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An Open Frontier: The Untapped Potential of South American Geothermal
South America holds great potential for geothermal energy, but barriers to development leaves it largely underdeveloped. However some private investors and development banks are on the cusp of unlocking the abundant energy source.
Meg Cichon, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
October 22, 2013
New Hampshire, USA -- The ring of fire is a geologic region that extends in a horseshoe shape from the bottom tip of South America, up along the Pacific coast through North America, and looping back through Asia and down to New Zealand. It's lined with more than 400 volcanoes, and as the Johnny Cash song goes, it "burns, burns, burns," which also means it's a geothermal dream zone.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-271013003147.jpeg&hash=56f8183c74d767b36505536b3ac2bade4cfb0644)
Some areas on the ring have taken advantage of the immense resources; New Zealand, for example, has developed more than 800 megawatts (MW) of geothermal capacity that accounts for about 19 percent of its energy supply, according to the New Zealand Ministry of Economic Development. But on the other end of the horseshoe in South America, geothermal energy remains largely untapped, leaving what Pierre Audinet, clean energy program team leader of the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), calls an "open frontier."
"South America has an enormous perceived potential. And there is a nascent desire of many governments to actually get that potential to become a reality," explained Audinet. "But it is still not completely straightforward for a variety of reasons."
Barriers to Development
While many countries to the north, such as Mexico, are slowly putting geothermal projects online, South American regions are lagging behind for a variety of reasons — some easily recognizeable, some not.
It is widely known that a major barrier to geothermal development, no matter the location, is the cost of test drilling. This is by far the most expensive step in the development process, and many projects struggle to secure financing due to its high risk. Approximately 50 percent of test drilling produces negative results — zero geothermal activity — so many commercial banks are very unlikely to finance these projects. Therefore, much of the development in Latin America, and even countries in eastern Africa where development is blossoming, has been led by the private sector, according to Audinet.
While governments have already handed over geothermal concessions to those private developers to move ahead, "it's not as if you have a million private sectors with deep pockets able to shell out initial important capital expenditure to do the test drilling," said Audinet. There are very few developers that are able to take on these costs, so many are now simply sitting on concessions, bringing the industry to a stand-still. And in some cases, explained Audient, the cost of test drilling is even more expensive because the equipment mobilization costs, such as bringing drilling rigs to those areas, are very high.
"You end up having hefty capital expenditure just to drill a couple of wells and verify your geothermal source," he said. "It is a tough world nowadays for financing. There are talks, appetite, desire, and competent players, but it will take time."
Slowly governments are increasingly realizing that they need to step in, but so far they haven't been able to figure out how. "It is still very much in the open," said Audinet. "There are countries where it is still a blank slate."
In Chile, for example, the government is trying to figure out how to channel some type of subsidy or support to private developers. It recently announced a new renewable energy target of 20 percent by 2025 (excluding hydropower), up from the previous 5 percent goal. However there are legal and budgetary constraints in the way of achieving the target. Everything is left to the private sector, from generation to transmission, which makes it difficult for the government to step in, said Audinet. "They have straightjacketed themselves into private sector development, which can be very good, but in other ways can be a limitation when dealing with a massive financial hurdle," he explained.
Unfortunately, there is no "silver bullet" policy for geothermal development. "We wish you could put in a FIT [feed-in tariff] and everything would move along, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that for this technology," said Audinet.
Adding to the financial pressure, there are also some environmental concerns for geothermal development. Some of the projects that are being planned, and even some existing plants planned for expansion, are located in national parks. Other viable areas for development may exist on lands where there are indigenous people. This creates additional developmental hurdles and longer lead-times. According to Audinet, "these constraints could change as regulations evolve, but it is more work now."
Project Front-runners
In 2012, Alterra Power Corp., a geothermal developer based in Canada, announced a partnership with Energy Development Corporation (EDC), a Philippines-based geothermal developer, to pursue six of Alterra's geothermal concessions in South America. One of which, its Mariposa project in Chile, is moving along and could be online by 2017.
"This transaction represents a significant step forward for our geothermal assets in Chile and Peru," said John Carson, Alterra's CEO. "EDC is a strong partner with deep expertise, and we're pleased to be making this next step together." Indeed, EDC has significant geothermal development experience on the other side of the ring of fire, with several plants online in the Philippines. The Alterra-EDC partnership will provide the necessary cashflow for test drilling at the Mariposa site. EDC will contribute $58.3 million for a 70 percent stake in the project. Alterra has already identified geothermal potential of more than 300 MW at the site, but further drilling is required to test for plant permeability.
Enel Green Power Latin America also has its sights set on Chile, and formed a partnership with Empresa Nacional de Petróleo (ENAP), the National Petroleum Corporation in Chile, to develop its geothermal assets. In August, it signed a $100 million loan with Chile's Banco de Credito e Inversiones to be disbursed before 2014 in order to develop its renewable energy investments in the area.
Broadening Financial Reach
In early 2013, the World Bank announced that it would establish a $500 million fund to help develop geothermal concessions around the world. According to Audinet, the program has started to allocate money to help identify test-drilling projects, and is zeroing in on Latin America "more than other regions," he said.
"We are helping to identify a pipeline of test drilling projects and helping to lobby and call upon all development banks and donors interested in geothermal to prioritize more money towards test drilling," said Audinet. "That is where the money needs to go if we want to unleash that geothermal potential."
Since geothermal projects have long lead times and can take up to a decade to complete, Audinet doesn't expect many megawatts to come online in the next few years. However, he does expect a spike in activity.
"All I can say is that you have a gradual positioning of players, including financial institutions like the World Bank, InterAmerican Development Bank, and CAF (a Latin American development bank), that are conversing on ways to approach projects and move forward," explained Audinet. "These are conversations that started in the past 10 months so from that I would imagine that some things would eventually emerge."
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/10/an-open-frontier-the-untapped-potential-of-south-american-geothermal
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Ethiopia Signs $4 Bn Geothermal Deal
[/color][/size][/b]Geothermal Energy - Oct 23, 2013
Ethiopia signed a $4 billion deal Wednesday with American-Icelandic company Reykjavik Geothermal to develop a 1000-megawatt geothermal farm, officials said.
When completed, the project to provide energy for both local consumption and export will be the largest source of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia.
Related Research on ASDReports.com:
Analyzing Geothermal Power in Costa Rica
"This is an epic moment for all of us... bringing Ethiopia to the forefront of geothermal development," said Reykjavik chief executive officer Gudmundur Thoroddsson.
Three-quarters of the project is funded by Reykjavik Geothermal, backed by private investors, while 25 percent will be borrowed.
Thoroddsson said $40 million (29 million euro) of investment has already been secured.
The geothermal farm -- located 200 kilometres (124 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa -- will be built in two phases, with the first 500 MW phase to be completed in 2018. The second phase is expected to be finished in 2021.
Thoroddsson said geothermal is an ideal source of energy in Ethiopia, which is vulnerable to erratic weather and oil price fluctuations.
"It's an energy source that is very reliable, always there and is not dependent on weather so it fits very well into the mix," he told reporters.
The energy produced from the project will be used for both local consumption and for export to neighbouring countries, the head of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation, Miret Debebe, said.
"Geothermal (is) one of the most attractive renewable energy resources," Miret said, adding that "trade with neighbouring countries will increase significantly".
The project is the first geothermal farm in the Ethiopia, which has a total potential of 3,000 MW of geothermal energy, making it one of the largest geothermal sites in the world.
Iceland-based Reykjavik Geothermal was established in 2008 to develop geothermal resources in "underserved" markets, the company said.
Ethiopia has made heavy investments in green energy projects, including wind, solar and hydropower. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdl3.glitter-graphics.net%2Fpub%2F465%2F465823jzy0y15obs.gif&hash=797efc3cdc025a8263ef125725aae969446489c3)
A series of hydropower dams are currently under construction throughout the country, including the 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, which will be Africa's largest dam when completed in 2017.
Ethiopia has the capacity to produce 45,000 MW of power, :o more than the total amount currently consumed in all of sub-Saharan Africa, according to official figures.
The government says it wants to transform Ethiopia into a carbon-neutral, middle income country by 2025. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
Foreign investments in Ethiopia have mushroomed in recent years, with Chinese, Turkish and Indian companies investing in a range of industries, including manufacturing, agriculture and construction.
http://www.globalenergyworld.com/news/9358/Ethiopia_Signs_$4_Bn_Geothermal_Deal.htm
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o7vVjth_TU&feature=player_embedded
One type of geothermal system with non-metal pipe loops
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv8bTAGr0tU&feature=player_embedded
Direct Exchange (DX) type geothermal system with copper pipes. They claim it is the most efficient system
Nice heat pump function explanation. ;D
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9DP6v0IW1k&feature=player_embedded
Since they guarantee the heat exchanger pipes for 50 years, this is really a lifetime investment.
It's ALWAYS around 55 degrees F under your house, winter at 10 below or summer at 90 above. This is an IDEAL solution for renewable energy because it mainly functions by AVOIDING energy use, not simply ramping up a system to whatever square feet you want in a house.
OF course if the house is already there and is huge, the system will cost plenty. However, if the government provides low interest financing for new houses of a reasonable amount of square feet (about 1,000 for a two person household) as well as financing for refurbishing old SMALL houses with a "pay as you SAVE on fossil fuels" long term payment, everybody could embrace this technology and kill heating oil once and for all. ;D
Of course furnace manufacturers and fossil fuelers won't be too happy about it. ;)
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Iceland’s cars could soon run on volcano power
By Sarah Laskow
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Faskjaenergydotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F02%2Ficeland_geothermal-plant-pipes.jpg&hash=613632a7ea19fa8e6d4fc0d97f84c1277be6e793)
Iceland is sitting atop a bubbling pool of geothermal energy — they use it to heat the entire country, basically. But now one company — which, according to FastCoExist, is sitting right next to an actual volcano in Iceland — has figured out a way to run the country’s cars on volcano power, too.
The volcano makes the incredible amount of energy in the Earth’s core accessible from the planet’s surface. A power company’s already using it to make electricity, but the process emits a fair bit of pretty concentrated carbon dioxide. Here’s where the new innovation comes in: This company, Carbon Recycling International, takes that CO2 and turns it into methanol, a fuel that can power cars but which lacks the nasty carcinogenic byproducts of gasoline.
FastCoExist explains:
Their process could actually be used to capture and recycle carbon dioxide anywhere. But it’s trickier at places like coal-fired power plants, where emissions are a mix of chemicals that are expensive to separate. The CO2 emissions from the geothermal plant are easier to capture and use because they’re more concentrated. And the geothermal plant also provides cheap, renewable electricity to power the conversion to methanol.
It’s a little less fun than if someone had figured out how to scoop molten lava directly into the back of a car and watch it steam off at top speed. But this seems safer. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
http://grist.org/list/icelands-cars-could-soon-run-on-volcano-power/
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About Ram Power, Corp.
Ram Power is a renewable energy company engaged in the business of operating and developing geothermal properties and has interests in geothermal projects in Nicaragua and the United States.
Ram Power, Corp. Announces Operational Update
19/12/2013
RENO, NV--(Marketwired - Dec 19, 2013) - Ram Power, Corp. (TSX: RPG) ("Ram Power" or the "Company"), a renewable energy company focused on the development, production and sale of electricity from geothermal energy, is pleased to announce today the following project and corporate updates.
SAN JACINTO-TIZATE REMEDIATION DRILLING PROGRAM
The Company is currently conducting a remediation drilling program to increase the steam resource of the San Jacinto-Tizate project (the "Project"). The remediation drilling program calls for the refurbishment of four existing production wells as well as the replacement and perforation of specified well casings along with the deepening and forking of two wells. The remediation drilling operations are being led by Sinclair Knight Merz, the resource consultant for the Company, in consultation with PENSA and ThermaSource Inc. (the "Remediation Team").
Well SJ 6-1
In August 2013, the Remediation Team successfully replaced 367 meters of damaged liner and perforated a 60 meter section of liner which had demonstrated increased temperature and permeability. Well SJ 6-1 steamflow is currently estimated at 9.8 tonnes / hour or 1.3 MW (gross) and the well was connected to the plant on September 26, 2013.
Well SJ 6-2
In September 2013, the Remediation Team successfully perforated 60 meters of blank liner to recover production at an upper major zone that may have been affected by prior mineral deposition. After a brief recovery period, well SJ 6-2 was placed back in service and steam-flow is currently estimated at 9.5 MW (net).
Well SJ 9-3
The remediation program for well SJ 9-3 began on August 25, 2013 and was successfully remediated in three phases. During the heat-up period and discharge test of well SJ 9-3, the Company conducted a sinker bar survey run on November 24, 2013, and discovered an obstruction at approximately 1,100 meters in the main leg of the well. Following the discovery of the obstruction, the Company initiated a series of well air capping cycles by alternating well head pressures in an attempt to remove the blockage naturally and to stimulate well SJ 9-3 flow. On December 6, 2013, the Company conducted a down hole camera survey which reconfirmed the blockage at approximately 1,100 meters. As a result, following the completion of well SJ 12-3, the Company will mobilize the ThermaSource drilling rig back to well SJ 9-3 to clear the main leg obstruction.
The clearing of the blockage is expected to take approximately 10 days, at which time the well will be put back into thermal recovery. The Company remains encouraged with the initial results of well SJ 9-3, including, but not limited to, the drilling loss circulation during remediation, down hole temperature and the results of the injectivity test.
Well SJ 12-3
In preparation for the remediation work, well SJ 12-3 was removed from production on October 8, 2013. The Company successfully perforated the liner as well as deepened, and forked, well SJ 12-3 to approximately 2,400 meters. Following the remediation efforts, the Company was unsuccessful at retrieving the whipstock used to directionally drill the forked leg. A down hole camera was used to view the whipstock, and from the initial images it was evident that the casing joint holding the whipstock was not stable, preventing the whipstock retrieving tool from engaging the keyway pocket to extract the whipstock from the well bore.
Once the Company is able to retrieve the whipstock, the Company will continue with normal operations and drill out the isolation plug and retrieve the inflatable packer. The Company expects the process to finalize in the near future, at which time the well will be shut in for thermal recovery.
Remediation Testing Date
The Company and the Lenders are in negotiations to amend the remediation completion date in the Common Terms Agreement, with such revised date to start in mid-January 2014. Following the completion of the resource remediation drilling program, the Company will conduct a plant capacity test expected to be concluded in mid-February 2014. The test includes a 30-day stabilization period of the resource field followed by a 7-day performance test to determine the net operating output of the plant.
Remediation Summary to Date
The overall remediation drilling program has a targeted increase in steam availability of approximately 9 to 14 MW, or 70-110 tonnes / hour of additional net capacity bringing total generation to approximately 59 to 63 MW (net). At that level, utilizing the current power purchase agreement, the Company's expected annualized net revenue will be approximately $56-61 million annually.
http://www.powerengineeringint.com/marketwired/2013/12/19/ram-power-corp-announces-operational-update.html
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Construction plans for mid-sized geothermal plants booming across Japan February 6, 2014
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MATSUKAWA_Geothermal_power_station_Iwate,JAPANvia Mainichi News / February 4, 2014 / Construction plans for dozens of mid-sized geothermal power plants have surfaced across Japan, with its rich geothermal resources coming under the spotlight in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Chuo Electric Power Co. will herald the move in April by initiating the operation of a new geothermal plant in Kumamoto Prefecture — the country’s first such facility to be inaugurated in 15 years. Orix Corp. and Toshiba Corp. are also planning to put their geothermal power station into service sometime around the spring of 2015. There are also dozens of other plans across the country to build geothermal plants each with a maximum output of less than 15,000 kilowatts.
“We’d like to connect our customers living in urban condominiums and rural areas,” said Yasutoshi Hirano, vice president at Chuo Electric Power Co., a Tokyo-based company that makes bulk purchases of electricity to supply power to condominium households at low prices.
The company has undertaken the construction and operation of a geothermal plant from a firm called “Waita-kai” operated by residents in a hot spring resort in Oguni, Kumamoto Prefecture. Although the planned power station with a maximum output of 2,000 kilowatts will only cater to 1,500 households, the construction of a geothermal plant with output capacity greater than 1,000 kilowatts is to be the first in the country since 1999, when Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Hachijojima Geothermal Power Station was put into operation on Hachijo Island, south of Tokyo.
The development of geothermal power generation often comes in conflict with the interests of local residents, who are worried about a possible reduction in the amount of hot spring water as a result of such construction. Chuo Electric Power Co. overcame such a hurdle by building a geothermal plant not as large as ones developed by major power companies and by sharing profits with Waita-kai. Chuo Electric Power further plans to build five more geothermal plants of a similar scale over the next five years. The company will sell electricity to major utilities for the time being but is planning to eventually retail power to condominiums.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/MATSUKAWA_Geothermal_power_station_Iwate%2CJAPAN.jpg/1200px-MATSUKAWA_Geothermal_power_station_Iwate%2CJAPAN.jpg)
MATSUKAWA Geothermal power station
Orix and Toshiba are seeking to launch the operation of a geothermal plant in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, sometime around the spring of 2015, followed by the construction of similar facilities in the Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kyushu regions. Hidetake Takahashi, head of Orix’s business development department, said, “The electricity market is right before the break of dawn (ahead of the deregulation of electric power). We’d like to make geothermal power the pillar of our new business.”
While large-scale geothermal plants normally require environmental assessments spanning three to four years, mid-sized geothermal power stations are not subject to such regulations. The purchase price for renewable energy generated by a power plant whose maximum output is less than 15,000 kilowatts is also set relatively high at 42 yen per kilowatt hour under the feed-in tariff system, encouraging new companies to enter the business. The purchase price is set far cheaper at 27.3 yen per kilowatt hour for renewable energy generated by plants with a maximum output of 15,000 kilowatts or more.
As a volcanic country, Japan is blessed with geothermal resources that are the world’s third largest in volume behind the United States and Indonesia. The potential of geothermal power generation is high, but opposition from local residents and construction regulations within national and quasi-national parks had hampered the development of geothermal power. The change in the tide came following the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, which prompted the government to relax regulations and trim assessment periods. A consortium of 10 companies including Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Inpex Corp. is planning to develop the nation’s largest geothermal plant within the Bandai-Asahi National Park in Fukushima Prefecture, with an output capacity of 270,000 kilowatts. The consortium is eyeing to start operating the plant sometime in the early 2020s.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, around 20 locations across the country are under survey for potential geothermal power generation by trading houses, oil companies, local governments, hot spring associations and other entities. Apart from this, preliminary surveys are also underway at 42 locations in the country, signaling the arrival of a booming geothermal market in the near future.
SOURCE: Mainichi.jp / (original Japanese article)
http://fukushimaupdate.com/construction-plans-for-mid-sized-geothermal-plants-booming-across-japan/
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Iceland Moves Closer to Powering European Homes With Geothermal Energy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Ftuzki-bunnys%2Ftuzki-bunny-emoticon-013.gif&hash=67c881f5cbeaeb689faa72f76545db455b347ce4) ;D
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Faskjaenergydotcom.files.wordpress.com%2F2012%2F02%2Ficeland_geothermal-plant-pipes.jpg&hash=613632a7ea19fa8e6d4fc0d97f84c1277be6e793)
Reykjavik, Iceland -- Iceland is moving closer to plugging European homes into the volcanic island nation’s geothermal and hydropower reserves via what would be the world’s longest power cable, according to the country’s largest energy producer.
“The more we look at this project, the more positive feedback we get,” said Hordur Arnarson, chief executive officer of Landsvirkjun, which produces more than 70 percent of Iceland’s power. “Over the past two years we’ve moved closer to this project becoming a reality,” he said in an interview in Reykjavik on May 21.
Iceland’s government and Landsvirkjun are studying whether the country should press ahead with the project, which could cost as much as 2 billion euros ($2.7 billion). Construction of the 1,170-kilometer (727-mile) submarine cable would need a bilateral agreement with the U.K. as well as deals concerning the purchase and sale of electricity.
The government estimates that 75 percent of Iceland’s energy is undeveloped. Hydropower from the nation’s glaciers accounts for about 73 percent of electricity production and the rest is generated from geothermal sources. Less than 40 percent of the available geothermal energy, which taps the earth’s heat, is used to make electricity.
The north Atlantic island of 320,000 inhabitants is seeking to diversify its economy as it recovers from Europe’s biggest banking collapse this century. The country currently produces 17 terawatt hours of electricity, a figure that could be doubled, according to Arnarson. For the project to be feasible, Iceland must sell at least 5 terawatt hours via the cable, he said.
“The conditions are in place for Iceland to produce 30 to 35 terawatt hours, should that be the decision of the authorities,” said Arnarson. “Producing that much energy would still protect a great deal of areas that we want to preserve.”
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/05/iceland-moves-closer-to-powering-european-homes-with-geothermal-energy
A. G. Gelbert
May 31, 2014
I agree with Gary Tulie!
What's more, ALL the machinery now used to run a nuclear power plant (minus the radioactive fuel rods and reactor, of course!) can be used in a geothermal capacity. Why? Because the temperatures exactly suited for the 600 degrees or so centigrade nuclear power steam generation, the alloys used for the infrastructure, the corrosion protected pipes, etc. are actually MORE durable for the same , but totally clean function of harvesting renewable energy from a geothermal source.
This is one of the best kept secrets (by the nuclear power advocates (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fen%2Femoticons%2Fn%2Fnuclear-emoticon.gif&hash=e4e4a2a7087fe69ad666bbc193626b4bf13857a8) = (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400) who don't want you to know it...) in the energy resource world.
It's actually cheaper to build a geothermal power plant, despite the huge investment in drilling deep into the earth and laying the corrosion resistant piping. Why? Because there are zero Uranium mining and climate damaging costs, zero security costs (no radioactive material to steal or sabotage) and longer MTBF from the pipes, pumps, valves, electronics and steam turbines not subject to premature aging and failure from radioisotope caused embrittlement. The risk of contaminating aquifers is infinitesimal compared with nuclear power. All this means they will be easily insurable without some coercive government, nuclear lobby protecting law, have 40 plus year life spans with guaranteed 24/7 base load power and income for investors with improved health and viability for the people and the environment around the geothermal power plant.
Let's shut down all those nuclear poison pigs, pull steam turbines out and use them in geothermal, safe, power plants!
NOTE: For those who think the places on the planet suited for geothermal are too few for this purpose, just look at a geological map of the planet to see where 600 degrees C is available a mile or so down. You will be quite pleasantly surprised. We need nuclear power plants like a dog needs ticks with Lyme disease!
Gary Tulie May 31, 2014
Iceland has a huge renewable energy potential at low generation cost, and has run primarily on renewable power for many years. I suppose the question now is how to make the most of this potential - use power in Iceland for data centres, Aluminium smelting etc, or export power to Europe.
Regarding the 30 to 35 terawatt hours quoted, I would say that is very likely an exceedingly conservative figure not taking into account advances in high temperature geothermal, geothermal fields of lower potential, or offshore geothermal drilling in Iceland's territorial waters. I seem to recall reading that if geothermal power can be harnessed using deep drilling into high temperature areas close to the magma, that Iceland, may have around 10 times the currently acknowledged potential.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCvivdGmgPM&feature=player_embedded
US Geothermal Industry Gets Huge Resource "Datapalooza" Boost
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/us-geothermal-industry-gets-huge-resource-datapalooza-boost
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Landmark Legislation Could Put Geothermal Back on Track for California (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.freesmileys.org%2Femoticons%2Femoticon-object-042.gif&hash=76ef1277aabb18fb4b98437f4ebc40a0f80ed4e8)
“New geothermal energy on the grid will help stabilize and balance California’s renewable portfolio by adding needed diversity to its reliance on intermittent resources like wind and solar.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/06/landmark-legislation-could-put-geothermal-back-on-track-for-california
A. G. Gelbert
June 9, 2014
I have often argued that all the current infrastructure in a nuclear power plant, minus the problems of radionuclide contamination and excessive embrittlement and corrosion of pipes, valves and pumps, is made to order, and will have a much increased MTBF since it is already designed to handle 600 degrees Centigrade steam making, if it is used to run a geothermal power plant instead. Of course you have the cost of reaching the source geothermal heat with piping deep into the ground, but those costs are insignificant compared with the costs and dangers to the environment of nuclear power plants.
Let's take those giant steam turbines out of the nuclear power plants and put them to work in geothermal power plants. It will save us millions of dollars and provide another nail in the coffin of dirty energy sources from fossil and nuclear fuels.
We could even get the nuclear power plant operators to go along with it by incentivizing them to switch to geothermal with government aid in the decommissioning of the nuclear power poison white elephants.
If we want our children to have a chance to live by regaining human harmony with the biosphere, we must strive to achieve the total demand destruction of fossil and nuclear fuels.
“Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors; we borrow it from our Children. Ancient American Indian Proverb (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fearthhug.gif&hash=3abcf70466f34337f2d702ebd9e02c650d5c4c20)
Civilitas successit barbarum
Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium: Equity sees that as done what ought to be done - Equity will not suffer a wrong to be without a remedy (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fcowboypistol.gif&hash=2dc97f743dffca22404e6e4e0822765e60b33f38)
http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/index.php
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Excess Water from Iceland Geothermal Plant Source of Thriving Spa Business ;D
Alexander Richter
July 01, 2014
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/07/excess-water-of-geothermal-plant-source-of-thriving-spa-business#comment-133037
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Just one more benefit from the 100% Renewable Energy bonanza that geothermal power represents. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185047.png&hash=384024358ff8d5e7133d19b6e6638da4584a8154)
Also, the nuclear power plant polluting white elephant advocates are always silent as tombs about the FACT that the nuclear power plant boiler and steam turbine equipment that require 600 degrees C for efficent operation CAN be removed from a nuclear power plant (after decommissioning) and used AS IS in a geothermal power plant, thereby saving millions of dollars in setting up a geothermal power plant that will last Generations without any damage to the environment, not 50 years or so with radionuclides sickening the surrounding life forms (including our children!) for a much longer time period. :(
Testament to the corruptus in extremis cui prodest scelus is fecit is the fact that the proponents of the so-called "Nuclear Renaissance" brazenly ignore mountains of irrefutable evidence/proof regarding the negative aspects of ‘radioactive experimentation’ we have been subjected to. All humans have measurable levels of radioactive contamination in their bodies, mothers pass it along in breast milk and fathers, through their sperm. Simple lab tests can accurately pinpoint the age of a person by measuring the percentage and calibrating the placement of radioactive markers in teeth and bones. There really is no argument… The corporate government invented one. >:(
The United States enjoys the greatest opportunity to move things in a healthy direction. Yet the powers controlling our government effectively do just the opposite. It's criminal negligence, not just laziness, of the otherwise brilliant and well educated proponents of nuclear power poisons to choose temporal comfort now which will eventually render huge tracts of the only Earth uninhabitable, at the price of the health and happiness of future generation. >:(
The news and our leaders assure us that the juice required to fire up TV screens and operate the ski-lifts and casinos flows necessarily from nuclear generating facilities.
Many among us know that isn't so, indeed, there have been, since at least the mid-20th century (and geothermal energy technology 50 years before THAT!), numerous proven technologies which are relatively clean, green and renewable. They have been ruthlessly blacklisted, slandered and suppressed. :(
Actually, we can live very comfortably without any nukes and even without burning much more fossil fuels , but the situation is not portrayed that way.
Even if nukes were essential to the provision of our creature-comforts, clearly the poisonous DNA damaging radionuclide poisons they emit are not worth the price that cancer victims pay at present and those in future generations will inherit.
Too many intelligent humans have relinquished any remaining hint of critical thinking ability, ‘donned the sheep skin’, so to speak, and followed the herd in any direction that the political faces push. :(
That is a big mistake since the political faces are (can only be) the puppets of the most gratuitously greedy among us. The greed is so extreme (and irrational) that they knowingly sell the well-being of their very own children and grandchildren for bigger yachts. >:(
We can stop it if more of us just get up off our pastry-stuffed butts and say NO to dirty energy and YES to 100% Renewable Energy NOW! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Demanding 100% Renewable energy is the way, not only to the extremely important goal of a viable biosphere, but absolutely essential to regaining our democracy from the fossil fuels and nuclear power industries that buy our politicians with the profits from pollution producing fuels while said politicians keep fossil fuel and nuclear power plant "subsides" (taxpayer theft!) firmly in place to tilt the energy playing field against renewable energy.
I started a petition on Care2: Demand Liberty From Fossil Fuels Through 100% Renewable Energy WWII Style Effort. I'm hoping that if enough people sign my petition, we can make a difference. Will you help me collect more by adding your name?
Posters to download and print to publicize the petition:
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Here's a link to the petition: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/Ai3Tb
Thank you and please pass it on. We'll have real traction against the polluters if we can get 100,000 to several million signatures by September when the petition is to be delivered to the White House.
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US DOE Announces FORGE Program for EGS Development (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/07/geothermal-visual-us-doe-announces-forge-program-for-egs-development)
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Geothermal Energy To Become Next New Source of Chinese Renewable Growth (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs.dreamstime.com%2Fz%2Fchinese-emoticon-22648577.jpg&hash=e5f417f773692d246a108dcc451657cb8b2c6e05)
Liu Yuanyuan, International Correspondent
July 24, 2014
BEIJING -- The National Energy Administration of China is developing its 13th five-year plan (2016-2020) for the development and use of geothermal resources, in a move to further boost the development of the sector, according to China Securities Journal.
Industry analysts said that the plan is another important step towards nationwide utilization of geothermal resources following the release of guidelines on promoting the development and use of geothermal energy. The plan is an indicator that geothermal energy is being promoted as the next new growth source across China's renewable energy sector following wind and solar.
According to the plan, annual geothermal utilization should reach 50 million tons of standard coal equivalent by the end of 2020, by which time an integrated technological and industrial system for the development and use of geothermal resources will be put in place across the country. Officials also plant to construct an operational model for the development and use of geothermal resources most suited for each region.
According to the Chinese energy regulator’s geothermal energy guidelines released in February of 2013, a national geothermal energy data and information system will be established by the end of 2015, with hopes that a nationwide geothermal heating program will cover an area of 500 million square meters while installed geothermal capacity will be expanded to 100 MW. As of the end of 2013, China’s aggregate installed capacity of geothermal power generation projects was a mere 27 MW with all projects located in Tibet, including the 25-MW Yangbajin geothermal power station.
Wang Guiling, secretary-general of Geothermal Resources Survey Center, China Geological Survey, said that the plan, which will also include a government subsidy plan, is on track to be issued next year.
A number of Chinese companies, including Shanghai Hanbell Precise Machinery, Zhejiang Kaishan Compressor, Yantai Moon and Dalian Refrigeration, have jumped into the geothermal equipment market as the future for the market holds great promise thanks to the support from the central government, according to a securities researcher.
The development and use of geothermal energy as a renewable clean energy is of great significance to the easing of the energy shortage as well as for environmental protection. As a country with substantial geothermal resources, China has 853 billion tons and 256 billion tons of standard coal equivalent in geothermal reserves and geothermal resources available for development, respectively, most of which are located in the eastern and southwestern parts of the country.
“Today, many countries and regions with no or few geothermal resources are actively using geothermal heat pumps, a technology which have experienced a rapid development over the past few years, to exploit geothermal resources,” said Wang Jiyang, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “Geothermal energy has great growth potential as it is limitless and available in almost every corner of the globe.”
Lead image: Geothermal compass via Shutterstock
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/07/geothermal-energy-to-become-next-new-source-of-china-renewable-growth?cmpid=GeoNL-Thursday-July31-2014
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Geothermal Visual: Comparing the Geothermal Permitting Process to Other Technologies
Leslie Blodgett
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-010814182421.png&hash=7fedde728803d282af5b60b55bdebb0b978c6a04)
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review process for geothermal projects as compared to the timelines for average solar and wind development
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2014/08/geothermal-visual-comparing-the-geothermal-permitting-process-to-other-technologies
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Construction Begins on World’s Largest Geothermal Plant
SustainableBusiness.com News
It's been a long time coming, but with financing secured, construction will finally begin on the world's largest geothermal power plant - the Sarulla Geothermal Power Project in Indonesia.
In the works since 1990, the $1.2 billion, 330 megawatt (MW) project is about to break ground, with the first phase online in 2016 and the entire project by 2018.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/25849
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There PLENTY of HEAT down there for ALL our energy needs!
SciShow takes you down the deepest hole in the world - Russia's Kola Superdeep Borehole - explaining who dug it and why, and what we learned about Earth in the process, such as the layers of water, created out of super high-pressures, from the hydrogen and oxygen squeezed out of the surrounding rock strata, a phenomenon never before observed; also found were single-celled animals, found not in the customary limestone deposits of former oceans but likely preserved, due to the extraordinarily high pressures.
By the time the geologists got to the 12-km-deep (7.45 miles) area, where the rock dated 2.7 nillion years old, the temperatures down there were extremely hot - 180 degrees Celcius/356 Fahrenheit and the "rock," at that depth, according to the geologists, behaved more like "plastic."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz6v6OfoQvs&feature=player_embedded
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In regard to world events and profit over planet greed based stupidity this whole world bloodfest is, and always has been, about who has the AUTHORITY (see legal tender laws with a gun pointed at out happy heads) to issue money. And let me quickly add that it is NOT, and never has been, about the RESOURCES for energy and whatever, as many incorrectly claim. Say WHAT!!?
Why would I make such an "irrational" statement? BECAUSE there are PLENTY of resources to go around and have a sustainable, steady state economy. The only reason we DON'T have one is because TPTB have a SYSTEM that started with that log Little John wanted to charge Robin Hood to cross. Sure, you believe TPTB have their hand in our pocket 24/7 BUT, you understandably might think we are short on resources, which causes us to fight for them in order be the King of the Currency issuing Hill that controls all that. Nope.
The post before this one has an excellent video about the deepest borehole on earth. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c) There are TWO ways to deal with providing energy for life forms like us that need to stay warm in winter, cool in summer, make things and move about.
1) INSULATION
2) Energy harvesting from some process like burning fossil fuels or Renewable Energy devices.
TPTB NEED item "2)" because TPTB CONTROL the energy spigot with weapons, wars and the power to issue currency.
True. those two items have a bit of overlap but the important thing is that when you vastly increase energy insulation, you vastly DECREASE the demand for CENTRALIZED ENERGY. Centralized energy is the mother's milk of TPTB. It gives AUTHORITY and POWER to TPTB to wage wars for "profit" (a lie when the costs to biosphere are tallied), control our behavior and decide what is money and what ain't! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183337.bmp&hash=fd5a6df63c32bd65dda7b6d93e788647ca3829df)
Still don't see it? Okay, build a house with a hole in the basement 200 feet down ANYWHERE ON EARTH. Passive (you don't need to boil water! ) geothermal with a heat pump will keep you warm as toast in winter and cool in the summer. Add PV and a small wind turbine if necessary with a battery bank and you have the energy to charge your electric car, run all your appliances and the heat pump machinery. Finally, the excess power generated can be used to pump water into a tank that can also be considered a 'battery' with infinite recharge cycles. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
The house, if insulated like the Norwegian houses are required to be by code, won't need a lot of energy to heat and cool anyway. BUT, you may want to NOT insulate it quite that well if you have extra geothermal power to play with. A less 'tight' house lessens your risk of improper oxygenation and/or radon gas build up (a big problem here in Vermont).
IF ALL the houses are built this way, the grid becomes a BACKUP, if it survives at all. ;D The maintenance of that system is PEANUTS compared with furnace and internal combustion car engine maintenance, never mind all the money sucked out of us for millions of miles of power lines to build and maintain with transformers and whatnot.
The initial cost, if amortized over a thirty year period into the mortgage, is CHEAPER than paying for heating oil, furnace maintenance, gasoline, engine maintenance and grid power for thirty years; MUCH, MUCH CHEAPER!
So why isn't it done? Because you CANNOT jack up energy prices on distributed energy systems. ;D That means you cannot FORCE people to pay more. That means you cannot FORCE people to pay to make weapons to bomb other countries to get energy resources for centralized power plants that are NO LONGER NEEDED. ;D It's a real BUMMER for the fossil fuel Powers that BE!
They'd be forced to do crazy **** like England did a few centuries ago to suck money out of people; a tax was levied on the SIZE OF THE WINDOWS in people's houses for the CROWN. ::) :P (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183404.bmp&hash=dc40a133c761f80036b08ef0f6c0427aaa7e9f4b)
I repeat, over and over, WE-THE-PEOPLE are the cash cow of TPTB. THEY are the lazy, welfare queen, parasites that need to sell us the bull**** that we need them, their wars and their centralized energy.
As far as energy availability, thermodynamically speaking, we DON'T have a resource problem. But just let Agelbert go out there and set up a geothermal/PV/wind/water tank battery system and TRY get BANK prime rate thirty year financing to tack on to any existing mortgage or new home mortgage and I will be TAXED six ways from Sunday or make it "against some ordinance" to PREVENT me from doing that.
That is what the fossil fuelers have done for over a century. Farmers didn't need Rockefeller's CRAPPY fuel. They made their own! SO TPTB make it illegal! Same with hemp and hundred of other renewable energy solutions.
Even that GUN to our heads is, in the final analysis, BALONEY TOO! Why do you think the fossil fuelers of this world constantly harp on our alleged "demand" for energy while studiously ignoring the OBVIOUS fact that right beneath anybody that lives on this planet is enough passive geothermal to eliminate ALL the need for heating oil and the ENTIRE industry of fossil fuel furnaces? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-241013183046.jpeg&hash=51c9c4f17e747698c76c65c7c1814eff4f32c400)
Because they NEED us to BELIEVE that in order to stay in the energy driver's seat. Thanks to people like me and many others that call bull**** on TPTB, they are losing their propaganda advantage. When that goes, they are done.
I just hope it's not too late. TPTB are wicked people, and will do their damnedest to kill every person that exposes their energy resources scarcity SCAM used to foment wars, price shocks and centralized fossil fuel pollution. My voice is too small to be considered a threat. But even so, they send their paid TOOLS here to try to ridicule the truth.
Finally, think about this for a moment. A nuclear power plan needs 600C to make the high pressure steam to produce over a gigawatt of power. Russia had MUCH MORE heat than that available and they plugged the hole. :evil4: And yeah, the HAVE the anti-corrosion piping needed to get all the heat they needed for over a century with next to NOTHING in maintenance costs compared with a radioactive monster like a nuke power plant or a centralized fossil fuel pollution factory. They didn't do it because people would CATCH ON that geothermal energy power is UBIQUITOUS. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0)
The emperor has no clothes. Sure, he has a real gun pointed at us but most people are toeing the line because they believe the bull**** about not being able to be energy independent with renewable energy anywhere on this planet. That LIE is ENFORCED by the government playing whack-a-mole with anyone who proves it can be done (Taxation, fees, city ordinances, etc (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191329.bmp&hash=4764bfbe6bb0e11ca61102efa97a932a824f47e0)). The 'Renewable energy "subsidies" that the Fossil fuelers like to disparage and moan about are WINDOW DRESSING. What dirty energy gets is the real subsidy gravy train but you'll never get Mendacious Fossil Fuelers to admit it.
I'm toeing the line because I'm not allowed to dig deep holes for geothermal energy on my rented property. :(
I may be ahead of my time, but I'm right. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
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Geothermal Visual: Jobs Created by Power Plants
Leslie Blodgett
December 03, 2014 | 1 Comments
(https://geoenergist.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/jobscreatedbygeothermalplants.jpg?w=625&h=451)
The graph above shows jobs created at actual geothermal power plants using information GEA collected over the last few years; companies are kept anonymous to protect proprietary information. View this along with presentations to the Committee on Earth Sciences at dels.nas.edu.
1 Comments
A. G. Gelbert
December 3, 2014
The fantastic geothermal renewable energy potential, both active (600 degrees C) and passive, has been IGNORED by the US Government for well over 50 years since it spent millions studying it.
I'll give you a couple of pictures with U.S. Department of Energy data for you to contemplate. The U.S. Government doesn't just own 28% of all the land in the USA, it owns over 90% of all the land with maximum active geothermal potential.
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As of March 2012, out of the 2.27 billion acres in the country, about 28% of the total was owned by the Federal government according to the Interior Department.
And THAT 28% that has VAST Renewable Energy potential in geothermal, wind, solar, hydro and biomass (along with giant offshore and coastal current undersea turbine potential) has been used almost EXLUSIVELY for so-called fossil fuel resources, ALL of which are profit over planet crapitalist plays for CORPORATIONS, not we-the-people.
Those lands BELONG to we-the-people but are being TRASHED in rampant, polluting, biosphere endangering exploitation for fossil fuels.
Don't you think this is somewhat WRONG!!? Don't you think it's time to STOP crapitalizing those lands and DEMAND that they be CONSERVED, Cared for and used EXCLUSIVELY for Renewable Energy so the wildlife on them and we-the-people get an IMPROVED biosphere instead of a diseased and dying one from dirty energy (including nuclear!) industry produced poisons?
We need to get our priorities straight. Business as usual (see graphic below) is suicidal.
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The Dream Becomes Real: Touring the Newberry Enhanced Geothermal Site
Tucked away in remote Oregon, the AltaRock Newberry EGS project has been shrouded in rumors and secrecy, but a recent tour of the facility revealed that the technology is very much real and making great strides.
Meg Cichon, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
December 15, 2014
Excellent article at link: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.runemasterstudios.com%2Fgraemlins%2Fimages%2F2thumbs.gif&hash=98130be1edf2bed4a80ac8f134b0126673bd469e)
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/12/the-dream-becomes-real-touring-the-newberry-enhanced-geothermal-site?cmpid=GeoNL-Thursday-December18-2014
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China’s Geothermal Energy Sector Demonstrates Great Growth Potential
Liu Yuanyuan, International Correspondent
January 08, 2015
BEIJING -- The first China Geothermal Forum, with a focus on innovation and leadership across the sector as well as on driving the sustainable development and utilization of the energy, was recently held in Beijing. According to data released by the forum, the country is expected to develop a heating and cooling area powered by the geothermal energy of up to 500 million square meters and increase installation capacity based on geothermal power generation to 100,000 kilowatts by 2015.
Liu Qi, deputy director of the National Energy Administration of China, pointed out at the forum that the twin issues of environmental pollution and climate change are making geothermal a favorable choice as the country improves energy efficiency, adjusts the energy structure and develops clean energies. Qi said that it is an opportune time to promote the sustainable development and utilization of geothermal energy, as China is home to a variety of abundant geothermal resources that are well-distributed across the country. The growth potential of geothermal means that the technology could play an increasingly important role in reducing the existing high level of pollution and promoting an ecological consciousness.
Data shows that about one sixth of the world's geothermal resources are located in China, and it leads the world in direct-use volume, according to China Academy of Engineering research fellow Cao Yaofeng. However, the country has lagged in geothermal power development, and as a result in 2010 it ranked only 18th worldwide in terms of geothermal power installed capacity. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113183729.png&hash=d898195c8ae0a55e2e6d84fc47b9d06f8ba13f03)
Over the last few years, the central government as well as several local governments have revised and issued a series of policies, regulations and technological specifications, including the Renewable Energy Law, that aim to boost healthy development. The recently released China-U.S. Joint Statement on Climate Change revealed that China expects its CO2 emissions to peak around 2030 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emofaces.com%2Fpng%2F200%2Femoticons%2Ffingerscrossed.png&hash=d56f8009d18b55f4cea7be68284c0521be92fc5d)while the country is making every effort to reach that peak as early as possible. The country also plans to increase the portion of non-fossil energies that account for the total consumption of non-renewable resources to 20 percent by 2030.
Liu Qi also revealed that the country aims to achieve an annual utilization volume of geothermal resources of up to 50 million tons of standard coal equivalent by 2020 and 100 million tons by 2030. Energy experts attending the forum said that the country has the potential to significantly develop the geothermal resources to a point where it would have a realistic bearing on the energy structure. The next step is to discuss the necessary technologies and practical issues in the development and utilization of the geothermal resources in order to achieve the best results.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/01/chinas-geothermal-energy-sector-demonstrates-great-growth-potential#comment-139019
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200215183056.png&hash=12fcb3b989550310d337bacf97aa3cb908245431)
"Capacity factor” refers to a measure of actual output over a period of time. Capacity factors for various types of energy systems, as recorded by DOE and NREL, are given in the visual above.
The capacity factor of geothermal power facilities is very efficient and is usually at or above 90 percent. :o (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F8.gif&hash=c1d98e606d7f558df4040f88e7997b3e11e9448c)
This is on par with or higher than other baseload power sources like coal and nuclear and is much greater than intermittent sources. ;D
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/blog/post/2015/02/geothermal-visual-capacity-factors-for-assorted-energy-systems
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Geothermal Saves Kenya $24 Million of Fuel Monthly ;D, Says KenGen
Charles Wachira, Bloomberg
February 18, 2015 | 1 Comments
Nairobi, Kenya -- New power-generating units at Kenya’s Olkaria I plant are saving East Africa’s biggest economy about 2.2 billion shillings ($24 million) a month on fuel costs, according to the country’s biggest electricity producer.
A fourth and fifth unit at Kenya Electricity Generating Co.’s Olkaria I geothermal plant, which each started providing 70 megawatts of capacity in October and December, are reducing reliance on fuel used in hydropower generation, Chief Executive Officer Albert Mugo told reporters Monday in the capital, Nairobi. The facilities will be inaugurated on Feb. 19, he said.
The fuel-cost component associated with hydropower generation “has fallen to a low of 2.51 shillings per kilowatt-hour by this February, which represents a drop of 65 percent,” he said.
KenGen’s expansion plan is part of a broader national program to add 5,000 megawatts to Kenya’s current capacity of 1,664 megawatts by 2017. Geothermal, or heat-generated, power accounts for 51 percent of electricity generated in Kenya, displacing hydropower as the largest source, Mugo said.
KenGen, 70 percent state-owned, plans to raise 30 billion shillings, half of which will come from the sale of stock to existing shareholders.
“We are waiting for government to inform us when they will take their rights,” Mugo said. “We are hoping this will happen within the next two weeks.”
Copyright 2015 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2015/02/geothermal-saves-kenya-24-million-of-fuel-monthly-says-kengen#comment-140275
What the Renewable Energy TIGER will DO to the Hydrocarbon Hellspawn: (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185040-1659929.gif&hash=0a9ca0c1f083655b821cbf024422e55e009a6d8d) (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-301014181553.gif&hash=c09667beb656b25086c168adcdaddcba59abf858) 🦕 😈 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418193910.gif&hash=633dd399cd6006279afd7efb5ef953673b96bd78)
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Geothermal Piping Systems Get into the Groove
May 8, 2015
By Alfred Chua
How do you design outdoor piping to account for changing elevation, uneven terrain, seismic and thermal movement, and the reroutes required of a drilling fluid system? This was the challenge faced by engineers and contractors for Indonesia's largest geothermal power plant, Wayang Windu. The pipe-joining method would need to offer flexibility and superior maintainability, and project personnel sought a method that would not be susceptible to inclement weather or pose undue safety hazards. Welding and flanging couldn't meet those parameters, but a solution was found in grooved mechanical piping.
Harnessing Indonesia’s Geothermal Potential
Located on the Ring of Fire and home to more than 200 volcanoes, Indonesia is estimated to have about 28 GW of geothermal potential for power generation (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf), which is about 40 percent of the geothermal potential for the entire world. 41 volcanoes are found on the island of Java alone, providing abundant geothermal resources and holding the highest potential for energy production. Fittingly, this reflects the locale’s demand for energy. Home to 135 million inhabitants — about 60 percent of Indonesia’s population — Java is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. To meet energy demand, geothermal plants have been expanding to increase output.
(https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F07%2F5e%2F57%2F075e578409eb9cf0713286b41c4e009c.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
Wayang Windu Geothermal Power Plant in Indonesia
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The Wayang Windu Geothermal Power Plant sits in the heart of this activity in Pangalengan, West Java. A Star Energy plant, Wayang Windu is a flash steam power plant listed as one of the largest in the world. Currently a two-unit site with exploration for unit 3 underway, Wayang Windu has a total installed capacity of 227 MW. The first unit was completed in 1999 and has been producing at full capacity of 110 MW since 2000. The second unit, with capacity of 117 MW, was been online since 2009.
While the need for geothermal energy is clear, construction or expansion of plants, wells and the piping systems that connect them often presents several challenges that must be considered in the design phase.
Piping System Design Challenges
Located in a highly active seismic zone, Wayang Windu experiences shifts in the ground, both subtle and extreme, on a daily basis. The power plant’s buildings and infrastructure are designed to absorb this movement, but other necessary components — long stretches of outdoor piping, for example — don’t afford the same flexibility. In addition to seismic movement, outdoor piping systems are subject to thermal expansion and contraction that must also be accommodated.
The Wayang Windu site sits at an altitude ranging from 1,700 to 2,200 meters above sea level, with piping systems spanning a significant portion of that elevation change. Joint or pipe flexibility would be ideal to enable the systems to easily follow the contours of the uneven terrain.
At Wayang Windu, the drilling fluid piping system traverses the field to enable the circulation of lubricating fluids — primarily condensate — for drilling and repair work. As exploration continues, personnel would need to be able to dismantle and reassemble the piping system to account for rerouting and expansion.
All told, the requirements for the drilling fluid system were flexibility to withstand seismic and thermal movement and accommodate changing grades, and maintainability to ease system reroutes and extensions. As an outdoor piping system, it also had to withstand the elements. Galvanized pipe was specified to resist corrosion and wear.
Engineers quickly realized that welding, often considered the default pipe-joining method, would pose problems. Welding produces rigid joints that would not provide the flexibility to accommodate thermal and seismic movement. When such movement is not properly accounted for, stress at the joints can result, in some cases leading to leaks. The uneven terrain could also have caused misalignment issues during assembly, necessitating quite a bit of rework and slowing the construction schedule.
Welding galvanized pipe vaporizes the protective zinc coating near the welds, which would require additional time to repair in the field. The safety issues associated with welding were also a concern. Welding galvanized steel exposes the worker to fumes that can lead to “metal fume fever,” and the sparks produced could pose a fire hazard to the dense jungle surrounds during the dry season. Adverse weather conditions during the wet season could also affect welding activities, requiring additional protective measures.
Finally, the permanent joints produced by welding would not permit the pipeline to be easily relocated or expanded, a requirement that could not be compromised.
Flanging provides a more maintainable joint that permits the dismantling and reassembly of piping, but the method is subject to some of the same limitations as welding in terms of flexibility. Flanges, like welded joints, are rigid, so the joining method requires additional devices or expansion loops to accommodate piping deflection caused by movement. Routing piping systems joined with flanges over uneven terrain is just as challenging as it is with welding.
Grooved Piping Offers Flexibility, Maintainability
To alleviate these problems, grooved mechanical piping was specified for the drilling fluid system. The engineer and contractor discovered that the design, installation and maintenance benefits of flexible grooved mechanical couplings stood in direct contrast to the issues associated with welding and flanging. Flexible couplings enable quick, easy assembly and disassembly without heat or flame, and permit controlled linear and angular movement at the joint.
A grooved mechanical pipe joint consists of four elements: grooved-end pipe, a gasket, coupling housing, and nuts and bolts. The pipe groove is made by cold forming or machining a groove into the end of a pipe. A gasket is centered around the joint of two abutted grooved pipe-ends, and the coupling housing segments are placed over the gasket so that the key sections of the housing engage the grooves. The bolts and nuts are then tightened with a socket wrench or impact wrench. In the installed state, the coupling housing encases the gasket and engages the grooves around the circumference of the pipe to create a leak-tight seal in a self-restrained pipe joint. The completed joint is visually inspected; metal-to-metal bolt-pad contact confirms proper assembly.
Standard grooved couplings can be installed up to five times faster than welded joints and three times faster than flanged joints. Ready-to-install couplings, a recently developed technology that allows the coupling to be pushed onto the pipe-end as a fully assembled unit, can double the time savings.
Grooved couplings do not require heat or flame to assemble, nor does installation produce fumes, reducing risk to personnel and property. They can also be installed in any weather condition without tents or heating equipment.
Grooved couplings create a union at every joint so that when maintenance or system alteration is required, the couplings can be removed by loosening the nuts and bolts and removing the housing and gasket from the joint. The removal of two adjacent couplings permits the removal of a section of pipe. Grooved-end pipe and couplings can be reused, with assembly following the same procedure as initial installation.
Flexible grooved couplings permit a limited amount of linear and angular movement. The interaction of the components permits this movement: the dimensions of the coupling key are narrower than the groove in the pipe, allowing room for the key to move within the pipe groove, while the width of the coupling housing allows for pipe-end separation, leaving room for controlled expansion, contraction and deflection.
Independent testing conducted at the ATLSS center, a member of the NEES (Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulations) testing group, demonstrated the reliability of grooved system components when exposed to seismic movement. Water-filled assemblies joined with grooved couplings were pressurized to 200 psi and exposed to accelerations up to 50 percent greater than the Northridge, California, earthquake. No pressure loss or leakage was observed during the tests.
The Outcome
Victaulic Style 77 flexible couplings and grooved-end fittings were used to join the drilling fluid system at Wayang Windu, meeting the requirements for flexibility and maintainability and offering additional benefits on site.
Style 77 couplings feature a two-piece housing, two nuts and bolts, and can withstand pressures of up to 1,000 psi. The couplings provided the inherent flexibility needed to accommodate seismic and thermal movement and deployment of the drilling fluid system over the uneven terrain at Wayang Windu.
The ease and speed of installation of grooved components contributed to rapid completion of the project and eliminated construction delays due to rain. Welding machinery did not need to be transported along the length of the pipeline as it was assembled, and the galvanized finish on the piping was maintained throughout the installation process, ensuring corrosion resistance and protection throughout the system. The lack of hot works also eliminated safety issues and fire hazards.
The drilling fluid system has been in operation for 15 years with the original pipe and couplings still in use. Victaulic couplings were also used to join the 9-kilometer condensate piping system and the 8-kilometer brine system for unit 2, which have been in operation since 2009.
The drilling fluid system was recently rerouted as part of the unit 3 exploration process, validating the maintainability of grooved piping systems. Sections of pipe were dismantled and repositioned, helping to achieve production targets. New sections of pipe were grooved off-site, and shipments were coordinated to further improve jobsite efficiency, limit downtime and reduce overall costs.
Summary
Seismic and thermal movement, changing elevation, uneven terrain, and the need to disassemble and relocate the piping system contributed to a complex construction scenario. Grooved mechanical piping was the answer to the installation challenges, providing the requisite flexibility and maintainability.
Like geothermal energy itself, grooved piping systems are reliable, efficient and sustainable. The use of grooved piping is increasing on utility and process piping systems in the power industry, and Wayang Windu demonstrates the value such systems can bring to plant construction and expansion.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/05/geothermal-piping-systems-get-into-the-groove.html
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Paris Geothermal Boom Brings Deep Drilling to Crowded Suburbs ;D
June 2, 2015
By Tara Patel, Bloomberg
PARIS — Squashed between a highway overpass and a towering suburban shopping center east of Paris, a drilling rig is completing the second of two geothermal wells aimed at capturing the earth’s natural heat for homes and offices.
The project is one of five around the French capital being built by Engie, the new name for GDF Suez SA, accelerating a geothermal boom in the region. Greater Paris already boasted the world’s largest concentration of deep geothermal wells linked to heating networks, even before these latest additions. An energy law making its way through the French parliament that seeks to spur rewewable energy could lead to more.
“This is the most active period for geothermal in two decades,” Damien Terouanne, head of Engie’s Cofely Reseaux unit that specializes in heating and cooling networks, said in an interview. “The geology of the Paris region is favorable and its population density makes projects worthwhile.”(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
The two 1,800-meter (5,900-feet) wells at Rosny-sous-Bois will provide about half the heating needs for the equivalent of 10,000 homes in the area, along with neighboring Noisy-le-Sec and Montreuil, according to a presentation on the project. State subsidies of 6.5 million euros ($7.1 million) will help fund the 35 million-euro cost.
The geothermal doublets built around Paris use one well to pump warm water from underground for heating and the second to push cooled water back underground. About 30 geothermal sites were built around Paris in the early 1980s. Some were plugged because of financial and technical problems.
EDF Development
Electricite de France SA is also developing a new project at Bagneux, south of Paris. Nearby, independent utility Semhach SA operates a geothermal heating network with two new wells for the towns of Villejuif, Chevilly-Larue and L’Hay-les-Roses. New projects will bring the number around the French capital to about 40 by the end of this year, environment agency Ademe says.
With a capacity of 10 megawatts, Engie’s Noisy-le-Sec plant is part of a plan to double its geothermal capacity around Paris to about 100 megawatts in 2016, Terouanne says. Drilling is complete at another of its projects at Arcueil and Gentilly, south of the capital.
Geothermal heat for homes will be competitive with natural gas, according to Joelle Colosio, director of Ademe’s Paris- region office. Subsidies decided by the government fund about a fifth of the cost of projects including drilling insurance and have helped get geothermal “back on the map.” (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
Some new projects in the region are also seeking to exploit warm water closer to the surface, Colosio said in an interview. One project in the Batignolles neighborhood of inner Paris is for two wells about 800-meters deep to heat some 3,000 homes.
Copyright 2015 Bloomberg
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/news/2015/06/paris-geothermal-boom-brings-deep-drilling-to-crowded-suburbs.html
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World’s First Integrated Geothermal and Biomass Plant Goes Online ;D
August 3, 2015
SNIPPET:
It is projected that the integration of the biomass plant will boost the overall Cornia 2 geothermal plant output by some 30 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year. It will also mitigate the emission of 13,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. This innovative technological approach will result in minimal local environmental impact and secure “total renewability” within the resources used and the cycle of energy generation.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/08/world-s-first-integrated-geothermal-and-biomass-plant-goes-online.html
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As with any heat pump, geothermal heat pumps are able to heat, cool, and, if so equipped, supply the house with hot water. Some models of geothermal systems are available with two-speed compressors and variable fans for more comfort and energy savings. Relative to ASHPs, they are quieter, last longer, need little maintenance, and do not depend on the temperature of the outside air.
Geothermal heat pump systems have an average 20+ year life expectancy for the heat pump itself and 25 to 50 years for the underground infrastructure. Additionally, they move between three and five times the energy they consume (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca) between a building’s interior space and the ground.
Guide to Geothermal Heat Pumps
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/guide_to_geothermal_heat_pumps.pdf
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Geothermal HVAC Myths Busted (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcliparts.co%2Fcliparts%2FBig%2FEgq%2FBigEgqBMT.png&hash=e7eec62f009cdd686ce795fad0a53c6befe748e9)
1. Geothermal HVAC systems are not considered a renewable technology because they use electricity.
Fact: Geothermal HVAC systems use only one unit of electricity to move up to five units of cooling or heating from the earth to a buiding.
2. Photovoltaic and wind power are more favorable renewable technologies when compared to geothermal HVAC systems.
Fact: Geothermal HVAC systems remove four times more kilowatt-hours of consumption from the electrical grid per dollar spent than photovoltaic and wind power add to the electrical grid. Those other technologies can certainly play an important role, but geothermal HVAC is often the most cost effective way to reduce environmental impact of conditioning spaces.
3. Geothermal HVAC needs lots of yard or real estate in which to place the polyethylene piping earth loops.
Fact: Depending on the characteristics of the site, the earth loop may be buried vertically, meaning little above-ground surface is needed. Or, if there is an available aquifer that can be tapped into, only a few square feet of real estate are needed. Remember, the water is returned to the aquifer whence it came after passing over a heat exchanger, so it is not “used” or otherwise negatively impacted.
4. Geothermal HVAC heat pumps are noisy.
Fact: The systems run very quiet and there is no equipment outside to bother neighbors.
5. Geothermal systems eventually “wear out.”
Fact: Earth loops can last for generations. The heat-exchange equipment typically lasts decades, since it is protected indoors. When it does need to be replaced, the expense is much less than putting in an entire new geothermal system, since the loop or well is the most pricey to install. New technical guidelines eliminate the issue of thermal retention in the ground, so heat can be exchanged with it indefinitely. In the past, some improperly sized systems did overheat or overcool the ground over time, to the point that the system no longer had enough of a temperature gradient to function.
6. Geothermal HVAC systems only work in heating mode.
Fact: They work just as effectively in cooling and can be engineered to require no additional backup heat source if desired, although some customers decide that it is more cost effective to have a small backup system for just the coldest days if it means their loop can be smaller.
7. Geothermal HVAC systems cannot heat water, a pool, and a home at the same time.
Fact: Systems can be designed to handle multiple loads simultaneously.
8. Geothermal HVAC systems put refrigerant lines into the ground.
Fact: Most systems use only water in the loops or lines.
9. Geothermal HVAC systems use lots of water.
Fact: Geothermal systems actually consume no water. If an aquifer is used to exchange heat with the earth, all the water is returned to that same aquifer. In the past, there were some “pump and dump” operations that wasted the water after passing over the heat exchanger, but those are exceedingly rare now. When applied commercially, geothermal HVAC systems actually eliminate millions of gallons of water that would otherwise have been evaporated in cooling towers in traditional systems.
10. Geothermal HVAC technology is not financially feasible without federal and local tax incentives.
Fact: Federal and local incentives typically amount to between 30 and 60 percent of total geothermal system cost, which can often make the initial price of a system competitive with conventional equipment. Standard air-source HVAC systems cost around $3,000 per ton of heating or cooling capacity, during new construction (homes usually use between one and five tons). Geothermal HVAC systems start at about $5,000 per ton, and can go as high as $8,000 or $9,000 per ton. However, new installation practices are reducing costs, to the point where the price is getting closer to conventional systems under the right conditions.
Factors that help reduce cost include economies of scale for community, commercial, or even large residential applications and increasing competition for geothermal equipment (especially from major brands like Bosch, Carrier, and Trane). Open loops, using a pump and reinjection well, are cheaper to install than closed loops.
http://energyblog.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/17/10-myths-about-geothermal-heating-and-cooling/
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Modern ELECTRICALLY POWERED heat pumps will soon replace ALL fossil fuel powered heating. ;D
https://youtu.be/rNPwkJMrGvk
https://youtu.be/GmDfCxp6rDs
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https://youtu.be/dl6Gfr1YA7U
Let The Earth Heat and Cool Your Home
Geo Exchange is a system of heating and cooling that uses water and ground loops to use the earth as a heat sink or heat source in the winter. It sinks heat into the ground in the summer, as well as heating your hot water year round. Water is circulated through polyethylene pipes in closed loops that are installed below the ground. The loops are connected to an extended range water source heat pump.
The environmental benefits are that this system is non-polluting, has no exhaust emissions, reduced CO2 emissions and requires a smaller amount of both power and refrigerant than conventional systems. The upfront capital costs for a geo exchange system are 35-40% more, but annual savings with a system like this are about 60% over conventional heating and cooling costs.
The payback for the system in this video was 6 years, and now the owner is making money on it. ;D
--Bibi Farber This video was produced by Fair Companies
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/energy/geo-exchange.html#sthash.v5fbbZi0.dpuf (http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/energy/geo-exchange.html#sthash.v5fbbZi0.dpuf)
In U.S. homes, natural gas is the most widely used energy source (49%), followed by the secondary energy source, electricity, at 39%. That’s reversed in commercial buildings, where electricity (55%) is depended on more than natural gas (32%).
The energy needs for these different buildings vary but when viewed as a whole, more than half of the energy used in commercial buildings goes to just heating (36%) and lighting (21%). Within this sector, retail stores and service buildings use the most total energy (20%), followed by office buildings (17%) and schools (13%).
http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-use/home-work/ (http://needtoknow.nas.edu/energy/energy-use/home-work/)
Renewable Energy NEGA-watts (energy NOT used because it WASN'T NEEDED for passive geothermal applications in heating and cooling or other Renewable energy technologies) is NOT an energy unit for energy unit REPLACEMENT. That is because MUCH LESS ENERGY is being used to heat and cool the same space that fossil fuels used to.
But thermodynamically challenged enemies of Renewable Energy will continue to place a false equivalence on the fossil fuels versus Renewable Energy. ::) So it goes. :P
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Midwestern geothermal greenhouse provides local citrus year round for $1 a day (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer)
Science / Sustainable Agriculture
February 12, 2016
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-150216181630.png&hash=ba75d9075a4dfdc817eb623569f5c70e94893bdc)
Tiny tiger on the hunt in the tropics of a Nebraska Greenhouse (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
Greenhouse in the Snow, built by a former mailman, grows an abundance of local produce high on the Nebraska plains.
"We can grow the best citrus in the world, right here on the high plains,” says Russ Finch, the former mailman (pictured above) who is the creative superstar genius responsible for building the Greenhouse in the Snow. And he can do it spending only $1 a day in energy costs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
For Midwesterners (and many of the rest of us) produce in the winter means things imported form warmer climes or grown in greenhouses, which typically have a prodigious hunger for energy and are fed by burning fossil fuels.
But by harnessing the Earth's natural internal heat to warm a greenhouse, oranges and other tropical treats thrive without the waste and pollution typically found in so much agriculture. Finch’s structure is a take on a walipini – a brilliant design that TreeHugger has written about (and which remains one of our most popular posts: Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening).
As Grant Gerlock writes at NPR, the floor is dug 4 feet below the surface, the roof is slanted toward the south to harness as much sun as it can. In the daytime it can warm well into the 80s (F) inside, but at night the temperature drops, which is when the geothermal heat is called in.
"All we try to do is keep it above 28F degrees in the winter," Finch says. "We have no backup system for heat. The only heat source is the Earth's heat, at 52F degrees at 8-foot deep."
Which is good enough for the oranges, and all kinds of other delicacies. ;D
"Any type of plant we saw, we would put it in and see what it could do. We didn't baby anything," Finch says. "We just put it in and if it died, it died. But most everything really grows well. We can grow practically any tropical plant."
"There have been hardly any successful 12-month greenhouses on the northern High Plains because of the weather," Finch adds. "The cost of energy is too high for it. But by tapping into the Earth's heat, we've been able to drastically reduce the cost."
Finch grows a few hundred pounds of fruit each year to sell at local farmers markets, notes Gerlock, but his main business is selling the design for his greenhouse in the snow. And while a new greenhouse costs $22,000 to build, the beauty of running them is kind of priceless. To date, 17 of his designs have been built in the U.S. and Canada – we hope to see many more.
Changing the world one orange-grown-in-the-winter-in-Nebraska at a time? Bring it on! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
Watch the charming Mr. FInch (and cat! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frobservations.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2Fhappy-cat1.jpg&hash=468b07d248f880b63fdda22e22561c5ce8d3ae29)) in a tour of the greenhouse in the video below.
https://youtu.be/IZghkt5m1uY
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/midwestern-geothermal-greenhouse-provides-local-citrus-year-round.html
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David Suzuki: Tapping Earth’s Abundant Geothermal Energy
Dr. David Suzuki (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)| March 31, 2016 1:06 pm
In the midst of controversy over BC’s Peace River Site C dam project, the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association released a study showing the province could get the same amount of energy more affordably from geothermal sources for about half the construction costs. Unlike Site C, geothermal wouldn’t require massive transmission upgrades, would be less environmentally disruptive and would create more jobs throughout the province rather than just in one area.
Despite the many benefits of geothermal, Canada is the only “Pacific Ring of Fire” country that doesn’t use it for commercial-scale energy. According to DeSmogBlog, “New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, the U.S. and Mexico all have commercial geothermal plants.” Iceland heats up to 90 percent of its homes and supplies 25 percent of its electricity, with geothermal.
Geothermal energy is generated by heat from Earth’s rocks, liquids and steam. It can come from shallow ground, where the temperature is a steady 10 to 16 C, hot water and rocks deeper in the ground or possibly very hot molten rock (magma) deep below Earth’s surface. As with clean-energy sources like solar, geothermal energy systems vary, from those that use hot water from the ground directly to heat buildings, greenhouses and water, to those that pump underground hot water or steam to drive turbines. The David Suzuki Foundation’s Vancouver and Montreal offices use geothermal.
According to National Geographic, geothermal power plants use three methods to produce electricity: dry steam, flash steam and binary cycle. Dry steam uses steam from fractures in the ground. “Flash plants pull deep, high-pressure hot water into cooler, low-pressure water,” which creates steam. In binary plants, which produce no greenhouse gas emissions and will likely become dominant, “hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much lower boiling point,” which turns the secondary fluid into vapor.
Unlike wind and solar, geothermal provides steady energy and can serve as a more cost-effective and less environmentally damaging form of baseload power than fossil fuels or nuclear.
It’s not entirely without environmental impacts, but most are minor and can be overcome with good planning and siting. Geothermal fluids can contain gases and heavy metals, but most new systems recycle them back into the ground. Operations should also be located to avoid mixing geothermal liquids with groundwater and to eliminate impacts on nearby natural features like hot springs. Some geothermal plants can produce small amounts of CO2, but binary systems are emissions-free. In some cases, resources that provide heat can become depleted over time.
Although geothermal potential has been constrained by the need to locate operations in areas with high volcanic activity, geysers or hot springs, new developments are making it more widely viable. One controversial method being tested is similar to “fracking” for oil and gas. Water is injected into a well with enough pressure to break rock and release heat to produce hot water and steam to generate power through a turbine or binary system.
Researchers have also been studying urban “heat islands” as sources of geothermal energy. Urban areas are warmer than their rural surroundings, both above and below ground, because of the effects of buildings, basements and sewage and water systems. Geothermal pumps could make the underground energy available to heat buildings in winter and cool them in summer.
New methods of getting energy from the ground could also give geothermal a boost. Entrepreneur Manoj Bhargava is working with researchers to bring heat to the surface using graphene cords rather than steam or hot water. Graphene is stronger than steel and conducts heat well. Bhargava says the technology would be simple to develop and could be integrated with existing power grids.
Unfortunately, geothermal hasn’t received the same level of government support as other sources of energy, including fossil fuels and nuclear. That’s partly because upfront costs are high and, as with oil and gas exploration, geothermal sources aren’t always located where developers hope they’ll be. As DeSmogBlog notes, resources are often found in areas that already have access to inexpensive hydro power.
Rapid advancements in renewable-energy and power-grid technologies could put the world on track to a mix of clean sources fairly quickly—which is absolutely necessary to curtail global warming. Geothermal energy should be part of that mix. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.desismileys.com%2Fsmileys%2Fdesismileys_0293.gif&hash=b1af4868ed8f18c30e637f8cbcb79002f6f71039)
http://ecowatch.com/2016/03/31/suzuki-geothermal-energy/
Agelbert COMMENT: Of course. There is absolutely no excuse for the wasteful way that homes are heated and cooled now. There is no need to waste electricity that is often generated from polluting energy reSources or even hydropower.
Agelbert COMMENT: Of course. Every home that has running water all over the earth can, without wasting water, use geothermal energy without expensive coils placed several feet down. The water pipe infrastructure was paid for by we-the-people and is an untapped cheap and inexhaustible source of heating or cooling energy. Water temperature in the pipes is always several degrees cooler in summer and several degrees warmer in winter.
David, I have designed a computer program to make use of that energy. Of course, putting a heat pump in the process loop would be advisable for winter (in order to extract 72 degrees F from 45 degree F water). But for summer, it could be done without a heat pump. Some small expense would be required for a gray waste tank, valves, temperature sensors and the software. But that would be orders of magnitude cheaper than home geothermal infrastructure now and within the reach of even the poor who own homes and all the middle class.
Dr. Suzuki, If you are interested in this unpatented process, please contact me at anthonyg154@gmail.com (I will give you, and you only, all the details free).
This is my web site forum:
Renewable Revolution (http://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/index.php?action=forum)
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Geothermal Energy in Iceland
https://youtu.be/XRAQrDduaU0
Volcanos Producing Energy
The use of geothermal energy in Iceland must be the most inventive, progressive and eco-friendly energy system in the world.
They have five major geothermal power plants, which produce approximately 26% of the nation's energy. In addition, geothermal heating meets the heating and hot water requirements of approximately 87% of all buildings in Iceland.
Apart from geothermal energy, 75% of the nation’s electricity is generated by hydro power, and 0.1% from fossil fuels.
All of this energy: hydro and geothermal, is brought online without producing any air pollution or greenhouse gases.
It has been estimated that using geothermal for space heating instead of fossil fuels saves the country of Iceland annually about 100 million US dollars in imported oil. ;D
Iceland’s state-owned energy company, Landsvirkjun, is considering construction of the world’s longest underwater electric cable so they can sell their vast geothermal and volcanic energy to the European market. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191258.bmp&hash=e4ed21caaca822f7445ccafd39f49a9f84be90ca)
--Bibi Farber
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/energy/geothermal-energy-in-iceland.html#sthash.OmMli6Ky.dpuf
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Australian firm plans nation's largest geothermal plant in Imperial Valley ;D
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-geothermal-salton-sea-20170114-story.html
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https://youtu.be/XRAQrDduaU0
Volcanos Producing Energy
The use of geothermal energy in Iceland must be the most inventive, progressive and eco-friendly energy system in the world.
They have five major geothermal power plants, which produce approximately 26% of the nation's energy. In addition, geothermal heating meets the heating and hot water requirements of approximately 87% of all buildings in Iceland.
Apart from geothermal energy, 75% of the nation's electricity is generated by hydro power, and 0.1% from fossil fuels.
All of this energy: hydro and geothermal, is brought online without producing any air pollution or greenhouse gases.
It has been estimated that using geothermal for space heating instead of fossil fuels saves the country of Iceland annually about 100 million US dollars in imported oil.
Iceland's state-owned energy company, Landsvirkjun, is considering construction of the world's longest underwater electric cable so they can sell their vast geothermal and volcanic energy to the European market. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
--Bibi Farber
http://www.nextworldtv.com/videos/energy/geothermal-energy-in-iceland.html
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgeothermalexpo.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F06%2FREW-logo-new.jpg&hash=7d8fc0fe077063b22ad6ea5565b7366c128b757b)
Scientists Discover Extreme Geothermal Activity in New Zealand's South Island ;D
May 19, 2017
By Renewable Energy World Editors geothermal
University of Otago yesterday said that a collaboration by scientists who drilled about a half-mile into the Alpine Fault of New Zealand’s South Island has revealed surprisingly high temperatures and the potential for large geothermal resources in the area.
The Deep Fault Drilling Project, jointly led by Victoria University of Wellington, GNS Science and the University of Otago, was carried out in 2014 in New Zealand’s Westland Province, north of Franz Josef Glacier.
According to University of Otago, the site was drilled by a team of more than 100 scientists from 12 countries, who were working to understand how earthquakes occur on geological faults.
The results of the project, published yesterday in Nature, discuss the site’s geothermal gradient—a measure of how fast the temperature increases going deeper beneath the earth's surface.
The project team discovered water at about 2,000 feet depth that was hot enough to boil. Similar geothermal temperatures are normally found at depths greater than two miles, the university said.
Warren Gilbertson, chief operating officer of the charitable trust Development West Coast, said in a May 18 statement that the discovery could transform the economy and resilience of Westland, and provide a significant clean energy resource that could be developed using local people and equipment.
"The location of geothermal activity and its possible benefit and association to the dairy and tourism sectors provide real opportunities from an economic perspective,” Gilbertson said.
Additional exploration and drilling will be needed to assess the economic potential.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2017/05/scientists-discover-extreme-geothermal-activity-in-new-zealand-s-south-island.html
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(https://www.cleanenergywire.org/sites/all/themes/clew/logo.png)
11 Oct 2017
Hamburg successfully tests aquifer heat storage system (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.clker.com%2Fcliparts%2Fc%2F8%2Ff%2F8%2F11949865511933397169thumbs_up_nathan_eady_01.svg.hi.png&hash=599691109af22b33f1d59dd61eb97448a9427020)
... to replace a coal plant and which can provide heat to 8,000 households in winter, ...
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/climate-targets-grave-danger-union-wants-energiewende-ministry/hamburg-successfully-tests-aquifer-heat-storage-system (https://www.cleanenergywire.org/news/climate-targets-grave-danger-union-wants-energiewende-ministry/hamburg-successfully-tests-aquifer-heat-storage-system)
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St. Patrick’s 🍀 Cathedral In New York City Goes Green With $35 Million Geothermal Installation ✨
March 19th, 2018 by Steve Hanley
St. Patrick’s Cathedral on New York’s Fifth Avenue is undergoing a $200 million renovation. Part of that upgrade is a new $35 million geothermal heating and cooling system that replaces the steam boiler and air conditioning system installed nearly 60 years ago. The new system is expected to reduce the cost of heating and cooling the 76,000 square foot cathedral and surrounding campus by about a third, which will also keep about 94,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide out of the skies over New York City every year.
(https://c1cleantechnicacom-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/files/2018/03/geothermal-system-St-Patricks-Cathedral.jpg)
geothermal heating and cooling system St. Patrick's Cathedral Credit: Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects
Sustainable And Cost Effective
“It was not only the most sustainable, cost-effective, long-term energy option for the cathedral, but the option that best aligns with the greater good of New York, and not just today, but for generations to come,” Monsignor Robert T. Ritchie, the rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, tells the New York Times. Jeffrey Murphy, leader of the team from Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects that is overseeing the entire renovation, adds this insight: “If you are an institution that isn’t going to be here for hundreds of years, you may do something less expensive. But if you are interested in sustainability, and you are interested in the long haul, it is a great system.”
The heart of the geothermal system is a collection of 10 wells 8″ in diameter drilled into the bedrock beneath the cathedral. The deepest of the wells goes down 2,200 feet. They feed groundwater at a constant 55º F into a complex jumble of pipes, condensers, and compressors that fit inside the cathedral’s former boiler room. The designers weren’t entirely sure the system would be capable of handling all the heating and cooling needs of the campus, so they included a conventional cooling tower and gas fired furnace as a backup, just in case. But during the year the system has been in place, it has kept up with the hottest summer weather and coldest winter temperatures without assistance.
One of the requirements for the geothermal system was that the outer and inner appearance of the cathedral not be altered in any discernible way. The diocese of New York hopes the switch to geothermal will inspire curators of other historic buildings in the city to follow suit, something they would not be inclined to do if it meant changing the look of their buildings.
Geothermal Is Not For Everyone
Geothermal is not a magic cure for all older buildings, however. The General Theological Seminary, the Episcopal seminary in Chelsea on Manhattan’s west side, began experimenting with a geothermal system in 2005 but ended up using it for only about a quarter of its needs. “If you don’t take into consideration the cost of machinery and the maintenance over an 80-year period, sure, it’s a great deal,” says the Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle, the seminary’s dean and president. “But when you take into consideration that the submerged pumps have to be pulled out and maintained and sometimes changed out, for us it made less economic sense than any projection ever described.”
Reverend Dunkle’s reservations may sound familiar to those considering the purchase of an electric car. The technology is changing fast and what is state of the art today may be hopelessly out of date in a few years’ time.
An Audacious Plan
New York City is a strong proponent of geothermal systems and uses them in several facilities managed by the city, including the Queens Botanical Garden, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, and the lion house at the Bronx Zoo. Cornell University has a new technology campus on Roosevelt Island which relies on a geothermal system.
Jeffrey Murphy lauds the diocese for choosing to convert to a geothermal system as part of its renovation program. “I think it really showed a profound sense of optimism and in some ways audaciousness,” he says, “that this venerable institution would consider geothermal technology for their building.” Celebrating traditions that reach back in time more than two thousand years is no reason not to leverage the most modern technology available to protect an historic landmark and serve the needs of the parishioners and visitors to the cathedral while making the surrounding community more sustainable.
Geothermal For Residential Applications
https://youtu.be/y_ZGBhy48YI
Geothermal technology is not limited to large buildings like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and commercial structures. All the benefits it provides for large energy users apply equally well to residential use as well. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they have invented a new pump for geothermal systems that is 50% more efficient. In fact, new techniques don’t require drilling holes in the earth at all. Instead, trenches as little as 4 feet deep can provide many of the same benefits as groundwater systems. Before installing a new boiler or air conditioning system, you may want to explore the benefits that a residential geothermal system could provide for your own home.
Hat Tip to Steve MacAusland of Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light. 🌟
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/19/st-patricks-cathedral-new-york-city-goes-green-35-million-geothermal-installation/ (https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/19/st-patricks-cathedral-new-york-city-goes-green-35-million-geothermal-installation/)
Agelbert COMMENT: Passive, as well as active geothermal should have been subsidized by the US government for the last century instead of fossil fuels. If that had been the case, a lot of the environmental problems we have would not be so intractable.
A lot of wars would have been avoided.
AND, a lot of degraded democracy and profit over planet government corruption by the fossil fuel fascists(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2Fpirates5B15D_th.gif&hash=32438e1ed2c4d1823d4ed2a193286525c840a605) would never have assaulted we-the-people.
Active high temperature geothermal is also far more efficient than nuclear power plants, as well as not having the radioactive waste endlless pollution cost problem. The steam trubines used in active geothermal are exactly the same ones used at nuclear power plants, with the same temperature handling features (about 600° C).
It is never too late to build these geothermal power plants in the hot spots the US has (both in the lower 48 and Alaska) with massive electrical transmission lines going to every city in the USA. That, plus wind and solar, along with storage, would totally eliminate the use of fossil fuels for fuel, since all transportation and heating could be electricity powered). We would still need hydrocarbons for lubricants, but their use as lubricants is justified because that does not increase global warming.
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(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-041114223919.png&hash=21dbe79e92af6de6c21891cc4a70292d9f126528)
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Mount Spurr, Alska(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-311017193926.png&hash=135a7bcd2093b679e425bbd2086adb8ddfd2e7b5)
Alaska looking to tap into wealth 💵 of geothermal resources in volcanic 🌋 hot-zones.
By Parker O'Halloran
14 Jun 2017
SNIPPET:
Experts believe that if fully exploited across the United States, geothermal resources could supply about a quarter of the entire US populations’ power needs. “High prices and climate change are definitely creating a renaissance in geothermal interest, particularly on a state and local level” – says Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association, adding that the projects currently underway are merely the “tip of the iceberg.” “If we really want to go all out for it, we could easily achieve a substantial amount; 20, 25 per cent of US energy needs within a few decades. We’re limited more by public policy than the resource – the resource is enormous.”
Full article:
http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/alaska-plans-to-evaluate-and-explore-its-geothermal-potential/ (http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/alaska-plans-to-evaluate-and-explore-its-geothermal-potential/)
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Agelbert NOTE: Two years old but even more pertinent now. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F301.gif&hash=0291ed4abf2d80e420d1aa00d4eb3c5dd6bbfb53)
Midwestern geothermal greenhouse provides local citrus year round for $1 a day (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714183515.bmp&hash=4a3ad9d0a78a7e161f53ddd84f568082a5b0d2ad)
Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer)
Science / Sustainable Agriculture
February 12, 2016
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-150216181630.png&hash=ba75d9075a4dfdc817eb623569f5c70e94893bdc)
Tiny tiger on the hunt in the tropics of a Nebraska Greenhouse (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.coh2.org%2Fimages%2FSmileys%2Fhuhsign.gif&hash=3732d0427be65896527fc3805c5be54a33cffd3b)
Greenhouse in the Snow, built by a former mailman, grows an abundance of local produce high on the Nebraska plains.
"We can grow the best citrus in the world, right here on the high plains,” says Russ Finch, the former mailman (pictured above) who is the creative superstar genius responsible for building the Greenhouse in the Snow. And he can do it spending only $1 a day in energy costs. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F19.gif&hash=3f9f2fc2285bc756137e21463bc2a4c420b15ac3)
For Midwesterners (and many of the rest of us) produce in the winter means things imported form warmer climes or grown in greenhouses, which typically have a prodigious hunger for energy and are fed by burning fossil fuels.
But by harnessing the Earth's natural internal heat to warm a greenhouse, oranges and other tropical treats thrive without the waste and pollution typically found in so much agriculture. Finch’s structure is a take on a walipini – a brilliant design that TreeHugger has written about (and which remains one of our most popular posts: Build a $300 underground greenhouse for year-round gardening).
As Grant Gerlock writes at NPR, the floor is dug 4 feet below the surface, the roof is slanted toward the south to harness as much sun as it can. In the daytime it can warm well into the 80s (F) inside, but at night the temperature drops, which is when the geothermal heat is called in.
"All we try to do is keep it above 28F degrees in the winter," Finch says. "We have no backup system for heat. The only heat source is the Earth's heat, at 52F degrees at 8-foot deep."
Which is good enough for the oranges, and all kinds of other delicacies. ;D
"Any type of plant we saw, we would put it in and see what it could do. We didn't baby anything," Finch says. "We just put it in and if it died, it died. But most everything really grows well. We can grow practically any tropical plant."
"There have been hardly any successful 12-month greenhouses on the northern High Plains because of the weather," Finch adds. "The cost of energy is too high for it. But by tapping into the Earth's heat, we've been able to drastically reduce the cost."
Finch grows a few hundred pounds of fruit each year to sell at local farmers markets, notes Gerlock, but his main business is selling the design for his greenhouse in the snow. And while a new greenhouse costs $22,000 to build, the beauty of running them is kind of priceless. To date, 17 of his designs have been built in the U.S. and Canada – we hope to see many more.
Changing the world one orange-grown-in-the-winter-in-Nebraska at a time? Bring it on! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pic4ever.com%2Fimages%2F128fs318181.gif&hash=eff6d5f3831782966c2ff2081f07bf7fc5b22a6b)
Watch the charming Mr. FInch (and cat! (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frobservations.ca%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F02%2Fhappy-cat1.jpg&hash=468b07d248f880b63fdda22e22561c5ce8d3ae29)) in a tour of the greenhouse in the video below.
https://youtu.be/IZghkt5m1uY
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/midwestern-geothermal-greenhouse-provides-local-citrus-year-round.html (http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/midwestern-geothermal-greenhouse-provides-local-citrus-year-round.html)
that is a really cool post. I love my hoophouse but it's only for season extention. I'll build a walipini someday...
Thanks David
You are very welcome, David. (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7) Please feel free to post about any project of yours here.
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Geo Exchange
Geo Exchange is a system of heating and cooling that uses water and ground loops to use the earth as a heat sink or heat source in the winter. It also sinks heat into the ground in the summer, as well as heating your hot water year round.
The environmental benefits are that this system is non-polluting, has no exhaust emissions, reduced CO2 emissions, and requires a smaller amount of both power and refrigerant than conventional systems.
The annual savings are about 60% over conventional heating and cooling costs.
A proud homeowner explains the system in this video. 👍 😎
https://youtu.be/dl6Gfr1YA7U
Water is circulated through polyethylene pipes in closed loops that are installed below the ground. The loops are connected to an extended range water source heat pump.
The environmental benefits are that this system is non-polluting, has no exhaust emissions, reduced CO2 emissions and requires a smaller amount of both power and refrigerant than conventional systems.
The upfront capital costs for a geo exchange system are 35-40% more, but annual savings with a system like this are about 60% over conventional heating and cooling costs. The payback for the system in this video was 6 years, and now the owner is making money on it.
--Bibi Farber
This video was produced by Fair Companies
http://www.nextworldtv.com/page/1736.html
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July 18th, 2019 by Steve Hanley (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-060914180936.jpeg&hash=5e39d70fafe4e7190a6eebce34b740c58721de3f)
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2017/02/geothermal_resource2009-final-2-768x593.jpg)
Image courtesy NREL
A New Kind Of Geothermal Energy And Faster Charging Batteries Are Coming (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-130418194321.png&hash=8173da4a30c1a38649fa5c27606f4df81f102148) (https://cleantechnica.com/2019/07/18/a-new-kind-of-geothermal-energy-and-faster-charging-batteries-are-coming/)
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Where Is All The Geothermal Energy? (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-200714191404.bmp&hash=007a2c20b76f970316a559a6e27cfd70c11f5998)
136,643 views
https://youtu.be/vZLo0-lwK1k
Real Engineering
Published on Aug 31, 2019
Be one of the first 500 people to sign up with this link and get 20% off your subscription with Brilliant.org! https://brilliant.org/realengineering/
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Geothermal diy #1 (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Frenewablerevolution.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F1%2F3-120818185039-1655102.gif&hash=1a13ffad2c8451cba6f45b04a1249447d50c3e73)
137,745 views Nov 14, 2017
https://youtu.be/TNLrjMjYD4s
Larry shea (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-080515182559.png&hash=d4dfa952fa0f817bf30a8059a4c88d6fb05ee1bf)
1.34K subscribers
Build your own basic GeoThermal closed loop earth recirculating system for under $800.00. This system has 300' of pressurized 3/4 inch polyethylene geoloop underground
GeoThermal DIY #2
15,535 views Jan 31, 2020
https://youtu.be/pfJQWDf958E
Larry shea (https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-141113185701.png&hash=615e3c1aa9c374cb1eab5bfc1e9494f2cb05e9f7)
1.34K subscribers
Build your own basic GeoThermal closed loop earth recirculating system for under $800.00. This system has 300' of pressurized 3/4 inch polypropylene geoloop underground.
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Geothermal Drilling: U.S. DOE Announces $20 Million To Lower Costs Of Geothermal Drilling
February 5, 2022 By U.S. Department of Energy
Drilling Efficiency Demonstrations Will Set the Stage for Transferring Lab Technology to the Marketplace
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $20 million in funding to lower the cost of developing geothermal energy by demonstrating faster drilling technologies to shorten the time it takes to develop projects overall. DOE is looking to dramatically lower the cost of geothermal drilling — which can exceed 50% of a project’s total costs. Projects selected for drilling demonstrations will spur further investment in geothermal energy, which can be a critical source of zero-carbon energy that’s available around the clock year-round. This initiative advances President Biden’s goals to support fossil energy communities that are building upon their existing energy infrastructure to drive innovation and economic growth in emerging zero-carbon industries.
“There is incredible, untapped potential to use the heat beneath our feet to meet our energy demands with a renewable source that can be found in all pockets of this country,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Not only is the use of geothermal energy a significant asset for reaching a carbon-free grid by 2035, it can drive the creation of good paying jobs in energy communities as the country transitions to cleaner, more reliable energy sources.”
The Drilling Demos initiative, led by DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), builds upon DOE advancements in geothermal drilling technologies that streamline drilling time and improve penetration rates in laboratory. Demonstrations within this latest initiative will accelerate the transfer of geothermal drilling advancements from the laboratory to the marketplace.
WATCH: Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Power Alejandro Moreno explains the process for geothermal drilling and how the Drilling Demos initiative will streamline it.
https://youtu.be/xfpqtlvJpj4
GTO seeks applications from drilling services providers, well service companies, research institutions, geothermal operators and developers, and other entities that can provide real-world, immediate solutions to address the goal of increasing the average daily drilling penetration rates for geothermal wells. Entities that control well access and operations — both commercial and government-funded — are encouraged to apply. Join GTO’s Drilling Demos Teaming Partner List to connect with prospective team members.
Letters of intent are due by April 4, and full applications are due June 3. Learn more about the Drilling Demos initiative.
Courtesy of Energy.Gov
https://cleantechnica.com/2022/02/05/geothermal-drilling-u-s-doe-announces-20-million-to-lower-costs-of-geothermal-drilling/
Harry Johnson
The map shows a ridiculously large area of red and dark orange favorable geothermal resources. Oil drillers record the temperature at the base of a well regardless if they hit oil or gas. Drilling for geothermal power can replace expensive gas peaker plants and aging out nuclear plants. It has the highest capacity factor, even better than nuclear.
(https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f1eedf38399d0f06378fce894a61d1fe75904c30423233d3f593a08d34cc4619.png)
The 1,205 MW Geysers Geothermal Complex in California has been producing power since 1960. Geothermal is a no-brainer.
agelbert > Harry Johnson
👍👍👍 Well said.
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-041114223919.png&hash=21dbe79e92af6de6c21891cc4a70292d9f126528)
(https://cleantechnica.com/files/2017/02/geothermal_resource2009-final-2-768x593.jpg)
(https://renewablerevolution.createaforum.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.createaforum.com%2Fgallery%2Frenewablerevolution%2F3-031214182837.png&hash=f0ff9be439b3eae4a6416b8001cf847b28ace523)