Accelerating Geothermal Research Geothermal research at the National Renewable Laboratory (NREL) is advancing geothermal technologies to increase renewable power production. Continuous and not dependent on weather, the geo- thermal resource has the potential to jump to more than 500 gigawatts in electricity production, which is equivalent to roughly half of the current U.S. capacity. The largest geothermal field in the world is The Geysers, near San Francisco. NREL has worked with Calpine Corporation, the owner and Enhanced geothermal systems have a broad regional operator of most of The Geysers plants, to apply distribution in the United States, allowing the potential R&D 100 Award-winning technology to plants to improve perfor- for development in many locations across the country. mance. Photo from Pacific Gas & Electric, NREL 00060

Supporting a Cleaner Environment NREL’s core capabilities NREL is a strategic partner of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). NREL teams are that support office goals include: leading the research and deployment efforts through various projects. Summaries of a few key activities follow. • Analysis that informs GTO decisions in the development of near- and long-term geothermal technologies through strategic Geothermal-Solar Hybrids: The objective is to examine the and techno-economic analysis. Identification of opportunities viability of using solar thermal heat combined with geother- to mitigate market barriers provides an important boost to the mal energy to improve plant efficiency and reduce cost. This prospects for near-term geothermal systems. project, performed by NREL and the Idaho National Laborato- • Power Systems Engineering contributes to improved energy ry, evaluates the potential and feasibility of using solar heat to conversion components developed in R&D activities leading to mitigate the risks and consequences of an underperforming reductions in the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of geothermal geothermal resource. NREL is studying the adverse impacts energy. These skills are also applied to field demonstrations of of seasonally higher summer ambient temperatures on plant geothermal technology ensuring that engineering improve- output, and thus, how to improve the economics of geother- ments are captured for use by the private sector. mal energy and contribute to goals of reducing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of new geothermal systems. • Systems Engineering and Integration ensures issues that occur at system interfaces (e.g., the interaction of reservoir lifetime Low-Temperature and Coproduced Resource Demonstration: performance with the above-ground energy conversion system) This project demonstrates the coproduction of geothermal are properly recognized, evaluated, and optimized for overall energy during operations in oil and gas production. The dem- system performance and cost. onstration validates a novel application of in a large untapped resource. In addition, the study collects a • Decision Science aids geothermal technology stakeholders with large dataset of operating performance that optimizes future access and understanding of information relevant for identify- commercial systems. ing and efficiently developing geothermal resources. Examples include support for the National Geothermal Data System and Low-Enthalpy Geothermal : While thermal the Geothermal Prospector. desalination of saline water is energy-intensive, rejected

NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. geothermal brine provides large quanti- One of Calpine’s 15 geothermal ties of low-grade heat for the various power plants at The Geysers, the processes, like desalination. Big Geyser plant has an installed capacity of 97 megawatts. Big Results of the project provide DOE Geyser has been in operation with insight into the potential impacts since 1980 and is a dry steam-type and technology challenges related to geothermal power plant. Photo from geothermal desalination. The project Calpine Corporation, NREL 17270 expands a desalination decision support software tool developed by project part- provide the geothermal industry with ner Colorado School of Mines. The data more effective, lower cost and lower risk and tools developed in the project allow methods. The project, a joint effort with stakeholders to identify the most effi- the Colorado School of Mines, identifies cient and suitable desalination processes pathways for technology transfer and ad- for site-specific applications. vises GTO about opportunities to acceler- Exploration Analysis and Open EI: The ate technology transfer and testing of exploration phase of geothermal projects petroleum best practices for geothermal. is very uncertain; thus, its successful Regulatory and Permitting Information completion remains one of the greatest Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit: Reducing the challenges for increased deployment. permitting time, or reducing the number Previous work by NREL related to explora- of required permits, can significantly tion analyses involved development of An NREL senior geothermal analyst exam- ines a heat sensor order before the wire lessen total project costs and investor an exploration knowledge exchange attached to the sensor descends 500 feet risk, encouraging clean energy develop- framework on OpenEI—an NREL-spon- under the new IKEA store construction ments for the benefit of all stakeholders. sored energy information exchange site in Centennial, Colorado. The new store Building on the success of the Geother- (en.openei.org). relies on geothermal heat pumps to supply much of its heating, cooling, and hot water mal Regulatory Roadmap at improving Sedimentary Geothermal Potential: needs. Photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17907 outcomes for federal permitting and Commercial development of low- review of infrastructure projects, NREL permeability sedimentary geothermal is partnering with others to create a stimulation, and long-reach horizontal systems would greatly expand the size new suite of tools to facilitate efficient completions to increase reservoir pro- of the geothermal resource potential. permitting of new geothermal, solar, and ductivity to commercial levels. NREL’s Sedimentary Geothermal Feasibil- transmission projects—the RAPID Toolkit ity Study uses technoeconomic model- Drilling and Completion Systems: NREL (en.openei.org/wiki/RAPID). ing to focus on a sedimentary basin with identifies oil and gas drilling and Geothermal Prospector: Access to a wide relatively low permeability, and studies completion practices (methods and range of data is critical to the develop- reservoir enhancement techniques, technologies) that can be transferred to ment and adoption of geothermal tech- including hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic geothermal drilling and completion, to nology. Everything from geologic maps, temperature measurements, land cover, A hot spring near Steamboat land ownership, the potential to support Springs, Colorado, is a visually ob- other energy technologies, and popula- vious geothermal resource. Espe- tion areas are needed to understand cially in many proven and potential technology limitations and opportunities. geothermal resource sites in the western United States, geothermal NREL’s Geothermal Prospector (maps. energy is right under our feet. Photo nrel.gov/) aims to provide easy access to from Sierra Pacific, NREL 07215 publicly available data generated through DOE and other institutions.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper 15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401 containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov 10% post consumer waste. Photo credits (page 1 top, left to right): Building NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Science Corporation, NREL 13574; Dennis Schroeder, NREL/FS-5500-61279 Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy NREL 26217; iStock 20968071; David Parsons, NREL May 2014 Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC 01045; Joah Bussert, NREL 20002; iStock 4245455