All Entries in the "Research" Category
Oil and gas interests can lead European EGS development and green transition
In London, a new report from Frost & Sullivan finds that the Kyoto Protocol and EU 2020 energy targets are slowly altering the energy industry landscape, gradually shifting energy consumption from coal, oil and natural gas, towards renewable energy sources. A carbon-free future is a threat to oil and gas companies with declining business growth [...]
Granite tests find record permeability
In England, exploratory drilling in Weardale, County Durham by Scientists from Newcastle University found record levels of permeability in granite, which is important for geothermal applications, as heat is extracted by pumping working fluids into the rock and drawing it back up again. Granite can be particularly useful as it can be rich in radioactive [...]
170 GT projects detailed in GTP database
In Washington, the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) has established the GTP Projects Database, which was created to increase the transparency of GTP’s funding activities, specifically those related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The database allows users to access details for more than 170 Geothermal Technologies Program-funded projects. Users [...]
Natural GT site releases gases including hydrogen sulfide in Clearlake
In California, reports of a noxious odor in a Clearlake neighborhood on February 10 led to the discovery of a naturally occurring release of gases including hydrogen sulfide. Local residents in the area are evidently familiar with the periodic venting, which was the result of saturation of the soil by recent heavy rains. A device [...]
Investment outlook for GT strengthens
In Massachusetts, research firm Emerging Energy Research says that 2010 may be the breakout year for geothermal energy. Investments in grew more than in any other energy source in 2009, rising some 149% over 2007 levels to $2.2 billion. Plus, the Obama administration has asked for a 25% increase in funding for geothermal technology in [...]
Nevada could take geothermal energy production lead
In Nevada, a new report from the Geothermal Energy Association says that the state could soon challenge California as the production leader in geothermal energy. While it currently has only 448 MW of production compared to California’s 2,605 MW, some 1,200 MW are in the final stages of development. Only 374 MW are in the [...]
Report says recovery act supported 63,000 jobs in the last quarter
In Washington, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued its second quarterly report on the economic impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Among the findings are that, as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, $263 billion of the total $787 billion included in the Act, or about one-third [...]
EPRI talking “single well geothermal”
In Washington, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is said to have a project investigating a new type of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) – single well geothermal. The piece cited claims single well geothermal has a lower environmental impact, less ground water contamination, and produces fewer seismic events, but does not explain how. The technology [...]
New Hampshire to join national GT assessment
In New Hampshire, the state’s Geological Survey will receive a $297,665 grant from the U.S. DOE as part of $17.79 million project to create a comprehensive nationwide geothermal resource data system by the nation’s State Geological Surveys to help identify and assess new fields. The Association of American State Geologists have organized a coalition of [...]
DOE funds 3-D mapping and modelling research to benefit EGS
In California, USC Viterbi School of Engineering professor Fred Aminzadeh and his colleagues will get a $1.5 million DOE grant for a 2-year research project that will study 3-D geothermal mapping and modeling. The researchers hope to develop new methodologies to characterize the northwestern part of the Geysers geothermal reservoir with an immediate focus on [...]
