Geothermal Digest » admin

To the readers of Geothermal Digest:

admin — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:15:39 +0000

Sunset for Geothermal Digest

It is with deep regret that I must inform you that this newsletter and web site will be shut down, effective immediately. The nearly two-year old experiment has simply not produced the results necessary to keep it alive. I have truly enjoyed following the exploits of the geothermal industry at what is truly a very crucial time, and will continue to do so. I hope to take my interest in geothermal and renewable energy to other publications in time.

Very best regards,
Marc Favreau, Editor

Helping Hand: DOE lets loose $70 million to advance geothermal and backs a $350 million loan

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:35:30 +0000

The seal of the U.S. Department of Energy

In Washington, D.C., DOE Secretary Steven Chu is making up to $70 million in new funding over three years for technology advancements in geothermal energy to accelerate the technology’s development. At about the same time, Ormat Technologies, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Ormat Nevada Inc. received an offer of a conditional commitment from the DOE that would provide a partial guarantee for up to $350 million in loans that would support 121 MW in geothermal power projects.

The research funding will go to those innovating exploration technologies to locate geothermal energy resources and will back improvements in resource characterization, drilling, and reservoir engineering techniques. President Obama has a stated goal of generating 80% of the country’s electricity from clean energy sources by 2035 and geothermal resources will to be a key contributor to the nation’s renewable energy supply.

A major goal of the Department is to reduce the upfront cost of geothermal energy systems, expand their use and ultimately make them competitive with conventional sources of electricity. Thus DOE is targeting funding to research and develop innovative technologies.

Secretary Chu said “The United States remains a global leader in geothermal energy development, and we can leverage our experience to develop more energy here at home while increasing our competitiveness in the global clean energy economy.”

The U.S. Geological Survey says new geothermal resources could add up to 30 GW of renewable energy to the U.S. energy supply, and enhanced geothermal systems, through the development of engineered reservoirs and other methods, have the potential for an even greater impact. This competitive funding opportunity will support the Department’s goals of lowering the cost and financial risk associated with confirming and characterizing geothermal resources and overcoming key technical challenges to reservoir creation and sustainability in enhanced geothermal systems.

The funding will target six key areas: Advanced Exploratory Drilling Technologies, and specifically those focused on reducing the cost of exploratory drilling; Advanced Well Completion Technologies, also with an eye on lowering the costs; Tools to Isolate Fracture Zones within a Well; Observation Tools and Data Collection System for Reservoir Stimulation; Geophysical Exploration Technologies , including remote sensing, improved data processing and advanced seismic surveying technologies; and Geochemistry and Rock-Fluid Interactions to better characterize geothermal resources and prediction of reservoir temperatures.

Ormat Nevada will use the loan backing on three facilities: McGinness Hills, Jersey Valley and Tuscarora. The company already has a 20-year power purchase agreements with Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of NV Energy. The lender-applicant is John Hancock Life Insurance Company (USA), who submitted the application under the Financial Institution Partnership Program.

Dita Bronicki, CEO of Ormat Technologies said, “The DOE 1705 program provides us with financing terms that enables us to finance a portfolio of facilities that are being developed in two phases. This innovative approach to project finance was made possible thanks to the DOE loan guarantee. We are thankful to the DOE’s Loan Programs Office and the rest of the team that moved the project thus far, and will continue working towards the closing of this transaction.”

Mighty River to build another big geothermal plant

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 22:03:02 +0000

In New Zealand, Mighty River Power has confirmed it will build a $383 million geothermal plant north of Taupo. The plant will have an initial output of 82 MW and will be built on the Ngatamariki geothermal steam. The development follows the commissioning of Kawerau and Nga Awa Purua power plants and will raise the company’s geothermal energy production to more than 40% of generation output. Once the plant is operational, Mighty River’s total geothermal capacity will be over 460 MW.

Geothermal power development gets big grant

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:48:45 +0000

In Kenya, Geothermal Development Co. has picked up an $81.5 million grant from the French Development Bank (AfD) to procure drilling rigs. Drilling activities will be accelerated at Menengai in Nakuru and part of the grant be used to train the company’s drilling staff. The first phase of the $818 million project is expected to produce 400 MW of power by the end of 2015. Drilling of the first 10 MW well is complete, a second is almost done and the drilling of a third is under way.

Bago GT plant to shut down for study again amid calls for permanent shutdown

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:27:29 +0000

In the Philippines, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) says it will shut down the Northern Negros Geothermal Power Plant in Mailum, Bago City in July for further resource study. The plant was built to produce 49 MW of geothermal power but only produces 8 to 9 MW. EDC temporarily shut down the plant in November 2010 to conduct more technical tests and when it resumed operations in April this year, the company said that it would be for a limited period of three months. The plant will shut down so it can be determined if geothermal resources are within their bounds and where. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church and local environment groups are demanding that EDC stop the operation of its geothermal power plant in Bago City and return Mt. Kanlaon to the people of Negros.

Geo-exchange system overtaxed

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:17:15 +0000

In Delaware, a state-of-the-art, green building built four years ago in Sussex County to house the Emergency Operations Center could not take the 100 degree heat it experienced a week ago. The Center houses millions of dollars of computers, radios and dispatch consoles all giving off heat of their own. And even with a geothermal system, air conditioners run around the clock, 365 days a year. Groundwater used to operate the system ranged from 60 to 70 degrees when it was built. However, the water in the 24, 600-foot-deep wells is ranging from 80 to 85 degrees and has spiked to 95 degrees.

West Virginia’s geothermal potential has legislators’ attention

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:49:51 +0000

In West Virginia, the state’s congressional delegation is reportedly looking at geothermal as an energy and economic producer. As we reported in October of 2010, a study out of Southern Methodist University in Dallas found a large area in the eastern part of the state to have elevated heat flow and upper crustal temperatures, at least when compared to the rest of the eastern U.S. The high heat flow has been recognized based on interpretation of bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data from oil and gas drilling in the area.

Chena Hot Springs project to get $1 million geothermal grant

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:35:23 +0000

In Alaska, the Chena Hot Springs Resort will receive a $1 million federal grant to help research and develop geothermal power at the site. Entrepreneur Bernie Karl has already built a geothermal plant at the hot springs, but the grants, which will actually go to the Fairbanks North Star Borough, will be used to model, research and possibly expand the geothermal project at the hot springs. The grant comes from the Department of Energy and Chena Hot Springs is to match the federal grant, about $910,000 after subtracting government administrative costs, dollar-for-dollar.

Research leads to product, leads to start up

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:26:07 +0000

In Minnesota, researchers at the University of Minnesota Department of Earth Sciences have applied for a patent, and plan to form a start-up company to commercialize new technology that will sequester CO2 deep underground while extracting heat. The concept, called CO2-plume geothermal system (CPG) was developed by Earth sciences faculty member Martin Saar and graduate student Jimmy Randolph in the University’s College of Science and Engineering. The research has been published in the Geophysical Research Letters.

Opinion: Green energy needs government stimulus to grow

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:45:04 +0000

In an interview with money.canoe.ca, Peter Marks, chairman, president and chief executive of Robert Bosch North America said “Green energy has the potential to slash household power bills in the longer term, though government support will be needed to get the technology off the ground. Any new technology before it reaches an economy of scale will somewhat be expensive for the end consumer to make the business case and therefore in order to get this technology to an economy of scale for the marketplace there needs to some stimulus from government.”