GEOTHERMAL-ENERGY(Heat-Under-Your-Feet)pdf

GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
The Power Of Heat Right Under Your Feet
Project By
Darryl DMello
Mohammed Afzal Sheikh
Vikrant Gupta
Danish Rauf Sheikh
June 2016

The Power Of Heat Right Under Your Feet 2
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................4
2. ENERGY INSIDE THE EARTH...............................................................................................7
3. WHERE IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY FOUND.......................................................................9
3.1 Different Geothermal Energy Sources .............................................................................10
4. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY— AN ALTERNATIVE .................................................................11
5. HISTORY OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ..............................................................................14
6. USES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ...................................................................................15
6.1 Direct Use Of Geothermal Energy ...................................................................................16
6.2 Geothermal Power Plants................................................................................................17
6.3 Geothermal Energy In Homes, Farming, Industry, Infrastructure & Electricity..................19
7. CURRENT ADVANCEMENTS..............................................................................................22
7.1 The Western Frontier.......................................................................................................23
7.2 Behind The Scenes ........................................................................................................25
7.3 The International Showcase ............................................................................................26
8. CHARECTERISTIC OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY...............................................................27
8.1 Pro’s Of Geothermal Energy............................................................................................28
8.2 Con’s Of Geothermal Energy...........................................................................................28
8.3 Advantages Of Geothermal Energy .................................................................................28
8.4 Disadvantages Of Geothermal Energy ............................................................................30
9. APPLICATIONS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY....................................................................32
9.1 Direct- Use Applications Of Geothermal Energy ..............................................................33
10. HOW IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CONVERTED TO ELECTRICITY................................41
10.1 Geothermal Dry Steam Power Plants ............................................................................42
10.2 Geothermal Flash Steam Power Plants .........................................................................44
10.3 Geothermal Binary Cycle Power Plants .........................................................................47
11. COGENERATION (Combined Heat & Power)...................................................................49
12. POTENTIAL IN INDIA & OTHER COUNTRIES..................................................................50
12.1 Regions With Geothermal Potential In India ..................................................................52
12.2 Worldwide Production....................................................................................................53
13. HISTORICAL CAPACITY & CONSUMPTION DATA OF INDIA.........................................58
14. ESTABLISHMENT OF GEOTHERMAL PLANTS IN INDIA................................................60

15. GREEN JOBS THROUGH GEOTHERMAL ENERGY........................................................62
15.1 Job Quality ....................................................................................................................62
15.2 Rural Employment .........................................................................................................63
15.3 Types Of Jobs Created..................................................................................................63
15.4 Jobs Through Geothermal Development .......................................................................64
16. COST, PRICE & CHALLENGES ........................................................................................65
17. INSTALLATION OF GEOTHERMAL PLANT FOR HOUSEHOLD PURPOSES.................67
17. RD&D PRIORITIES ............................................................................................................69
18. CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................69
19. BIBLIOGRAPHY.................................................................................................................70

1. INTRODUCTION
The word geothermal is comprised of the Greek words geo, meaning "earth," and
thermal meaning "heat." Earth has four different sections: crust, mantle, outer core, and
inner core. The first section, the crust, keeps us insulated from the interior heat of the

earth. The crust is what we stand on every day. The second section, the mantle, starts
at a depth of 1,250 miles and is semi-molten. The third section, the outer core, starts at
a depth of 2,500 miles and is liquid. And finally, the inner core is solid and is made up of
nickel and iron. It starts at a depth of 4,000 miles and is 9,000°F
Many features on the crust demonstrate the heat and power within the earth: geysers,
fumaroles, and mud pots, to name a few. While each is a different result of the heat
from within the earth, the source of the heat is the same.
Geothermal energy is a kind of energy that is renewable and sustainable because it
relies on water moving through the water cycle and the interior heat of the earth. All
water on Earth is part of the global water cycle; thus, water is a renewable resource.
Rainwater seeps miles into the earth. After being heated inside of the earth, the
rainwater resurfaces as steam or as hot water, which ultimately lead to some of the
features on the crust, mentioned above. Sometimes hot water and steam get trapped in
permeable and porous rock under a layer of impermeable rock. This is called a
geothermal reservoir. Geothermal reservoirs can reach temperatures of up to 700°F.
Geothermal energy is obtained by tapping into a geothermal reservoir and using the hot
water or steam within it to operate a turbine. As the turbine rotates, it generates
electricity. These turbines are located at geothermal plants. There are three different
kinds of geothermal plants: dry steam, flash steam, and binary cycle. In all cases, the
plant becomes part of a cycle where hot water or steam from the reservoir comes in,
creates electricity, is cooled, and is then sent back to the reservoir. When the cooled
water comes back to the reservoir, it is heated and the cycle starts again. Another
advantage of geothermal energy is that the power plants don't emit any greenhouse
gases into the air. The only material that geothermal energy plants emit is water vapor
Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal
energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. The geothermal energy
of the Earth's crust originates from the original formation of the planet and from

radioactive decay of materials (in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal
proportions). The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between
the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy
in the form of heat from the core to the surface. The adjective geothermal originates
from the Greek roots γη (ge), meaning earth, and θερμος (thermos), meaning hot.
Earth’s internal heat is thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and continual
heat loss from Earth's formation. Temperatures at the core-mantle boundary may reach
over 4000 °C (7,200 °F). The high temperature and pressure in Earth's interior cause
some rock to melt and solid mantle to behave plastically, resulting in portions of mantle
convecting upward since it is lighter than the surrounding rock. Rock and water is
heated in the crust, sometimes up to 370 °C (700 °F).]
From hot springs, geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times
and for space heating since ancient Roman times, but it is now better known for
electricity generation. Worldwide, 11,700 megawatt (MW) of geothermal power is online
in 2013. An additional 28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is installed for
district heating, space heating, spas, industrial processes, desalination and agricultural
applications in 2010.
Geothermal power is cost effective, reliable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly,
but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries. Recent
technological advances have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable
resources, especially for applications such as home heating, opening a potential for
widespread exploitation. Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep
within the earth, but these emissions are much lower per energy unit than those of fossil
fuels. As a result, geothermal power has the potential to help mitigate global warming if
widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.
The Earth's geothermal resources are theoretically more than adequate to supply
humanity's energy needs, but only a very small fraction may be profitably exploited.
Drilling and exploration for deep resources is very expensive. Forecasts for the future of
geothermal power depend on assumptions about technology, energy prices, subsidies,
and interest rates. Pilot programs like EWEB's customer opt in Green Power Program
show that customers would be willing to pay a little more for a renewable energy source
like geothermal. But as a result of government assisted research and industry
experience, the cost of generating geothermal power has decreased by 25% over the
past two decades. In 2001, geothermal energy costs between two and ten US cents per
kWh.

2. ENERGY INSIDE THE EARTH

Geothermal energy is generated in the earth's core, about 4,000 miles below the
surface. Temperatures hotter than the sun's surface are continuously produced inside
the earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles, a process that happens in all rocks.
The earth has a number of different layers:
 The core itself has two layers: a solid iron core and an outer core made of very
hot melted rock, called magma.
 The mantle which surrounds the core and is about 1,800miles thick. It is made up
of magma and rock.
 The crust is the outermost layer of the earth, the land that forms the continents
and ocean floors. It can be three to five miles thick under the oceans and 15 to
35 miles thick on the continents.
 The earth's crust is broken into pieces called plates. Magma comes close to the
earth's surface near the edges of these plates. This is where volcanoes occur.
The lava that erupts from volcanoes is partly magma. Deep underground, the
rocks and water absorb the heat from this magma. The temperature of the rocks
and water get hotter and hotter as you go deeper underground.
People around the world use geothermal energy to heat their homes and to produce
electricity by digging deep wells and pumping the heated underground water or steam
to the surface. Or, we can make use of the stable temperatures near the surface of the
earth to heat and cool buildings.

3. WHERE IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY FOUND
Most geothermal reservoirs are deep underground with no visible clues showing above
ground
Geothermal energy can sometimes find its way to the surface in the form of: volcanoes
and fumaroles (holes where volcanic gases are released) hot springs and geysers.
The most active geothermal resources are usually found along major plate boundaries
where earthquakes and volcanoes are concentrated. Most of the geothermal activity in
the world occurs in an area called the Ring of Fire. This area rims the Pacific Ocean.
When magma comes close to the surface it heats ground water found trapped in porous
rock or water running along fractured rock surfaces and faults. Such hydrothermal
resources have two common ingredients: water (hydro) and heat (thermal). Naturally
occurring large areas of hydrothermal resources are called geothermal reservoirs.
Geologists use different methods to look for geothermal reservoirs. Drilling a well and
testing the temperature deep underground is the only way to be sure a geothermal
reservoir really exists.
Most of the geothermal reservoirs in the United States are located in the western
states,Alaska, and Hawaii. California is the state that generates the most electricity from
geothermal energy. The Geysers dry steam reservoir in northern California is the largest
known dry steam field in the world. The field has been producing electricity since 1960.

3.1 Different Geothermal Energy Sources
 Hot Water Reservoirs: As the name implies these are reservoirs of hot
underground water. There is a large amount of them in the US, but they are
more suited for space heating than for electricity production.
 Natural Stem Reservoirs: In this case a hole dug into the ground can cause
steam to come to the surface. This type of resource is rare in the US.
 Geopressured Reservoirs: In this type of reserve, brine completely saturated
with natural gas in stored under pressure from the weight of overlying rock. This
type of resource can be used for both heat and for natural gas.
 Normal Geothermal Gradient: At any place on the planet, there is a normal
temperature gradient of +300
C per km dug into the earth. Therefore, if one digs
20,000 feet the temperature will be about 1900
C above the surface temperature.
This difference will be enough to produce electricity. However, no useful and
economical technology has been developed to extracted this large source of
energy.
 Hot Dry Rock: This type of condition exists in 5% of the US. It is similar to
Normal Geothermal Gradient, but the gradient is 400
C/km dug underground.
 Molten Magma: No technology exists to tap into the heat reserves stored in
magma. The best sources for this in the US are in Alaska and Hawaii.

4. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY— AN ALTERNATIVE
One other potential source of energy is the Earth’s heat. Unlike fossil fuels, it is
considered to be a relatively clean and renewable energy resource. Although hot
springs have been in use for centuries for balneological purposes, the use of the Earth’s
heat as an energy source only began early in the twentieth century when electricity was
generated for the first time from geothermal steam at Larderello, Italy in 1904. By 1913,
a 12.5 MW electric plant was in continuous operation there. The spread of the
technology to other parts of the world had been rather slow during the first half of the
twentieth century, being mostly confined to Italy. Later, interest developed in other parts
of the world with intensive pioneering exploration being carried out in New Zealand, the
United States of America and Japan, where electric power plants were commissioned in
1958, 1960 and 1961, respectively. Although geothermal water began to be used for
large-scale municipal district heating service in Iceland in 1930, electricity production
from steam started only in 1969. The utilization has increased rapidly during the last
three decades mainly from variable capacity additions by Philippines, United States,
Italy, New Zealand, Iceland, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Russia.
Development of geothermal energy registered the maximum growth rate of 22.5% per 5
years between 1980 and 1990 and a slightly smaller rate of 16.7% between 1990 and
2000 (Huttrer, 2001). Much progress in utilizing this very potential source of energy has
been made during the recent years, and this will be discussed in the later sections.
Geothermal resources vary widely from one location to another, depending on the
temperature and depth of the resource, the rock chemistry and the abundance of
ground water. Geothermal resources are predominantly of two types: high temperature
(>200 1C) such as found in volcanic regions and island chains, and moderate to-low
temperature (50–200 1C) that are usually found extensively in most continental areas.
The type of geothermal resource determines the method of its utilization. High-
temperature resources (dry steam/hot fluids) can be gainfully utilized to generate
electric power, whereas the moderate-to-low-temperature resources (warm to hot water)
are best suited for direct uses. However, aided by modern technology, even the

moderate temperature resources (100 1C) are being utilized for generation of electric
power using the binary-cycle method. The most extensive direct use of low temperature
geothermal resources (50–100 1C) is in space heating of individual buildings or entire
districts in cold countries. Geothermal water is pumped through a heat exchanger,
where it transfers its heat to city water supply systems. A second heat exchanger
transfers the heat to the building’s heating system.
Another common direct use is in heating or cooling buildings using geothermal heat
pumps, which utilize the relatively stable temperature at a depth of a few meters in the
ground. These pumps circulate water or other liquids through pipes buried in a
continuous loop. In winter, the difference between warm underground temperature and
the cold atmosphere is transferred through the buried pipes into the circulating liquid
and then transferred again into the building. In summer, circulating fluid in the pipes
collects heat from the building, thus cooling it, and transfers it into the Earth. In yet
another use, inexpensive low-temperature geothermal waters are being piped under
roads and sidewalks in Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA to keep them from freezing in
winter. In several developing nations, devoid of adequate conventional fossil fuels, there
is a high potential of geothermal resources. For example in Tibet, with no readily
available fossil fuels, the Nagqu geothermal field provides a useful energy source for
the local population with the help of a 1 MWe binary plant built in 1993. In big countries
such as the United States of America, geothermal energy will not replace fossil fuels as
a major energy resource, but would contribute significantly to the nation’s energy
requirements. Although, geothermal energy has been used to generate electricity for
about nine decades and technology for its commercial exploitation has improved over
the past two decades, the easy availability of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal at
relatively low prices is not conducive for rapid development of the geothermal industry.
The situation has changed dramatically over the past few years. International oil prices
have almost doubled, resulting in a better market for geothermal energy.
Further, the world has been alerted of increased atmospheric concentrations of
greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides in present-day
global warming scenarios and their potential impacts to the society at large. There has
been a growing recognition that use of geothermal energy contributes only a fraction of
atmospheric pollution when compared with fossil fuels such as coal and oil. The best
example comes from Iceland, where geothermal energy accounts for about 50% of total
primary energy use and 86% of all space heating, leading to a clean environment and
improved quality of life (Fridleifsson, 2001).
Today, besides being used in at least 21 countries to generate electricity totaling to
about 8000 MWe (Huttrer, 2001), geothermal energy is being used in 58 countries for
direct uses (space heating and cooling, health spas, fish farming, agricultural and
industrial purposes) totaling over 15,000 MWt (Lund and Freeston, 2001). Phillipines,

which had the second largest installed geothermal generating capacity (1900 MWe)
after the United States (2200 MWe) in the year A.D. 2000, meets about 22–27% of its
present-day electricity requirements from geothermal steam. In United States, which is
the world’s largest energy consumer, geothermal energy amounts to about 0.4% of its
overall energy production. It is estimated that worldwide electric power generation from
geothermal resources could increase by about ten folds at the present technology
levels. Several other countries are actively exploring and assessing their geothermal
resources to meet their energy requirements and contribute to world’s energy needs.
Obviously, the future use of geothermal energy would very much depend on
overcoming technical barriers both in production and utilization, and its economic
viability compared to the other energy sources. Political will of administrators in
encouraging an environmentally acceptable alternative energy resource, will also play a
very important role.

5. HISTORY OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
History says that the first use of geothermal energy occurred more than 10,000 years
ago in North America by American Paleo-Indians. People used water from hot springs
for cooking, bathing and cleaning.
The first industrial use of geothermal energy began near Pisa, Italy in late 18th century.
Steam coming from natural vents (and from drilled holes) was used to extract boric acid
from the hot pools that are now known as the Larderello fields.
In 1904, Italian scientist Piero Ginori Conti invented the first geothermal electric power
plant in which steam was used to generate the power.
With the above experiment, the first geothermal plant in USA started in 1922 with a
capacity of 250 kilowatts. It produced little output and due to technical glitch had to be
shut down. However, in 1946 first ground-source geothermal heat pump installed at
Commonwealth Building in Portland, Oregon
During the 1960’s, pacific gas and electric began operation of first large scale
geothermal power plant in San Francisco, producing 11 megawatts. Today there are
more than 60 geothermal power plants operating in USA at 18 sites across the country.

In 1973, when oil crisis began many countries began looking for renewable energy
sources and by 1980’sgeothermal heat pumps (GHP) started gaining popularity in order
to reduce heating and cooling costs.
As effect of climate change started showing results, governments of various countries
joined hands to fight against it, for which Kyoto Protocol was signed in Japan in 1997,
laid out emission targets for rich countries and required that they transfer funds and
technology to developing countries, 184 countries have ratified it.
Geothermal power today supplies less than 1% of the world’s energy in 2009 needs but
it is expected to supply 10-20% of world’s energy requirement by 2050. Geothermal
power plants today are operating in about 20 countries which are actively visited by
earthquakes and volcanoes.
6. USES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Some applications of geothermal energy use the earth's temperatures near the surface,
while others require drilling miles into the earth. The three main uses of geothermal
energy are:
1) Direct use and District heating system which use hot water from springs or
reservoirs near the surface.
2) Electricity generation in a power plant requires water or steam at very high
temperature (300 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit). Geothermal power plants are
generally built where geothermal reservoirs are located within a mile or two of the
surface.
3) Geothermal heat pumps use stable ground or water temperatures near the
earth's surface to control building temperatures above ground.
4) Geothermal energy in homes, farming, industry, infrastructure, and electricity.

6.1 Direct Use Of Geothermal Energy
The direct use of hot water as an energy source has been happening since ancient
times. The Romans, Chinese, and Native Americans used hot mineral springs for
bathing, cooking and heating. Today, many hot springs are still used for bathing, and
many people believe the hot, mineral-rich waters have natural healing powers.
After bathing, the most common direct use of geothermal energy is for heating buildings
through district heating systems. Hot water near the earth's surface can be piped
directly into buildings and industries for heat. A district heating system provides heat for
95 percent of the buildings in Reykjavik, Iceland. Examples of other direct uses include:
growing crops, and drying lumber, fruits, and vegetables.

6.2 Geothermal Power Plants
Matsukawa geothermal power station, the first commercial geothermal power station in Japan
Geothermal power plants use hydrothermal resources which have two common
ingredients: water (hydro) and heat (thermal). Geothermal plants require high
temperature (300 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit) hydrothermal resources that may come
from either dry steam wells or hot water wells. We can use these resources by drilling
wells into the earth and piping the steam or hot water to the surface. Geothermal wells
are one to two miles deep.
The United States generates more geothermal electricity than any other country but the
amount of electricity it produces is less than one-half of a percent of electricity produced
in United States. Only four states have geothermal power plants: California - has 33
geothermal power plants that produce almost 90 percent of the nation's geothermal
electricity.
 Nevada - has 14 geothermal power plants.
 Hawaii and Utah - each have one geothermal plant

There are three basic types of geothermal power plants:
 Dry steam plants - use steam piped directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn
the generator turbines. The first geothermal power plant was built in 1904 in
Tuscany, Italy at a place where natural steam was erupting from the earth.
 Flash steam plants - take high-pressure hot water from deep inside the earth and
convert it to steam to drive the generator turbines. When the steam cools, it
condenses to water and is injected back into the ground to be used over and
over again. Most geothermal power plants are flash plants.

 Binary power plants - transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another
liquid. The heat causes the second liquid to turn to steam which is used to drive a
generator turbine.
6.3 Geothermal Energy In Homes, Farming, Industry, Infrastructure &
Electricity.
Geothermal energy has more uses than you might imagine. Basically, geothermal
energy technology taps into subsurface areas where desired temperatures exist. The
uses of geothermal energy range depending on the needs.
1) Uses of Geothermal Energy for Houses
If you’re looking to cool your home in the summer, for example, one of the uses of
geothermal energy technologies is to allow you in hot times to take heat from your
house, send it down pipes into the ground (where it naturally cools), and return it to your
house (where it helps bring down the temperature inside). The technology typically uses
a liquid like antifreeze as a carrier of that heat, which is moved about in a closed-loop
piping system.
One of the other main uses of geothermal energy is the same concept but in reverse in
cold months. Geothermal energy technology is used to bring warmer temperatures into
your home without using fossil fuels, just by tapping into a heat exchange deep below
the surface of the earth. Cool, right? But geothermal energy is so much more.

2) Uses of Geothermal Energy in Farming
Some of the common uses of geothermal energy are amongst farmers, who use
geothermal energy to heat their greenhouses In Tuscany, Italy, farmers have used
water heated by geothermal energy for hundreds of years to grow vegetables in the
winter. Hungary is also a major user of geothermal energy, where eighty percent of the
energy demand from vegetables growers is met using geothermal energy technology.
Geothermal energy is also used in fish farms.
The warm water spurs the growth of animals ranging from alligators, shellfish, tropical
fish, amphibians to catfish and trout. Fish farmers from Oregon, Idaho, China, Japan,
and even Iceland use geothermal energy.
3) Flowchart on Uses of Geothermal Energy in Industry
Industry is another consumer of geothermal energy. Its uses vary from drying fruits,
drying vegetables, drying wood, and dying wool to extracting gold and silver from ore.
Check out this cool graphic from the state of California’s energy almanac for the varying
temperatures needed for a variety of industrial geothermal energy uses.

4) Uses of Geothermal Energy in Infrastructure & Electricity
Geothermal energy is also used to heat sidewalks and roads in order to prevent
freezing in the winter. Most recently, the Netherlands began using geothermal energy to
keep bike lanes from freezing in the wintertime.
The utilization of a geothermal resource by direct use by mankind has a long history i.e.
geothermal resources have been used in the Roman Empire to heat their Spas and
buildings.
Direct use applications can be found in:
1) Bathing and balneology (hot spring, medical – and Spa bathing)
2) Agriculture (greenhouse, soil sterilization, drying processes, warming processes)
3) Agriculture (fish-, prawn- etc. farming, breeding, cultivation of mushroom farms
etc.)
4) Industrial use (product drying or warming, linen and clothes blanching, process
steam applications, smelter processes in metallurgic industries like aluminum
and Zinc smelter industries)
5) Residential – and district heating or – cooling (including hotels, schools,
hospitals, factories, office buildings)
6) Shallow geothermal use applications (residential heating, heat pumps etc.)
In accordance with the temperature, the geothermal potential can be used in cascade
arrangements, whereas applications with the highest temperatures will be installed first
(i.e. process heat applications or district heating), while applications with the lowest
temperature (such as fish farming) follows at the end of such a cascade. For example,
such systems have been successfully installed in Island. Nowadays more than 15.000
thermal MW world-wide are directly used with a high growth rate. Even in countries like
Draft TNA Geothermal Germany, where the geothermal potential and conditions are
poor, direct use applications such as residential and district heating will play a major
role in the very near future.
It’s been estimated that the economic benefit of geothermal energy to the U.S. is about
$280 million per year. It serves as a great source of renewable, base-load power for
many parts of the U.S. But the potential for geothermal still exists, untapped, in a lot of
areas. At last count, 450 geothermal projects were under development, so people are
obviously catching on.
The most common use of geothermal energy is for heating residential districts and
businesses. The first U.S. district to use geothermal energy for heating dates back to
1893. However, the French beat us by almost 500 years, as records indicate they were
tapping many uses of geothermal energy back in the 15th century.

7. CURRENT ADVANCEMENTS
Researchers in Iceland found a new way to transform the heat generated by volcanic
magma into electricity. The advancement could be especially valuable in Iceland, a
country that has capitalized on its unique geology to derive a quarter of its electricity
production and around 90 percent of household heating from geothermal energy.
And it’s just the latest innovation in a series of geothermal energy breakthroughs dating
back a century to the first geothermal power generation in Italy in 1906. As these
advancements continue, geothermal energy is clearly becoming a major renewable
energy source waiting to be tapped — one that’s literally sitting beneath our feet.
―The worldwide market is moving towards double-digit growth,‖ said Karl Gawell,
executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) during the
organization’s recent International Geothermal Showcase in Washington, DC. ―There’s
lots of exciting things going on. Several years ago there were projects in 24 countries,
this year almost 700 projects are under development in 76 countries across the globe.‖
When it isn’t drawing on magma-heated steam, geothermal energy is generated by
water heated in underground geothermal reservoirs to create steam and turn an

electricity-generating turbine. The hotter the ground, the hotter the resource and the
more energy can be generated. Iceland lies on two major fault lines and is one of the
most tectonically active places on Earth, making it an obvious geothermal hot spot. The
aim of many of the recent technological advances is to generate geothermal power
economically from lower subterranean heat levels found around the planet.
Modern geothermal generation is surprisingly helpful for meeting climate change goals,
even in comparison to renewable sources like wind and solar. The very best geothermal
plants generate as few greenhouse gas emissions as hydroelectric plants and less than
solar photovoltaic’s over their complete life-cycle, according to a study by Argonne
National Laboratory. Combine this with the fact that the U.S. Geological Survey
estimates that the untapped geothermal resource in the U.S. is between 100 and 500
gigawatts, and the emissions savings could really start to add up, both domestically and
globally where the resource is much larger.
A geothermal reservoir is a heated body of water trapped underground in cracks and
porous rock. These reservoirs are extremely powerful; when the water isn’t trapped, it
manifests itself on the surface as hot springs or geysers. To develop electricity from
geothermal resources, wells are drilled into geothermal reservoirs. Over time, the water
or steam pressure can become depleted, at which point outside resources can be
pumped back into the reservoir to recharge it.
A century ago, coal-powered electricity was just emerging as a valuable commodity.
Today, with coal’s value undercut by a number of health and environmental factors,
geothermal is one of the renewable sources primed to replace that power in the global
energy market. With greenhouse gases rising just as sharply as energy production,
climate change is creating a similar global push for a paradigm shift to clean,
sustainable sources in the electricity sector. In all this, geothermal has a powerful role to
play. Unlike intermittent renewable power sources, such as wind and solar, geothermal
can provide consistent energy 24-hours a day, making it an appealing base-load
replacement for coal and nuclear power that are responsible for keeping the power
supply stable and reliable.
7.1 The Western Frontier
In the western U.S., geothermal prospects are on the rise, especially in Nevada and
California. California already has the largest geothermal field in the world, the Geysers,
which contains 22 geothermal power plants amid 45-square miles in the Mayacamas
Mountains north of San Francisco. According to Calpine, the largest geothermal power
producer in the U.S. and operator of most of the Geysers plants, geothermal satisfies

nearly 60 percent of the average electricity demand in the coastal region between the
Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. Calpine’s Geysers operation consists of 333
steam wells and 60 injection wells, which require fluid that can be heated and turned
into steam. The average well depth is 8,500 feet, with the deepest well being over two
miles deep at 12,900 feet.
In Nevada, a state known for its abundance of federal land — used by interested parties
ranging from rogue cattle grazers to eager gold prospectors — geothermal is joining the
ranks of wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower as a renewable natural resource that
can be deployed to the grid.
―Geothermal is pretty plentiful here in northern Nevada,‖ Faye Anderson, northern
communications manager for NV Energy, told ThinkProgress. ―As a base-load source it
is competitive even with fossil fuels.‖
According to Faye, NV Energy is exceeding its 18 percent renewable energy
requirement for 2013-14 as stipulated by Nevada’s Renewable Portfolio Standard
(RPS). Currently, renewable energy accounts for about 20 percent of the power NV
Energy provides its customers in southern Nevada and almost 35 percent in northern
Nevada. Geothermal provides about nine percent of the total northern Nevada demand.
As a public utility serving several million Nevadans and tourists, NW Energy doesn’t
build or operate any geothermal plants, rather it has signed power purchase
agreements with existing plants since 1983.
Ormat Technologies, based in Reno, Nevada, is one of the companies providing the
geothermal expertise to help facilitate this renewable energy shift in the West. While
Ormat provides geothermal energy to NV Energy, the company is also branching out
into other regions and markets. Earlier this year, a new 16-megawatt geothermal facility,

the Don A. Campbell Geothermal Power Plant, started sending power across state lines
to Los Angeles using NV Energy’s new One Nevada Transmission Line. That’s not the
only unique thing about the plant — it’s also working with relatively cool rock.
―With a low resource temperature of approximately 260 degrees Fahrenheit, the first for
a utility-scale project, this plant is a great innovation and a technological leap forward,‖
said Bob Sullivan, VP of business development at Ormat, during the International
Geothermal Showcase. Sullivan said that this technology, now proven, will open the
door to other geothermal reservoirs previously considered risky or uneconomical.
The Don A. Campbell plant is a binary cycle geothermal plant. It uses low temperature
geothermal resources, which also happen to be the most abundant. It can generate
electricity using water from 194° F to 347° F by routing it through an above-ground heat
exchanger, which then heats another fluid such as penta fluoro propane that boils at a
lower temperature than water, that turns into steam and spins a turbine. All of the
produced geothermal water is injected back into the reservoir. This is quite an evolution
from the original geothermal electricity projects over 100 years ago which used steam
directly from the ground to turn turbines.
7.2 Behind The Scenes
While electricity-generating geothermal technology is advancing, the bulk of the time
and cost expended goes to exploration and drilling for the resource. Recent advances in
oil and gas drilling, which can translate over to geothermal sensing, exploration and
drilling techniques, are helping to facilitate innovation in the area. However, developers
say a lot of the uncertainty around geothermal in the U.S., and part of the reason it
hasn’t grown much in recent years, is due to the unreliable nature of the Production Tax
Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC).
―The way the PTC and ITC have been done for years in the U.S. has sub-optimized
development of all renewable resources, including geothermal,‖ Craig Mataczynski,
CEO of Gradient Resources and GEA board president, said at the GEA Showcase.
―While wind and solar projects can develop in a year or two, often fitting into the PTC or
ITC periods, geothermal has a five or 10 year development cycle and it’s hard to know
whether that incentive will be extended and will exist when it’s time to bring the project
online.‖
Not only has the on-again, off-again nature of the tax credits caused financiers to forego
projects or to overextend prematurely on projects that run into difficulty, it has also had
far more deeply-entrenched impacts, according to Mataczynski.

―The worst effect of all this is that there has never really been, in recent history, the
development of an industry,‖ Mataczynski said of geothermal energy. ―It’s allowed
projects ready to go to be built, but as far as developing an industry and bringing in new
technologies and methods of drilling to reduce costs, those haven’t come to market
which has kept our prices up.‖
7.3 The International Showcase
Internationally, the geothermal industry is growing much faster than in the U.S. The
GEA report released at the recent showcase found that there were almost 700 projects
under development in dozens of countries across the globe. With the international
power market booming, geothermal showed a sustained growth rate of around five
percent, while ―U.S. growth was flat because of policy barriers, gridlock at the federal
level, low natural gas prices and inadequate transmission infrastructure.‖
Mataczynski put it similarly. ―The reason geothermal is doing well internationally is that it
competes with other energy sources on a pure cost basis. People aren’t doing it
because they are altruistic and it’s good for the environment — which it is — they are
doing it because it provides the lowest cost alternative form of energy that they need to
drive the economy and improve their standard of living.‖
Commercial light bulbs may have been invented over a century ago, but millions of
people still lack the electricity to turn them on. Also a century after being invented,
geothermal power may finally be poised to help make that switch.

8. CHARECTERISTIC OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy is an enormous, underused heat and power resource that is clean
(emits little or no greenhouse gases), reliable (average system availability of 95%), and
homegrown (making us less dependent on foreign oil). Geothermal resources range
from shallow ground to hot water and rock several miles below the Earth's surface, and
even farther down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma. Mile-or-more-deep
wells can be drilled into underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that
can be brought to the surface for use in a variety of applications.
The general characteristics of geothermal energy that make it of significant importance
for both electricity production and direct use include:
 Extensive global distribution; it is accessible to both developed and developing
countries
 Environmentally friendly nature; it has low emission of sulphur, CO2 and other
greenhouse gases.
 Indigenous nature; it is independent of external supply and demand effects and
fluctuations in exchange rates.
 Independence of weather and season.
 Contribution to the development of diversified power resource.
Geothermal energy can be used very effectively in both on- and off-grid developments,
and is especially useful in rural electrification schemes. Its use spans a large range from
power generation to direct heat uses, the latter possible using both low temperature
resources and ―cascade‖ methods. Cascade methods utilise the hot water remaining
from higher temperature applications (e.g., electricity generation) in successively lower
temperature processes, which may include binary systems to generate further power
and direct heat uses (bathing and swimming; space heating, including district heating;
greenhouse and open ground heating; industrial process heat; aquaculture pond and
raceway heating; agricultural drying; etc.)

8.1 Pro’s Of Geothermal Energy
1) Geothermal energy is generally considered environmentally friendly and does not
cause significant amounts of pollution.
2) Geothermal reservoirs are naturally replenished and therefore renewable (it is
not possible to exhaust the resources).
3) Massive potential – upper estimates show a worldwide potential of 2 terawatts
(TW).
4) Excellent for meeting the base load energy demand (as opposed to other
renewable’s such as wind and solar).
5) Great for heating and cooling – even small households can benefit.
6) Harnessing geothermal energy does not involve any fuels, which means less
cost fluctuations and stable electricity prices.
7) Small footprint on land – can be built partially underground.
8) Geothermal energy is available everywhere, although only some resources are
profitably exploitable.
9) Recent technological advancements (e.g. enhanced geothermal systems) have
made more resources exploitable and lowered costs.
8.2 Con’s Of Geothermal Energy
1) There are some minor environmental issues associated with geothermal power.
2) Geothermal power plants can in extreme cases cause earthquakes.
3) There are heavy upfront costs associated with both geothermal power plants and
geothermal heating/cooling systems.
4) Very location specific (most resources are simply not cost-competitive).
5) Geothermal power is only sustainable (renewable) if the reservoirs are properly
managed.
8.3 Advantages Of Geothermal Energy
1. Environmentally Friendly
Geothermal energy is generally considered environmentally friendly. There are a few
polluting aspects of harnessing geothermal energy (read more about them in the
disadvantages section), but these are minor compared to the pollution associated with
conventional fuel sources (e.g. coal, fossil fuels).

The carbon footprint of a geothermal power plant is minimal. Further development of our
geothermal resources is considered helpful in the fight against global warming.
2. Renewable
Geothermal reservoirs come from natural resources and are naturally replenished.
Geothermal energy is therefore a renewable energy source.
Sustainable is another label used for renewable sources of energy. In other words,
geothermal energy is a resource that can sustain its own consumption rate – Unlike
conventional energy sources such as coal and fossil fuels. According to scientists, the
energy in our geothermal reservoirs will literally last billions of years.
3. Massive Potential
Worldwide energy consumption – about 15 terawatts (TW) – is not anywhere near the
amount of energy stored in earth. However, most geothermal reservoirs are not
profitable and we can only utilize a small portion of the total potential. Realistic
estimates for the potential of geothermal power plants vary between 0.035 to 2 TW.
4. Stable
Geothermal energy is a reliable source of energy. We can predict the power output of a
geothermal power plant with remarkable accuracy. This is not the case with solar and
wind (where weather plays a huge part in power production). Geothermal power plants
are therefore excellent for meeting the base load energy demand.
Geothermal power plants have a high capacity factor – actual power output is very close
to total installed capacity.
5. Great for Heating and Cooling
We need water temperatures of more than 150°C (about 300°F) or greater in order to
effectively turn turbines and generate electricity with geothermal energy.
Another approach is to use the (relatively small) temperature difference between the
surface and a ground source. The earth is generally more resistant to seasonal
temperature changes than air. Consequently, the ground only a couple of meters below
the surface can act as a heat sink/source with a geothermal heat pump (much in the
same way an electrical heat pump works).
We`ve seen a tremendous growth in the number of homeowners that utilize geothermal
heating/cooling in the last couple of years.

8.4 Disadvantages Of Geothermal Energy
1. Environmental Issues
There is an abundance of greenhouse gases below the surface of the earth, some of
which mitigates towards the surface and into the atmosphere. These emissions tend to
be higher near geothermal power plants.
Geothermal power plants are associated with sulfur dioxide and silica emissions, and
the reservoirs can contain traces of toxic heavy metals including mercury, arsenic and
boron.
Regardless of how we look at it, the pollution associated with geothermal power is
nowhere near what we see with coal power and fossil fuels.
2. Surface Instability (Earthquakes)
Construction of geothermal power plants can affect the stability of land. In fact,
geothermal power plants have lead to subsidence (motion of the earth’s surface) in both
Germany and New Zealand.
Earthquakes can be triggered due to hydraulic fracturing, which is an intrinsic part of
developing enhanced geothermal system (EGS) power plants.
3. Expensive
Commercial geothermal power projects are expensive. The exploration and drilling of
new reservoirs come with a steep price tag (typically half the costs). Total costs usually
end up somewhere between $2 – 7 million for a geothermal power plant with a capacity
of 1 megawatt (MW).
As previously mentioned, most geothermal resources cannot be utilized in a cost-
effective manner, at least not with current technology, level of subsidies and energy
prices.
The upfront costs of geothermal heating and cooling systems are also steep. On the
other hand, these systems are likely to save you money years down the line, and should
therefore be regarded as long-term investments. Ground source heat pumps typically
costs $3,000 – $10,000 and have a payback time of 10 – 20 years.

4. Location Specific
Good geothermal reservoirs are hard to come by. Some countries have been blessed
with great resources – Iceland and Philippines meets nearly one third of their electricity
demand with geothermal energy.
If geothermal energy is transported long distances by the means of hot water (not
electricity), significant energy losses has to be taken into account.
5. Sustainability Issues
Rainwater seeps through the earth’s surface and into the geothermal reservoirs over
thousands of years. Studies show that the reservoirs can be depleted if the fluid is
removed faster than replaced. Efforts can be made to inject fluid back into the
geothermal reservoir after the thermal energy has been utilized (the turbine has
generated electricity).
Geothermal power is sustainable if reservoirs are properly managed. This is not an
issue for residential geothermal heating and cooling, where geothermal energy is being
used differently than in geothermal power plants.

9. APPLICATIONS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy is one of the natural resources in the town of Rico, Colorado.
Electric power generation and direct-use utilization are two applications of geothermal
energy in the United States. The direct-use application of geothermal energy is primarily
for direct heating and cooling and normally uses geothermal resources with temperature
below 150˚C . 1 The main categories for direct use applications are : (1) swimming,
bathing and balneology; (2) space heating and cooling including district energy systems;
(3) agricultural applications; (4) aquaculture applications ; (5) industrial applications;
and, (6) geothermal (ground-source) heat pumps (GHP). The growth rate for direct-use
was 8.3% annually from year 1990 with the largest annual energy growth has been in
the GHP. Figure shows direct use applications of heat energy in the United States at
year 1990, 1995, and 2000
.
This report will discuss the different direct-use applications of geothermal energy that
may be applicable for the town of Rico, Colorado. The first part of the report will look at
the fundamentals of different direct-use applications with some examples. The second
part of the report will provide analysis on which direct-use applications that may be
beneficial and feasible for the town of Rico. The main types of geothermal direct-use
applications that this report will focus on are district heating, greenhouses, produce and
lumber drying, metal and mineral leaching, and aquaculture.

9.1 Direct- Use Applications Of Geothermal Energy
1. District Heating
District heating systems distributes hydrothermal water through piping system to blocks
of buildings. Like common direct-use systems, there are three typical components of a
district heating system: a production facility, a mechanical system, and a disposal
system.3 A production system is usually a well to bring the hydrothermal water/heat
energy from the geothermal reservoir. A mechanical system is a system that delivers
the hydrothermal water/heat energy to the process. A disposal system is a medium/area
that receives the cooled geothermal fluid. It can be a pond, river, or an injection fluid.
Figure 2 illustrates a district heating system with geothermal energy.
Figure- District Heating System with Geothermal Energy (from The Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy, 2004)
In year 2000, 18 district heating applications of geothermal energy have been installed
in the United States.2 District heating system in Boise, Idaho is the first modern district
heating system and there are 271 communities with geothermal resources that can use
this application.4 Klamath Falls (Oregon), Midland School District and Phillip (South
Dakota) are other success stories of district heating systems with geothermal energy.
The district heating system in Midland, South Dakota is an interesting project because
the town has similar characteristics with the town of Rico. Midland is located in Haakon
County, approximately sixty miles west of Pierre (the state capital). The town has a
similar characteristic with Rico in terms of its small population. The summary of the

district heating system in Midland in this report is based on Lund’s paper (1997).5 The
district heating system in Midland heats approximately 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2 )
of floor space. The system heats buildings through a single pipe high and low-pressure
line. The high pressure line supplies hot water for the heating of two school buildings, a
church, campground buildings and pool, and a car wash. The high pressure line started
from the well to the two school buildings. Each school buildings use one heat exchanger
that can take maximum of 70 F (40C) from the geothermal water before it goes back to
main supply line. Then the line goes to the church, camp ground, and the car wash. The
high pressure line then ended at the cooling pond in the water treatment plant that is
supplied with approximately 80 gpm (5.0 L/s) of water in the winter and 110 gpm (6.9
L/s) in the summer. The low pressure line supplies hot water for the heating of four
downtown buildings. The geothermal water is sent directly to Modine heaters in the
Legion Hall , Library, and Fire Hall. Then the line provides geothermal water for the Tim-
Buck-2 Bar and Restaurant and dispose the waste water into the Bad River. This low
pressure line can take maximum of 250 F (140C) from the geothermal water. Figure 3
provides the piping system scheme of district heating system in Midland. The district
heating system in this town provides an estimated $15,000 annual savings from the
propane cost to the community.
1.1 District Heating System for Rico
Based on current situation in Rico, most of the buildings are residential
buildings. Some consider that district heating system for residential area is
uneconomical due to the low heat load density. However, some
characteristics residential areas can increase the economics of district
heating.6 These characteristics are: wide variety of heating fuels, availability
of unpaved areas of the distribution system, fewer utilities in the pipeline
corridor, less traffic control requirements during the construction, potential for
the use of an uninsulated piping system, and an older, poorly insulated
structures with high energy use. Furthermore, the largest potential area for a
cost reduction is in the pipe and installation, trenching and backfilling, and
the pavement related costs. District heating system is proven can bring
benefit through cost savings for the community and work for a town with a
small population like the one in Midland, South Dakota. Based on the
discussion with the representative of Rico on March 17th 2009, the town is
trying to have a limited expansion. The town should then start to include the
district heating system project plan in the regional master plan, especially in
the planned residential and business areas. However, the project has to be
compatible and possibly executed simultaneously with the plan to create the
new water and sewer system for the town.

2. Greenhouse Applications
Greenhouse is one of the common direct-use applications of geothermal energy. Wide
used of geothermal energy for greenhouse because geothermal energy provides
savings from the energy consumption. Greenhouse is the largest energy consumer in
agriculture due to its characteristics that usually has a poor insulating qualities and the
need to maintain the climate inside the greenhouse despite the extreme difference with
the outside climate.7 Greenhouse operators estimate that geothermal energy use save
5 to 8% of the total operating costs.8 The summary of the greenhouse applications with
geothermal energy in this report is based on the Geothermal Greenhouse Information
package written by edited and updated by Boyd in 2008.9 Before building a greenhouse
business, there are several things to think about. These things are as follow: what crops
to be grown? Is it going to be operated year long or seasonal greenhouse? What
growing media and system will be used for the greenhouse? How much is the annual
production? What type of heating / cooling system that will be used? What marketing
system will be used? What type of greenhouse will be used? Where is the market? and
How to transport the product to the market? Cities and towns close to Rico can be the
market of greenhouse products. The town of Rico should consider the possibility to
become the vegetable and/or flower suppliers to the region. The two largest
greenhouses are in New Mexico and they serve out of state buyers. Commercial
greenhouse industry can be attractive due to its low entry barriers (no dominant leaders
in terms of net sales or size). Greenhouse that uses geothermal energy is definitely
possible for the town of Rico. The first step in evaluating the possibility of using
geothermal energy for greenhouse is to analyze different heating requirements imposed
by different construction methods.
Generally, there are four construction categories for greenhouse: 1) Glass, 2) Plastic
film, 3) Fiberglass or similar rigid plastics, and 4) The combination of 2 and 3. Glass
greenhouse is the most expensive construction due to the high material costs and the
supporting framework costs. The greenhouse is usually 36 and 42 ft widths with 20 ft
lengths increment. This type of greenhouse is preferable for greenhouse with plans that
require high qualities of transmission light. However, glass greenhouses also have the
poorest energy efficiency. Fiberglass greenhouses are similar with the glass
greenhouses. The only difference is in the less requirement for structural support due to
its light weight. Plastic film construction with a double layer of film separated by air
space reduces transmission losses (losses through the wall and roof) by 30 to 40% and
infiltration (leakage of cold air). However, the high energy efficiency reduces the light
transmission. Therefore, growing highly light sensitive crops in this type of greenhouses
cannot be as successful as other type of greenhouses.

Another important thing to consider about this construction is the high maintenance
requirement that generally requires a replacement every 3 year or less. This type of
greenhouse is usually constructed with 30 ft width, and 100 and 150 ft lengths. It is
important to analyze the heat loss in designing a greenhouse. Heat loss in a
greenhouse comes from transmission loss through the walls and roof, and from the
infiltration and ventilation losses caused by the heating of outside cold air. The first step
in analyzing the heat loss is to calculate surface area with different materials. The
transmission loss can then be calculated. The air change method can be used for the
infiltration and ventilation losses. The method is based on the number of times per hour
that the air (ACH) in the greenhouse is replaced by the cold air from leaking.
2.1. Geothermal Heating System for Greenhouses
The decision to choose geothermal heating system is not only influenced by
the engineering and economic considerations, but also by the owner’s
preference. The owner’s preference may related to the owner’s past
experiences and familiarity, types of crops potential diseases, etc. Basically,
there are six different types of geothermal heating systems that can be used
for greenhouses. These types are as follow:1) Finned pipe, 2) Standard unit
heaters, 3) Low-temp. unit heaters, 4) Fan coil units, 5) Soil heating, and
6)Bare tube system.
The finned pipe is usually constructed of steel or copper pipe with steel or
aluminum fins attached to the outside. The heating capacity is generally
based upon 200o F or higher average water temperature and 65o F entering
air temperature because most finned-pipe heating equipment was originally
designed for standard hot water use.10 The heating capacity of finned pipe
is also a function of fin size, pipe size and flow velocity. The costs for finned
pipe elements are a function of the type and size of piping, and the fin
spacing (fins/ft).
Standard unit heaters consist of a finned coil and small propeller fan in a
vertical or horizontal configuration The standard unit heaters is generally
rated at 200o F on entering water temperature and 60o F entering air
temperature. Some adjustment of units capacity is needed if the geothermal
resources applied to the greenhouse is less than 200o F. The low
temperature unit heaters design is similar with the standard unit heaters. The
design incorporates a more effective water coil and a higher capacity fan so
it is optimized for low-water temperature operation. The performance of this
unit falls between the standard unit heaters and fan coil units.

The fan coil units consist of a finned coil and a centrifugal blower in a single
cabinet, similar to the standard unit heaters. The coil in this system is thicker
with a closer fin spacing than the coil in a unit heater. This system can
generate more heat, but larger and more bulky than the standard unit.
Therefore, this system is more expensive than the standard unit heaters. The
soil heating system uses the floor of the greenhouse as a radiator for the
heat. Warm water is circulated through a tube buried in the floor of the
greenhouse. Then the heat is transferred from the warm water to the soil
through the tube that eventually will heat the air in the greenhouse. This
system is usually used complementary with other system because this
system may give an excessive heat to the plants. The requirements for heat
in peak period also increase the floor temperature that resulted in
uncomfortable work place inside the greenhouse. This system provides the
base heat load for the greenhouse while other systems provide for
occasional purposes (peak load).Non metallic materials are preferable for
the tube due to corrosion and expansion problems with the metallic
materials. The most popular material for the tube is polybutylene.
The bare tube system use of bare tubing that usually made from
polybutylene or similar material. The bare tube is usually installed on the
floor or under the benches. The placement of tube should be considered
carefully to make sure the placement does not lowering the heat capacity
and reach the effective surface area. In the colder region, this system may
generate the same problem as the soil system because this system will need
large quantities of tubing.
3. Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as ―fish farming‖, is one of the primary uses of geothermal
energy in the agribusiness industry. It is prevalent in both New Mexico and Idaho, and is
responsible for producing both alligators and numerous types of fish.
In Animas, New Mexico a company called AmeriCulture Inc. is one of the largest
domestic suppliers of tilapia fingerlings in the US. Tilapia fingerlings (shown in below
figure) are the early stage of the fish’s life cycle. AmeriCulture produces between four
and seven million fingerlings annually, and then ships them all over the country. These
fingerlings are sold to growers and researchers who then grow them to full size before
use. Their utilization of geothermal energy provides a plethora of advantages. Their
facilities are heated at a much lower cost, compared to the use of propane or electricity.
Also, the tilapias have an accelerated growth rate due to the above average

temperature of their environment. This further increases the energy savings of the
company.
Another grower of tilapia is located in the Snake River Valley in Southern Idaho. In 1973
Leo Ray began using geothermal water to raise catfish, tilapia, sturgeon, blue-channel
catfish, and rainbow trout. Located in the Hagerman Valley near Buhl, Mr. Ray’s site
has hot artesian wells that produce geothermal water at a temperature of 95°F. Without
the use of geothermal energy, this location would be too cold to grow these types of
fish. But by mixing the hot water with cold spring water, Mr. Ray has turned this area
into the optimum environment for fish farming. After they have reached full size, the fish
are shipped to supermarkets and restaurants in the US and Canada.
4.Geothermal Drying
Another application of geothermal water is the drying of timber. In a typical timber mill,
after the tree has been cut and shaped into its desired form, it must go through a drying
process to prevent warping later on and to set the sap. Often times drying kilns in
smaller mills are heated by steam from conventional boilers. Substituting geothermal
steam for that created by the boiler would provide substantial energy cost savings
The sap in a piece of lumber sets at 135°F to 140°F, a temperature easily achieved
using geothermal steam. Warping is prevented by creating uniform moisture content
throughout the lumber. Wood left to dry at ambient conditions typically loses moisture
faster on its exposed surfaces than in its interior. As a result, the evaporation rate within
a kiln must be very carefully controlled. The allowed variation in drying rate decreases
with thicker cut size, and changes depending on the species of wood. Figure below
shows a typical example.

During a drying cycle, a piece of lumber typically loses between 50% and 60% of its
weight due to evaporation of water. As mentioned before, the intensity and duration of
drying is closely regulated and varies depending on the species of tree the lumber from
which the lumber is cut. Drying schedules can range from less than 24 hours to as
much as several weeks per batch. The energy used during the drying process also
varies considerably. Another drying process that incorporates geothermal energy is
vegetable and drying or dehydration. This type of drying is accomplished using a tunnel
dryer, or continuous conveyor dryer. This dryer uses fairly low temperature hot air,
between 100°F and 220°F. Figure below shows an example of a tunnel dryer,
highlighting the pathways the hot air follows.
5. Metal and Mineral Leaching
The leaching of precious metals and minerals from mined ore is a fairly simple process.
Geothermal heat can increase the efficiency of the extraction process, increasing the
recovery rate with little or no increase in energy consumption. I will discuss gold and
silver leaching, as well as zinc extraction.
Gold and silver recovery by means of ore leaching eliminates many of the complicated
steps that are required in conventional milling. Heap leaching is the typical process, and

it consists of placing crushed ore on an impervious pad. This ore is then sprinkled with a
diluted solution of sodium cyanide. The solution makes its way through the ore,
emerging as a ―gold bearing‖ or ―pregnant‖ solution on the other side. This solution
contains gold or silver that would otherwise be unrecoverable. The solution is pumped
through activated charcoal which absorbs the gold and silver. The barren cyanide is
then treated with lime and reused in the same process.
The biggest drawback to heap leaching is the low recovery rate. Often only 70% of the
gold and silver in the crushed ore is removed. This amount decreases further in winter
when the temperature of the cyanide is lower. Geothermal heat can be used as a low
cost means of increasing the cyanide solution temperature. This can boost the recovery
rate to as much 95%, and the ability to keep the cyanide at a constant temperature lets
the operation run year round. Locate the section marked ―geothermal fluids‖ in the
middle left of Figure . This shows how geothermal water would be incorporated to
increase the efficiency and output of this process.
The extraction of zinc from waste-brine can be explained by means of its most prevalent
success story. In southern California’s Imperial Valley on the shores of the Salton Sea,
a company called Cal Energy Operating Corporation has set up shop. The company
currently operates ten geothermal power plants with a capacity of 347 Megawatts. Their
most recent unit – a 49 Megawatt power plant called unit 5 – utilizes the hot waste brine
from four of the existing power plants to produce electricity. This cools the brine from
182°C to 116°C (the ideal temperature for zinc extraction). The brine is then pumped to
the minerals recovery plant, where the electricity produced by unit 5 is used to power
the process that extracts the zinc! The zinc production facility, run by Cominco Ltd, is
the lowest cost producer of zinc in the world, and the first and only operation designed
to harvest minerals from high temperature waste brine in the US. Cominco Ltd produces
30,000 tons of 99.99% pure zinc every year.

10. HOW IS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY CONVERTED TO ELECTRICITY
There are several different main types of geothermal plants:
 Dry steam
 Flash steam
 Binary cycle
What these types of geothermal power plants all have in common is that they use steam
turbines to generate electricity. This approach is very similar to other thermal power
plants using other sources of energy than geothermal.
Water or working fluid is heated (or used directly in case of geothermal dry steam power
plants), and then sent through a steam turbine where the thermal energy (heat) is
converted to electricity with a generator through a phenomenon called electromagnetic
induction. The next step in the cycle is cooling the fluid and sending it back to the heat
source.
Water that has been seeping into the underground over time has gained heat energy
from the geothermal reservoirs. There no need for additional heating, as you would
expect with other thermal power plants. Heating boilers are not present in geothermal
steam power plants and no heating fuel is used.
Production wells (red on the illustrations) are used to lead hot water/steam from the
reservoirs and into the power plant.
Rock catchers are in place to make sure that only hot fluids are sent to the turbine.
Rocks can cause great damage to steam turbines.
Injection wells (blue on the illustrations) ensure that the water that is drawn up from the
production wells returns to the geothermal reservoir where it regains the thermal energy
(heat) that we have used to generate electricity.
Depending on the state of the water (liquid or vapor) and its temperature, different types
of power plants are used for different geothermal reservoirs. Most geothermal power
plants extract water, in its vapor or liquid form, from the reservoirs somewhere in the
temperature-range 100-320°C (220-600°F)

10.1 Geothermal Dry Steam Power Plants
This type of geothermal power plant was named dry steam since water that is extracted
from the underground reservoirs has to be in its gaseous form (water-vapor).
Geothermal steam of at least 150°C (300°F) is extracted from the reservoirs through the
production wells (as we would do with all geothermal power plant types), but is then
sent directly to the turbine. Geothermal reservoirs that can be exploited by geothermal
dry steam power plants are rare.
Dry steam is the oldest geothermal power plant type. The first one was constructed in
Larderello, Italy, in 1904. The Geysers, 22 geothermal power plants located in
California, is the only example of geothermal dry steam power plants in the United
States.
Dry steam power plants draw from underground resources of steam. The steam is piped
directly from underground wells to the power plant where it is directed into a
turbine/generator unit. There are only two known underground resources of steam in the
United States: The Geysers in northern California and Yellowstone National Park in
Wyoming, where there's a well-known geyser called Old Faithful. Since Yellowstone is
protected from development, the only dry steam plants in the country are at The
Geysers.
―Dry steam‖ plants have been operating for over one hundred years—longer than any
other geothermal conversion technology, though these reservoirs are rare. In a dry
steam Plant like those at The Geysers in California, steam produced directly from the
geothermal reservoir runs the turbines that power the generator. Dry steam systems are

relatively simple, requiring only steam and condensate injection piping and minimal
steam cleaning devices. A dry steam system requires a rock catcher to remove large
solids, a centrifugal separator to remove condensate and small solid particulates,
condensate drains along the pipeline, and a final scrubber to remove small particulates
and dissolved solids. Today, steam plants make up a little less than 40 percent of U.S.
geothermal electricity production, all located at The Geysers in California. The basic
cycle for steam plants remains similar to the structure that first operated in 1904 in
Larderello, Italy, pictured in the figure below. Even so, incremental technology
improvements continue to advance these systems

10.2 Geothermal Flash Steam Power Plants
Geothermal flash steam power plants uses water at temperatures of at least 182°C
(360°F). The term flash steam refers the process where high-pressure hot water is
flashed (vaporized) into steam inside a flash tank by lowering the pressure. This steam
is then used to drive around turbines.
Flash steam is today’s most common power plant type. The first geothermal power plant
that used flash steam technology was the Wairakei Power station in New Zealand,
which was built already in 1958.

Flash steam power plants are the most common and use geothermal reservoirs of water
with temperatures greater than 360°F (182°C). This very hot water flows up through
wells in the ground under its own pressure. As it flows upward, the pressure decreases
and some of the hot water boils into steam. The steam is then separated from the water
and used to power a turbine/generator. Any leftover water and condensed steam are
injected back into the reservoir, making this a sustainable resource.
SINGLE FLASH a flow sheet for the SF cycle. The geothermal fluid enters the well at
the source inlet temperature, station. Due to the well pressure loss the fluid has started
to boil at station, when it enters the separator. The brine from the separator is at station,
and is re-injected at station, the geothermal fluid return condition. The steam from the
separator is at station, where the steam enters the turbine. The steam is then expanded
through the turbine down to station, where the condenser pressure prevails. The
condenser shown here is air cooled, with the cooling air entering the condenser at
station c1 and leaving at station c2. The condenser hot well is at station. The fluid is re-
injected at station. Typically, such a process is displayed on a thermodynamic T-s
diagram, where the temperature in the cycle is plotted against the entropy. The
condition at station 1 is usually compressed liquid. In vapor dominated fields, such as
Lardarello in Italy, the inflow is in the wet region close to the vapors saturation line.
DOUBLE FLASH a flow sheet for the DF cycle. The geothermal fluid enters the well at
the source inlet temperature, station. Due to the well pressure loss the fluid has started
to boil at station, when it enters the separator. The brine from the separator is at station,
and is throttled down to a lower pressure level at station. The partly boiled brine is then
led to a low pressure separator, where the steam is led to the turbine at station. The
turbine is designed in such a way, that the pressure difference over the first stages is
the same as the pressure difference between the high and low pressure separators.
The mass flow in the lower pressure stages of the turbine is then higher than in the high
pressure stages, just the opposite of what happens in a traditional fuel fired power plant
with a bleed for the feed water heaters from the turbine. The brine from the low pressure
separator is at station, and is then re-injected at station, the geothermal fluid return
condition. The steam from the high pressure separator is at station, where the steam
enters the turbine. The low pressure steam enters the turbine a few stages later, at
station . The steam is then expanded through the turbine down to station , where the
condenser pressure prevails. The condenser shown here is air cooled, with the cooling
air entering the condenser at station c1 and leaving at station c2. The condenser hot
well is at station. The fluid is re-injected at station.

10.3 Geothermal Binary Cycle Power Plants
The binary cycle power plant has one major advantage over flash steam and dry steam
power plants: The water-temperature can be as low as 57°C (135°F).
By using a working fluid (binary fluid) with a much lower boiling temperature than water,
thermal energy in the reservoir water flashes the working fluid into steam, which then is
used to generate electricity with the turbine. The water coming from the geothermal
reservoirs through the production wells is never in direct contact with the working fluid.
After the some of its thermal energy is transferred to the working fluid with a heat
exchanger, the water is sent back to the reservoir through the injection wells where it
regains its thermal energy.
These power plants have a thermal efficiency rate of only 10-13%. However,
geothermal binary cycle power plants enable us, through lowering temperature
requirements, to harness geothermal energy from reservoirs that with a dry- or a flash
steam power plant wouldn’t be possible.
First successful geothermal binary cycle project took place in Russia in 1967.
Binary cycle power plants operate on water at lower temperatures of about 225°–360°F
(107°–182°C). Binary cycle plants use the heat from the hot water to boil a working fluid,
usually an organic compound with a low boiling point. The working fluid is vaporized in a
heat exchanger and used to turn a turbine. The water is then injected back into the
ground to be reheated. The water and the working fluid are kept separated during the
whole process, so there are little or no air emissions.

Currently, two types of geothermal resources can be used in binary cycle power plants
to generate electricity: Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) and Low-temperature or
Co-produced resources.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems
EGS provide geothermal power by tapping into the Earth's deep geothermal resources
that are otherwise not economical due to lack of water, location, or rock type. The U.S.
Geological Survey estimates that potentially 500,000 megawatts of EGS resource is
available in the western U.S.—about half of the current installed electric power
generating capacity in the United States.
See an animation that shows how an Enhanced Geothermal System works at the U.S.
Department of Energy's Geothermal Technologies Program (GTP) website.
Low-Temperature and Co-Produced Resources
Low-temperature and co-produced geothermal resources are typically found at
temperatures of 300°F (150°C) or less. Some low-temperature resources can be
harnessed to generate electricity using binary cycle technology. Co-produced hot water
is a byproduct of oil and gas wells in the United States. This hot water is being
examined for its potential to produce electricity, helping to lower greenhouse gas
emissions and extend the life of oil and gas fields. Get additional information about low
temperature and co-produced resources from the U.S. Department of Energy's GTP
website.

11. COGENERATION (Combined Heat & Power)
Depending on what type of geothermal power plant, location and various other factors,
the thermal efficiency rate is not more than 10-23%. Technically, low efficiency rates do
not affect operational costs of a geothermal power plant, as it would with power plants
that are reliant on fuels to heat a working fluid.
Electricity generation does suffer from low thermal efficiency rates, but the byproducts,
exhaust heat and warm water, have many useful purposes. By not only generating
power, but also taking advantage of the thermal energy in the byproducts, overall
energy efficiency increases. This is what we call geothermal cogeneration or combined
heat and power (CHP). Here are some good examples of this:
 District heating
 Greenhouses
 Timber mills
 Hot springs and bathing facilities
 Agriculture
 Snow and ice melting
 Desalination (processes that remove salt and other minerals from saline water)
 Various other industrial processes
How is geothermal energy transported? It is not a surprise that the electricity that is
generated with geothermal power plants is transported in the same way as you would
with any other power plant (or a wind or solar farm for that matter): Voltage is increased
to minimize losses and the current is sent onto the electrical grid. Transporting heat
over long distances, as you would with CHP, requires a heavily insulated piping system,
which is a significant addition to costs.
Above is a picture of Blue Lagoon geothermal spa that uses warm wastewater from
Svartsengi Power Station in the background.

12. POTENTIAL IN INDIA & OTHER COUNTRIES
Geothermal power plants operated in at least 24 countries in 2010, and geothermal
energy was used directly for heat in at least 78 countries. These countries currently
have geothermal power plants with a total capacity of 10.7 GW, but 88% of it is
generated in just seven countries: The United States, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Mexico, Italy, New Zealand, and Iceland. The most significant capacity increases since
2004 were seen in Iceland and Turkey. Both countries doubled their capacity. Iceland
has the largest share of geothermal power contributing to electricity supply (25%),
followed by the Philippines(18%).
The number of countries utilizing geothermal energy to generate electricity has more
than doubled since 1975, increasing from 10 in 1975 to 24 in 2004. In 2003, total
geothermal energy supply was 20 MTOE (metric Ton Oil Equivalent), accounting for
0.4% of total primary energy supply in IEA member countries. The share of geothermal
in total renewable energy supply was 7.1%. Over the last 20 years, capital costs for
geothermal power systems decreased by a significant 50%. Such large cost reductions
are often the result of solving the ―easier‖ problems associated with science and
technology improvement in the early years of development.
Although geothermal power development slowed in 2010, with global capacity reaching
just over 11 GW, a significant acceleration in the rate of deployment is expected as
advanced technologies allow for development in new countries. Heat output from
geothermal sources increased by an average rate of almost 9% annually over the past
decade, due mainly to rapid growth in the use of ground-source heat pumps. Use of
geothermal energy for combined heat and power is also on the rise.
At present, geothermal wells are rarely more than 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) deep. Upper
estimates of geothermal resources assume wells as deep as 10 kilometers (6.2 mi).
Drilling near this depth is now possible in the petroleum industry, although it is an
expensive process. The deepest research well in the world, Kola Super-deep borehole,
is 12.3 km (7.6 mi) deep. This record has recently been imitated by commercial oil
wells, such as Exxon's Z-12 well in the Chayvo field, Sakhalin. Wells drilled to depths
greater than 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) generally incur drilling costs in the tens of millions of
dollars. The technological challenges are to drill wide bores at low cost and to break
larger volumes of rock.
Geothermal power is considered to be sustainable because the heat extraction is small
compared to the Earth's heat content, but extraction must still be monitored to avoid
local depletion. Although geothermal sites are capable of providing heat for many
decades, individual wells may cool down or run out of water. The three oldest sites, at

Larderello, Wairakei, and the Geysers have all reduced production from their peaks. It is
not clear whether these stations extracted energy faster than it was replenished from
greater depths, or whether the aquifers supplying them are being depleted. If production
is reduced, and water is re-injected, these wells could theoretically recover their full
potential. Such mitigation strategies have already been implemented at some sites. The
long-term sustainability of geothermal energy has been demonstrated at the Lardarello
field in Italy since 1913, at the Wairakei field in New Zealand since 1958, and at The
Geysers field in California since 1960.
India has reasonably good potential for geothermal; the potential geothermal provinces
can produce 10,600 MW of power (but experts are confident only to the extent of 100
MW). But yet geothermal power projects has not been exploited at all, owing to a variety
of reasons, the chief being the availability of plentiful coal at cheap costs. However, with
increasing environmental problems with coal based projects, India will need to start
depending on clean and eco-friendly energy sources in future; one of which could be
geothermal.
It has been estimated from geological, geochemical, shallow geophysical and shallow
drilling data it is estimated that India has about 10,000 MWe of geothermal power
potential that can be harnessed for various purposes. Rocks covered on the surface of
India ranging in age from more than 4500 million years to the present day and
distributed in different geographical units. The rocks comprise of Archean, Proterozoic,
the marine and continental Palaeozoic, Mesozoic, Teritary, Quaternary etc., More than
300 hot spring locations have been identified by Geological survey of India (Thussu,
2000). The surface temperature of the hot springs ranges from 35 C to as much as 98
C. These hot springs have been grouped together and termed as different geothermal
provinces based on their occurrence in specific geotectonic regions, geological and
strutural regions such as occurrence in orogenic belt regions, structural grabens, deep
fault zones, active volcanic regions etc., Different orogenic regions are – Himalayan
geothermal province, Naga-Lushai geothermal province, Andaman-Nicobar Islands
geothermal province and non-orogenic regions are – Cambay graben, Son-Narmada-
Tapi graben, west coast, Damodar valley, Mahanadi valley, Godavari valley etc.

12.1 Regions With Geothermal Potential In India
 Puga Valley ( J & K)
 Tatapani (Chhattisgarh)
 Godavari Basin Manikaran (Himachal Pradesh)
 Bakreshwar (West Bengal)
 Tuwa (Gujarat)
 Unai (Maharashtra)
 Jalgaon (Maharashtra)

12.2 Worldwide Production
Larderello Geothermal Station, in Italy
The International Geothermal Association (IGA) has reported that 10,715 megawatts
(MW) of geothermal power in 24 countries is online, which is expected to generate
67,246 GWh of electricity in 2010. This represents a 20% increase in geothermal power
online capacity since 2005. IGA projected this would grow to 18,500 MW by 2015, due
to the large number of projects that were under consideration, often in areas previously
assumed to have little exploitable resource.
In 2010, the Unites States led the world in geothermal electricity production with 3,086
MW of installed capacity from 77 power stations, the largest group of geothermal power
plants in the world is located at The Geysers , a geothermal field in California. The
Philippines follows the US as the second highest producer of geothermal power in the
world, with 1,904 MW of capacity online; geothermal power makes up approximately
27% of the country's electricity generation.
Al Gore said in The Climate Project Asia Pacific Summit that Indonesia could become a
super power country in electricity production from geothermal energy. India has
announced a plan to develop the country's first geothermal power facility in
Chhattisgarh.

Canada is the only major country on the Pacific Ring Of Fire which has not yet
developed geothermal power. The region of greatest potential is the Canadian
Cordillera, stretching from British to the Yukon, where estimates of generating output
have ranged from 1,550 MW to 5,000 MW.
A geothermal power station in Negros Oriental, Philippines.
The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers, a
geothermal field in California, United States. As of 2004, five countries (EL Salvador,
Kenya, The Philippines, Iceland and Costa Rica) generate more than 15% of their
electricity from geothermal sources.

The Geysers near Santa Rosa in Northern California,
Geothermal energy plant at The Geysers near Santa Rosa in Northern California, the
world's largest electricity-generating geothermal development.

Geothermal electricity is generated in the 24 countries listed in the table below. During
2005, contracts were placed for an additional 500 MW of electrical capacity in the
United States, while there were also stations under construction in 11 other countries.
Enhanced geothermal systems that are several kilometers in depth are operational in
France and Germany and are being developed or evaluated in at least four other
countries.
Installed geothermal electric capacity
Country
Capacity
(MW)
2007
Capacity
(MW)
2010
Capacity
(MW)
2013[
Capacity
(MW)
2015
Percentage(%)
of National
Production
USA 2687 3086 3389 3450 0.3
Philippines 1969.7 1904 1894 1870 27.0
Indonesia 992 1197 1333 1340 3.7
Mexico 953 958 980 1017 3.0
New
Zealand
471.6 628 895 1005 14.5
Italy 810.5 843 901 916 1.5
Iceland 421.2 575 664 665 30.0
Kenya 128.8 167 215 594 51.0
Japan 535.2 536 537 519 0.1
Turkey 38 82 163 397 0.3

Costa Rica 162.5 166 208 207 14.0
El Salvador 204.4 204 204 204 25.0
Nicaragua 87.4 88 104 159 10.0
Russia 79 82 97 82
Papua New
Guinea
56 56 56 50
Guatemala 53 52 42 52
Portugal 23 29 28 29
China 27.8 24 27 27
Germany 8.4 6.6 13 27
France 14.7 16 15 16
Ethiopia 7.3 7.3 8 7.3
Austria 1.1 1.4 1 1.2
Australia 0.2 1.1 1 1.1
Thailand 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
Total 9,731.9 10,709.7 11,765 12,635.9 –

13. HISTORICAL CAPACITY & CONSUMPTION DATA OF INDIA
There is no installed geothermal generating capacity as of now in India only direct uses
(e.g. Drying) have been detailed.
Direct Uses
Total thermal installed capacity in
MWt: 203.0
Direct use in TJ/year 1,606.3
Direct use in GWh/year 446.2
Capacity factor 0.25
Current Projects
Geothermal Field
Estimated (min.)
reservoir Temp
(Approx) Status
Puga geothermal field 240o
C at 2000m
From geochemical
and deep
geophysical studies
(MT)
Tattapani Sarguja (Chhattisgarh)
120o
C - 150o
C at 500
meter and 200 Cat
2000 m
Magnetotelluric
survey done by
NGRI
Tapoban Chamoli (Uttarakhand) 100o
C at 430 meter
Magnetotelluric
survey done by
NGRI
Cambay Garben (Gujrat)
160o
C at 1900 meter
(From Oil exploration
Steam discharge
was estimated

borehole) 3000cu meter/day
with high
temperature
gradient.
Badrinath Chamoli (Uttarakhand) 150o
C estimated
Magneto-telluric
study was done by
NGRI
Deep drilling
required to ascertain
geothermal field
Geothermal Field
Reservoir Temp
(Approx) Status
Surajkund Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) 110o
C
Magneto-telluric
study was done by
NGRI Heat rate
128.6
Manikaran
Kullu (H P) 100o
C
Magneto-telluric
study was done by
NGRI
Heat flow rate 130
mW/m2
Kasol
Kullu (H P) 110o
C
Magneto-telluric
study was done by
NGRI

14. ESTABLISHMENT OF GEOTHERMAL PLANTS IN INDIA
India is estimated to have 10,000MW geothermal potential
India Plans to build its first geothermal power plants are underway. Indian states
Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are the first of many to
announce interest in developing the BRIC country's first geothermal energy plant, with
power capacity in the range of 3MW to 5MW.
The news follows reports in July that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of
India (MNRE) plans to set up a geothermal energy policy later this year to guide future
projects.
"We are proactive on the geothermal front. A draft policy on geothermal energy is
ready" – an MNRE official said.
The news came from the "Geothermal Energy - Initiative and Development" conference.
Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University organized the event, which took place on 26
July 2013 in Gujarat's capital city Gandhinagar.
Companies involved in the Indian geothermal projects include ONGC (Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation) in Gujarat. The company has started exploring clean energy to create
growth opportunities and maximize shareholder value.
ONGC started cooperation with Belgian company Talboom last year.

"The pilot power plant of 3 to 5MW scale would be set up through a 50:50 joint venture
between OEC and Talboom by 2013-14," an ONGC official said.
Earlier this year Indian electric utilities company NTPC signed a Memorandum of
Understanding with Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency. The
aim of the agreement is to explore the potential of geothermal resources and implement
a geothermal power project in Tattapani, Chhattisgarh, according to the government of
India.
NTPC has started exploratory and preparatory work in this area. The company has also
started talks with ONGC and other international organizations to discuss drilling
operations. NTPC said it expects to start the project activities within the next 18 months
after finalization of the Detailed Project Report, a government official said.
India is said to have a geothermal potential of 10,000MW, according to India Energy
Portal. The Tattapani geothermal field is the most promising geothermal resource in
central India, the government has said. Work to assess geothermal resource in
Tattapani has been carried out over the last 30 years.
Geothermal Research Centers
Mesy India (www.mesyindia.in)
Acts as technical arm to governmental institutions in the conduction of scientific and
geothermal research projects, and stimulates new R&D projects in collaboration with
Indian national research institutions and international organizations, in particular in the
field of techniques and earthquake mechanisms, reservoir induced seismicity, advanced
mining technologies, ground water production stimulation, use of geothermal energy,
hazardous underground waste storage.
Geothermal companies
 Tata Power
 Thermax
 National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)
 GeoSyndicate Power Pvt. Ltd.

15. GREEN JOBS THROUGH GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
Geothermal energy supports and generates a significant number of jobs when
compared to other energy technologies. On a per megawatt basis, geothermal energy
provides more jobs than natural gas as shown in table below
The ability of geothermal energy to employ relatively high numbers of workers has
enabled it to grow a diverse and expanding workforce. GEA estimates that the industry
currently supports approximately 5,200 direct jobs related to power production and
management, while the total direct, indirect, and induced impact of geothermal energy is
approximately 13,100 full-time jobs. Employment is expected to increase in coming
years as geothermal plant development and research expands. The total direct, indirect
and induced impact of these advanced geothermal projects would represent up to 2,805
full-time jobs.
15.1 Job Quality
Not only does geothermal energy provide more jobs than conventional energy
technologies, it also provides quality, long-term jobs. According to the EIS/EIR for the
proposed Telephone Flat geothermal development project located in the Glass
Mountain Known Geothermal Resource Area in California, the average wage at the
facility will be more than double the average wage in surrounding counties. According to
the U.S. Census Bureau, the average per capita income in 1999 in the closest counties
was around $21,000, with the average California per capita income nearly $2,000
higher. The average projected wage related to operation at the Telephone Flat facility
would be higher than both the county and state averages, totaling between $40,000 and
$50,000 (1998 $)in addition to providing high average-wage jobs geothermal energy
supports long-term employment. Geothermal developers, who typically negotiate 10- to
30-year agreements with purchasers, provide jobs that can be guaranteed for decades.
The overwhelming majority of geothermal jobs are permanent (95%), and most are also
fulltime.

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