Water Use in Geothermal Applications
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
New Studies Aid in Optimizing Water Use in Geothermal Applications
Three key reports from the Energy Department address water impacts in geothermal energy production. Two recently issued studies, produced by Argonne National Laboratory for the Department's Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO), highlight methods for economizing water use in geothermal applications. These reports complement a Department-wide report released in June that assesses water usage in multiple energy applications, including geothermal.
Geothermal Water Use: Life Cycle Water Consumption, Water Resource Assessment, and Water Policy Framework, now available through the Energy Department'sGeothermal Data Repository, projects geothermal water demand over the next 20-30 years. The incremental increases from geothermal development in its current trajectory will likely be manageable in most basins, according to this study by Argonne National Laboratory. As EGS advancements lead to more commercial pathways and the resource base becomes more fully exploited, water conflicts could be mitigated with technological improvements that help minimize belowground water losses and favor lower quality water sources such as brackish or saline groundwater.
Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems, also available through the DOE Geothermal Data Repository is third in a series of reports by Argonne sponsored by the GTO. By evaluating the water requirements of four power plant scenarios, including flash and binary systems, this work highlights the importance of utilizing dry cooling systems for binary and EGS systems and minimizing fresh water consumption throughout the life cycle of geothermal power development. Methods focus specifically on (1) collection of data to improve estimation of EGS stimulation volumes, aboveground operational consumption for all geothermal technologies, and belowground operational consumption for EGS; and (2) the mapping of the geothermal and water resources of the western United States to assist in the identification of potential water challenges to geothermal growth.
The Department's Water-Energy Tech Team report -The Water-Energy Nexus: Challenges and Opportunities- frames an integrated challenge and opportunity dialogue to address water use among energy technologies for the Department and its partners, laying the foundation for future efforts. Geothermal technologies are key among those described. Low- temperature and coproduced geothermal power, for example, are highlighted as a method to increase the productive use of waste heat. Other ways to optimize water use in geothermal applications include the use of alternative fluids that can replace fresh water in geothermal operations. Learn more aboutlow-temperature and coproducedandhydrothermalresources.
In support of the Obama Administration's Open Data Policy, the Department deployed theNational Geothermal Data System (NGDS)this year - an online, open-source platform that facilitates discovery and use of subsurface geothermal data for research and energy production. This open source platform responds to one of industry's greatest barriers to geothermal development and deployment: the difficulty in accessing and integrating technical data in digital format. In addition, all Energy Department-funded geothermal projects will submit cutting-edge research data to the network through a dedicated interface called the Geothermal Data Repository (GDR). Already, industry is using the free, online tool to model geological features and locate and monitor subsurface reservoirs. The new Argonne National Laboratory reports are available on the Geothermal Technologies Office GDR.
Geothermal Water Use: Life Cycle Water Consumption, Water Resource Assessment, and Water Policy Framework
This report examines life cycle water consumption for various geothermal technologies to better understand factors that affect water consumption across the life cycle (e.g., power plant cooling, belowground fluid losses) and to assess the potential water challenges that future geothermal power generation projects may face. Previous reports in this series quantified the life cycle freshwater requirements of geothermal power-generating systems, explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids, and assessed future water demand by geothermal power plants according to growth projections for the industry. This report seeks to extend those analyses by including EGS flash, both as part of the life cycle analysis and water resource assessment. A regional water resource assessment based upon the life cycle results is also presented. Finally, the legal framework of water with respect to geothermal resources in the states with active geothermal development is also analyzed.
Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects
This report is the third in a series of reports sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program in which a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production are evaluated. The first report made an initial attempt at quantifying the life cycle fresh water requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids. The initial analysis of life cycle fresh water consumption of geothermal power-generating systems identified that operational water requirements consumed the vast majority of water across the life cycle. However, it relied upon limited operational water consumption data and did not account for belowground operational losses for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). A second report presented an initial assessment of fresh water demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation. The current analysis builds upon this work to improve life cycle fresh water consumption estimates and incorporates regional water availability into the resource assessment to improve the identification of areas where future growth in geothermal electricity generation may encounter water challenges.
Read More Related Content On This Topic - Click Here
Media
Taxonomy
- Job Function
- Groundwater Recharge