geothermal
generation into the process.

• Goals
• Reduce the transactional costs of geothermal
  power and direct use development by removal,
  reduction, or mitigation of institutional
  barriers.
• Characterize geothermal energy as clean, safe and
  reliable so that it is appropriately valued in
  the utility sector.

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What We Do
Geothermal Work Areas

• Develop relationships with policy and decision
  makers to expand the use of geothermal resources
  as an environmental alternative that will
  increase economic development
• Transactional Costs Break down institutional
  barriers to decrease project transactional cost.
• Technical Unfamiliarity Make decision makers
  aware of geothermal benefits and resource
  locations.
• Power Market Process Make utilities, power
  generators, and regulators aware of geothermal
  benefits. Need field-leveling policies.
• Leasing, Permitting and Public Policies Address
  policy constraints of land use plans, and federal
  and state requirements.
• Environmental, Tribal, and Public Perception
  Address environmental problems, both real and
  imagined.

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GPW State Working Groups List
States and GPW
                                                 
             
 
                                                 
             
 
New Geothermal Plants
New Geothermal Plants
State Working Groups 1.      Alaska, est. in
2004 2.      Arizona, est. in 2002 3.      Califor
nia, est. in 2003 4.      Hawaii, est. in
2003 5.      Idaho, est. in 2002 6.      Oregon,
est. in 2003 7. Montana, est. in
2006 8.      New Mexico, est. in
2000 9.    Texas, est. in 2005 10.     Utah, est.
in 2002 11.     Washington, est. in 2002 Nevada
Ad Hoc working group
GPW State Working Groups List
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Utility Sector Support
Provide a forum for the critical analysis of
geothermal technologies and the barriers that
impact utility applications. GPW efforts include

• Maintain support of the Utility Geothermal
  Working Group (UGWG)
• Coordinated in partnership with Western Area and
  Bonneville Power Administrations
• Identify and target likely geothermal energy
  buying utilities to participate in the UGWG
• Coordinate with national utility organizations
• American Public Power Administration (APPA)
• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
  (NRECA)
• Edison Electric Institute (EEI)

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GPW Utility Working Group

• Conducted 3 web casts
• Utility Working Group members include

• Arizona Public Service
• GPW State Working Groups
• Sandia National Lab
• Ormat, Intl
• South San Joaquin ID
• Salt River Project
• Springfield Utility

• Bonneville Power Administration
• Geothermal Resources Council
• Western Area Power Administration
• Idaho National Lab
• Palo Alto Utilities
• Redding Electric
• Seattle City Light

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Geothermal Energy Use in the U.S.

• 2,750 megawatts of installed electrical capacity,
  supplying 4 million people in western U.S. and
  Hawaii
• 600 thermal megawatts of direct use for heating
• 7,500 thermal megawatts geothermal heat pumps,
  about 750,000 in use today.
• Total Contribution 10,850 megawatts.

Thermal megawatts do not equal electric
megawatts. However, many direct use and
geothermal heat pump applications offset
electrical power needs, as well as natural gas,
propane, or diesel fuels.
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Significant Power Production

Geothermal plants produce 6 of California's
electricity (12.2 million MWh in 2001) Geothermal
provides about 30 of the electricity needs of
the Philippines.
This hybrid binary/flash power plant provides
about 25 of electricity demand on the Big Island
of Hawaii
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New Power Plants and GPW

• Since the creation of GPW, about 550 MW of new
  geothermal development for power production has
  been identified.
• California Bottle Rock Power Plant (55 MW),
  Salton Sea 6 (185 MW), Four Mile Hill (50 MW),
  Telephone Flat (50 MW)
• Subtotal 340 MW
• Idaho Raft River Project, 15 MW (Phase 1), 15
  MW (Phase 2), Willow Springs (100 MW)
• Subtotal 115 MW
• Nevada Elko, Washoe (Steamboat IV), and
  Churchill Counties, 95 MW
• Subtotal 95 MW
•  
• TOTAL 550 MW
• Source Geothermal Energy Association

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New Geothermal Plants
                                                 
             
 
30 MW Ormat (under development)
15 MW (15 MW) Raft River (under development)
development)
25 MW Sulfur Hot Springs (under development)
Installed and Planned About 2750 MW
(electric) Over 600 MW (thermal) 550 MW under
development (elec.)
60 MWt
155 MW Bottle Rock and Glass Mountain (under
development)
102 MWt
28 MWt
240 MWe 69 MWt
40 MWe 51 MWt
40 MW Steamboat (under development)
30 MWt
2478 MWe 114 MWt
22 MWt
54 MWt
185 MW Salton Sea (under development)
35 MWe
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Geothermal Energy is Heat from the Earth

• How Geothermal Energy is Used
• Electricity Generation
• Direct Thermal Use
• Geothermal Heat Pumps.

Power
Direct Use
Geo Heat Pump
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Direct Use

• Agriculture (greenhouse and soil warming)
• Aquaculture (fish, prawn, and alligator farming)
• Industrial Uses (product drying and warming)
• Residential and District Heating
• Balneology (hot spring and spa bathing)

Alligators in Colorado
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More Direct Uses
More Direct Uses
Greenhouses
District Heating
Space Heating
Snow Melting
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District Heating in Western U.S.

• There are 18 geothermal district-heating systems
  operating in the western United States.
• Over 270 cities in the western U.S. are close
  enough to geothermal reservoirs to use district
  heating.

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A recent study identified 271 cities and
communities in the 10 western states that could
potentially utilize geothermal energy for
district heating and other applications.
Source Geo-Heat Center, Oregon Institute of
Technology.
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Utility Advantages

• 24hour, steady, base-load power
• Dispatchable, base-load electricity
• Very reliable, gt90 capacity factor
• 90 to 95 availability factor
• Virtually inexhaustible fuel source with good
  management practices
• Cost competitive (4 7 cents/kWh)

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Geothermal Energy Getting Cheaper

1980 10-16 cents/kWh
2000 4 7 cents/kWh

• Improved technology
• Reduced drilling costs
• Experience reduces risk

• Improved technology
• Reduced drilling costs
• Experience reduces risk

2010 Goal less than 5 cents/kWh
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3 New Geothermal Power Plants in the West !

• Chena Hot Springs, Alaska
• Raft River, Idaho (early 2007)
• Steamboat, Nevada
• Dick Burdette Power Plant

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Mid-Term Power Production Potential
                                                 
             
 
New Geothermal Plants
Mid-Term Power Production Potential
600 MW
1,250 MW
1,670 MW
2,895 MW
620 MW
4,703 MW
50 MW
170 MW
50 MW
400 MW
50 MW
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Near-Term Power Production Potential
                                                 
             
 
New Geothermal Plants
Near-Term Power Production Potential
50 MW
380 MW
860 MW
1,500 MW
230 MW
2,400 MW
20 MW
80 MW
20 MW
70 MW
20 MW
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Geothermal Power Plants Blend in Well with the
Environment
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Geothermal energy is already making a significant
contribution to U.S. energy needs.Geothermal
energy technologies are poised to make an even
greater contribution.
 
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Geothermal Growth Potential
Significant Increase - Geothermal generation
will increase from 13 billion kWh in 2003 to 33
billion kWh in 2025.
Source Annual Energy Outlook 2025,
DOE/EIA-0383(2005), Energy Information
Administration, www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/0383(
2005).pdf.
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GPW to GeoPowering the (U.S.)

• Why?
• Moving to EGS
• Geothermal Heat Pumps
• More effective collaboration
• Energy efficient and environmentally benign
• Oil and Gas Electricity Generation
• Enable the use of spent oil and gas wells to be
  utilized as a viable source of electricity