Post by account_disabled on Feb 27, 2024 5:59:20 GMT
Geothermal energy can be harnessed for the use of its heat directly (direct use) or for the generation of electricity. Geothermal energy is thermal energy that is generated and stored within the Earth. What is geothermal energy?
In the context of how this energy is obtained, we define four categories of geothermal resources :
Shallow geothermal heat pump or geo-sharing resources
Hydrothermal resources
Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal Systems
Unconventional or advanced geothermal systems
The type of resource determines how we can extract thermal energy from the ground for extraction for surface energy utilization.
Hydrothermal resources
Hydrothermal, refers to hot water resources, which can be found in naturally occurring hydrothermal resources. They are created by groundwater and favorable rock features, such as open fract Brazil Mobile Number List ures or fissures, that allow fluids to flow between them.
With higher rock temperatures, fluids heat up and can be derived as hot water or steam, if the temperature is high enough. The fluid or vapor then carries heat which can then be used at the surface for heat applications or to generate electricity.
These hydrothermal resources range in temperature from a few degrees above ambient conditions at the surface to temperatures exceeding degrees Celsius (or Fahrenheit).
Hydrothermal resources can be found in volcanic environments (such as in Indonesia), in sedimentary environments (such as the German Molasse Basin), and in hot, wet rocks (e.g., fractured granite with water resources).
What is geothermal energy
Unconventional resources
Unconventional resources, such as improved or engineered geothermal systems, or new advanced geothermal systems, are approaching geothermal (heat) resources that lack the necessary fluids or rock characteristics that would allow heat extraction.
Unconventional resources are geothermal energy that can be found in hot, dry rocks, for example, essentially hot bedrock environments, where there is heat, but no water flows that can be extracted as a carrier of the heat.
Therefore, some heat exchange element would be required to extract heat from the subsurface for above-ground energy utilization, either to generate heat or power.
I) Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS)
The focus in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is to create permeability between rocks and add fluids that allow them to heat up sufficiently in a sustainable system (and therefore artificially create hydrothermal 'reservoirs'). This allows geothermal heat to be obtained from below the surface for use on the surface. Since one creates these reservoirs artificially, they are also often called engineered geothermal systems.
Another term that is often used is Hard Dry Rock (HDR). In the past, the term was widely used in the Australian context, where 'hard' described the lack of permeability of the rock and 'dry' described the fact that there were no fluids that would have allowed heat to be extracted in the traditional way. conventional.
Since traditional hydrothermal resources often harness higher temperatures at accessible depths (for example, along tectonic plates), EGS systems make it possible to harness geothermal energy beyond these areas essentially worldwide.
Geothermal energy can be found throughout the world, however depth level, temperature and fluid availability have determined development so far. The challenge with EGS technology is the cost of achieving sufficient temperatures at depths that are often much higher, and the economics of creating a sustainable system that allows for long-term utilization.
The costs of drilling, stimulating the rocks to make them permeable, pumping water into the artificial 'reservoir' and pumping it to the surface itself requires a lot of energy. Temperatures are also not usually as high, so the technology to generate electricity is also more complex and expensive. The 'stimulation' element is also often considered critical, as the applied pressure can create small surface earthquakes which, especially in urban areas, cause concern among the public and other stakeholders.
While EGS systems are often described as separate systems, EGS technology can also be applied in conventional geothermal environments.
Stimulation can help make hydrothermal reservoirs more productive by increasing permeability and therefore increasing surface production.
Today, there are a large number of examples where EGS techniques have been applied to increase the yield of hydrothermal resources, and several EGS have been developed (e.g. in France and Australia). But today, as far as we know, there is no pure EGS system that produces electricity today.
EGS systems can also provide heat in a direct use context (e.g. for district heating networks and other industrial heat applications).
The EGS potential in the United States alone is estimated at around , GW, according to the US DOE Geovision Report referencing Augustine , and Augustine
To put this in context, this would represent five times the total installed utility-scale power generation capacity in the US as of
(II) Advanced Geothermal Systems
The concept of advanced geothermal systems (AGS) has been coined by several groups aiming for an approach that would eliminate resource risk in geothermal development, namely the need to find enough temperature, find enough fluids or, in the case of EGS, create sufficient permeability.
AGS does this by extracting thermal energy using a closed loop system. It achieves this by circulating a working fluid through a long well that conducts heat from the rock surrounding the well.
In the context of how this energy is obtained, we define four categories of geothermal resources :
Shallow geothermal heat pump or geo-sharing resources
Hydrothermal resources
Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal Systems
Unconventional or advanced geothermal systems
The type of resource determines how we can extract thermal energy from the ground for extraction for surface energy utilization.
Hydrothermal resources
Hydrothermal, refers to hot water resources, which can be found in naturally occurring hydrothermal resources. They are created by groundwater and favorable rock features, such as open fract Brazil Mobile Number List ures or fissures, that allow fluids to flow between them.
With higher rock temperatures, fluids heat up and can be derived as hot water or steam, if the temperature is high enough. The fluid or vapor then carries heat which can then be used at the surface for heat applications or to generate electricity.
These hydrothermal resources range in temperature from a few degrees above ambient conditions at the surface to temperatures exceeding degrees Celsius (or Fahrenheit).
Hydrothermal resources can be found in volcanic environments (such as in Indonesia), in sedimentary environments (such as the German Molasse Basin), and in hot, wet rocks (e.g., fractured granite with water resources).
What is geothermal energy
Unconventional resources
Unconventional resources, such as improved or engineered geothermal systems, or new advanced geothermal systems, are approaching geothermal (heat) resources that lack the necessary fluids or rock characteristics that would allow heat extraction.
Unconventional resources are geothermal energy that can be found in hot, dry rocks, for example, essentially hot bedrock environments, where there is heat, but no water flows that can be extracted as a carrier of the heat.
Therefore, some heat exchange element would be required to extract heat from the subsurface for above-ground energy utilization, either to generate heat or power.
I) Enhanced/Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS)
The focus in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is to create permeability between rocks and add fluids that allow them to heat up sufficiently in a sustainable system (and therefore artificially create hydrothermal 'reservoirs'). This allows geothermal heat to be obtained from below the surface for use on the surface. Since one creates these reservoirs artificially, they are also often called engineered geothermal systems.
Another term that is often used is Hard Dry Rock (HDR). In the past, the term was widely used in the Australian context, where 'hard' described the lack of permeability of the rock and 'dry' described the fact that there were no fluids that would have allowed heat to be extracted in the traditional way. conventional.
Since traditional hydrothermal resources often harness higher temperatures at accessible depths (for example, along tectonic plates), EGS systems make it possible to harness geothermal energy beyond these areas essentially worldwide.
Geothermal energy can be found throughout the world, however depth level, temperature and fluid availability have determined development so far. The challenge with EGS technology is the cost of achieving sufficient temperatures at depths that are often much higher, and the economics of creating a sustainable system that allows for long-term utilization.
The costs of drilling, stimulating the rocks to make them permeable, pumping water into the artificial 'reservoir' and pumping it to the surface itself requires a lot of energy. Temperatures are also not usually as high, so the technology to generate electricity is also more complex and expensive. The 'stimulation' element is also often considered critical, as the applied pressure can create small surface earthquakes which, especially in urban areas, cause concern among the public and other stakeholders.
While EGS systems are often described as separate systems, EGS technology can also be applied in conventional geothermal environments.
Stimulation can help make hydrothermal reservoirs more productive by increasing permeability and therefore increasing surface production.
Today, there are a large number of examples where EGS techniques have been applied to increase the yield of hydrothermal resources, and several EGS have been developed (e.g. in France and Australia). But today, as far as we know, there is no pure EGS system that produces electricity today.
EGS systems can also provide heat in a direct use context (e.g. for district heating networks and other industrial heat applications).
The EGS potential in the United States alone is estimated at around , GW, according to the US DOE Geovision Report referencing Augustine , and Augustine
To put this in context, this would represent five times the total installed utility-scale power generation capacity in the US as of
(II) Advanced Geothermal Systems
The concept of advanced geothermal systems (AGS) has been coined by several groups aiming for an approach that would eliminate resource risk in geothermal development, namely the need to find enough temperature, find enough fluids or, in the case of EGS, create sufficient permeability.
AGS does this by extracting thermal energy using a closed loop system. It achieves this by circulating a working fluid through a long well that conducts heat from the rock surrounding the well.
