IGA NEWS

Newsletter of the International Geothermal Association

Quarterly No. 96 1

www.geothermal-energy.org July-September 2014

IGA ACTIVITIES

Message from the President

Juliet Newson

Greeting IGA members!

We give you the latest issue of the IGA News. On the technology front, we have reports on improved high temperature down-hole tools, drilling technology, and a summary of innovation in changing utilization technologies and increasing efficiency in using geothermal fluid and earth’s heat for electricity generation.

Because using the geothermal resource consists of extraction of energy and (usually) water, and is a renewable energy resource, it often occupies an ambiguous legislative and regulatory position. Hence it is of interest that legislation specifically recognizing geothermal exploration and production is before the Mexican Senate. Renewable energy policy in Italy and Indonesia may also impact geothermal energy use in those countries.

National geothermal reviews include geothermal drilling programs in Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Turkey; power station construction in Kenya, Bolivia, the US; power station commissioning in New Zealand; and the release of new exploration areas in Indonesia. This news all supports the Geothermal Energy Association Report that geothermal power market has a growth rate of 4% to 5%.

We also see over 1300 papers submitted for the next World Geothermal Congress in Melbourne! This is approximately 25% more than for the 2010 Congress, and is likely to be the largest Congress to date. Currently the process of paper review is under way, organized by Professor Roland Horne and an army of volunteer reviewers, editors, and helpers from the geothermal community. Organizers and workers for the 2015 WGC, we salute you. All others, it’s time to start making travel plans.

I want to draw to your attention to the Women in Geothermal (WING) network. The focus of WING for the next year is ‘bringing us together’ and building a network to support women working in geothermal. WING is not anti-man! There are wonderful men working in geothermal. But we know that worldwide, in

CONTENTS

IGA ACTIVITIES Message from the President... 1

2014 Annual General Meeting… 2 REN Alliance side-event in Bonn… 2

REN21 2014 Global Status Report… 2

AFRICA Djibouti…4

Ethiopia… 4 Kenya… 5

AMERICAS Bolivia… 6 Mexico… 6

United States… 8

ASIA / PACIFIC RIM China… 9

Indonesia… 9

EUROPE In Memoriam Oskar Kappelmeyer… 10

Geothermal District Heating in Europe… 11 Germany… 11

Italy… 12 Spain… 13

Switzerland… 13 Turkey… 13

OCEANIA New Zealand… 14

Australia… 14

OTHER Global: The geothermal power market grows at 4-5%

says the new GEA report … 14 International: GE takes part of Alstom… 15 Technology: High-power fiber lasers for the

geothermal, oil, and gas industries … 16 Technology: Arrangement of deep borehole

exchanger… 17 Technology: New tools for measurements at high

temperatures… 18 Analysis: Geothermal Energy - An Emerging Option

for Heat and Power… 18 Geochemistry: Solute Geothermometry… 20

Science: Water trapped in the mantle can be the source of our oceans… 22

The purpose of WING… 22

UPCOMING EVENTS… 5

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all major industries, women are still under-represented in senior roles. At the World Geothermal Congress in Melbourne and NZ next year we will be having a global WING networking event, and a ‘WING Country Ambassadors’ meeting to develop the WING direction for the next five years. Here we will decide where we will put our energy. So start thinking about who should represent your country as a WING Ambassador, what would you to see, and what initiatives would be useful for you.

I recently visited China, for the first time, to attend the Symposium on Science and Technology Innovation Leading the Development of the Geothermal Industry in China. There is intense interest in renewable energy in China, which is one of the fastest growing economies of recent decades. Amongst the Chinese geothermal community there is great interest in international contact, and an acknowledgement that there is a perceived, and sometimes real, language barrier. All of us need to explore ways to overcome this obstacle to communication, and look for creative solutions to encourage an international interchange of ideas.

Warm regards,

2014 Annual General Meeting

The 2014 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the IGA will be held jointly to the 60th Board of Directors

meeting, in Strasbourg, France, on 24 October 2014, at 3 pm. Electricité de Strasbourg (ES) will kindly host both the BoD meeting and the AGM in its headquarter located in 26 Boulevard du Président Wilson 67000, Strasbourg. According to Article 12 of Bylaws, the general agenda of the AGM will be as follows:

1. Minutes of the preceding AGM.

2. Annual report of the Board of Directors.

3. Audited financial statement.

4. General business.

The AGM is open to all IGA members. If you plan to attend the meeting, please send a message to Marietta Sander, the IGA Executive Director, to marietta.sander@hs-bochum.de.

REN Alliance side-event in

Bonn

The Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance) is composed by the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), the International Geothermal Association (IGA), the World Bioenergy Association (WBA) and the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA). Currently, the IGA Secretariat is coordinating the REN Alliance activities.

One of those recent activities was a side-event at the Bonn Climate Change Conference / Meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), held in Bonn, Germany in early June. The event, called “Sustainable Technology Integration Towards 100% Renewable Energy - Case Studies” was

developed 11 June 2014 from 18.30‐20.00 hours. Speakers included Dave Renné (ISES) as moderator, Stefan Gsänger (WWEA), Karin Haara (WBA) and Marietta Sander (IGA). In addition Michael Taylor from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) contributed with results of their costing studies to the session. The IHA input on El Hierro was presented by Stefan Gsänger. The side-event explored the reality of a 100% renewable energy supply by illustrating how renewable energy technologies are working together, what the real costs of renewable energy are, and how achieving a 100% renewable energy supply before the end of this century is possible. Building on this event, the REN Alliance partnered with IRENA to hold a webinar on this topic in July 1st.

REN21 2014 Global Status

Report

As part of the REN Alliance, the IGA has been participating in the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). (Continue in page 4.)

The IGA President with leading members of the Chinese Geothermal Community, at the Geothermal Symposium, Xinyu, May 2014. From left to right: Pang Zhonghe, Zhu Jialing, Wang

Bingchen, Juliet Newson, Wang Jiyang, Zheng Keyan, Hu Da.

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The REN21 produces an annual report on the current status of renewable energy, and the IGA’s Information Committee contributed to the preparation of the 2014 report, mainly reviewing and providing some data on geothermal energy. The final version of the report, called “Renewables 2014 Global Status Report” (GSR), was made public in June 4th 2014 in New York at the UN Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum. The launch, held at the German House, saw over 130 people attending a high-level luncheon, where they listened to a presentation of the key findings and a panel commentary. A second afternoon event, held within the SE4ALL Forum, followed a similar presentation and panel discussion format. A preview of the GSR 2014 was delivered to IRENA Members in June 1st in Abu Dhabi as well as at the Opening of Intersolar on 2 June in Munich. Parallel to the New York launch, GSR presentations were given in Jönköping/Sweden at the World Bioenergy 2014 and in Dakar/Senegal at the Renewable Energy for Poverty Reduction (REPoR) Conference. This was the first time the report was launched publicly (as opposed to virtually). The event was a great success with GSR statistics quoted in mainstream media. The report can be downloaded at http://www.ren21.net/gsr. The Renewable Interactive Map can be consulted and contributed at http://map.ren21.net.

AFRICA

Djibouti: International tender

to drill the first geothermal

wells

In late April the World Bank unveiled an “Invitation for Prequalification” for drilling four full-sized production wells, as the first step of its Djibouti Geothermal Power Generation Project, jointly financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). The goal of the project for Djibouti is to assist the recipient in assessing the commercial viability of the geothermal resource in Fiale Caldera within the Lake Assal region.

The project has three components. The first component is the drilling program. It includes the works, goods and consultant services for: (i) preparatory civil engineering necessary for the drilling program portion financed by the AfDB; (ii) execution of the drilling program as designed by the geothermal consulting company, jointly co-financed by Global Environment Facility (GEF), International Development Association (IDA) and OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID);

(iii) steel materials for the drilling program financed by AFD; and (iv) inspection and testing for reservoir flow rates, financed by ESMAP.

The second project component is technical assistance for the drilling program. Goods and consultant services are provided to: (i) design the drilling program and well test protocol; (ii) execute the well test protocol and ensure a third party certification of the results of the drilling program; and (iii) prepare a technical feasibility study for the geothermal power plant if the geothermal resource is suitable for power generation.

The third project component is project management and evaluation, providing goods, consultant services, audits, training, and operational costs, including monitoring and evaluation. It will be jointly co-financed by the Government of Djibouti and AfDB.

The total budget for the project is US$25.19 million.

Source: http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P127143/dj-geothermal-exploratory-drilling-project?lang=en

Ethiopia: Developing Corbetti

Caldera and two other

geothermal fields

In early June 2014, a grant contract was signed to support drilling two wells in the first phase of a major geothermal power project in Ethiopia. The contract, worth up to US$8 million, was signed by the African Union (AU) and the Icelandic-US private developer Reykjavik Geothermal Limited (RG) for the wells at the Corbetti geothermal power project. The grant was awarded under the AU-led “geothermal risk mitigation facility”, designed to encourage public-private investment and financial support for geothermal exploration in East Africa.

Assal Lake

DJIBOUTI

ETHIOPIA

SOMALIA

ERITREA

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UPCOMING EVENTS

GeoPower Africa 14-16 July 2014, Nairobi, Kenya (IGA members have a discount of 20%) http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/EF/?sSubSystem=Prospectus&sEventCode=GE1407KE&sSessionID=2dhvdqeouk6184cop8gtc5q1b0-10835350

GEOLAC 2014 16-17 July 2014, San José, Costa Rica (IGA members have a discount of 20%. Type IGAGEOLAC in the discount code box) http://geothermlac.com/

5th African Rift Geothermal Conference (ARGeo-C5): ‘Geothermal: Solution to Africa’s Energy needs’ 27 October - 2 November 2014, Arusha, Tanzania Contacts: Jacob Mayalla: jobmayalla@yahoo.co.uk, and UNEP-ARGEO: info@the-argeo.org

German Geothermal Congress (DGK 2014) 11-13 November 2014, Essen, Germany E-mail: cigdem.tolali@geothermie.de http://www.geothermie.de/aktuelles/der-geothermiekongress-2013/

GeoPower Global Congress 2014 2-4 December 2014, Istanbul, Turkey (IGA Members have a discount of 20%. Type IGA20 in the discount code box) http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/EF/?sSubSystem=Prospectus&sEventCode=GE1412TR&sSessionID=0rgusek2pbrad6heeqj6jv7kn0-14504437

World Geothermal Congress 2015 19-25 April 2015, Melbourne, Australia, and New Zealand (see annoucement in page 3) http://wgc2015.com.au/

Note: please check the IGA website http://www.geothermal-energy.org for more events.

Under an agreement with Ethiopia’s government, RG is building southern Ethiopia’s Corbetti facility in two phases (see IGA News 94, pp. 13-14). The first phase, at a cost of US$2 billion, will bring an initial 500 MW of power on line within five years, followed by a further 500 MW from the second phase in eight years. According to RG, the total cost of the project is US$4 billion, assuming 25% equity financing and debt financing of 75%.

When completed, RG said the project will represent the largest foreign direct investment in Ethiopia. The company has acquired geothermal exploration licenses covering an area of more than 6,500 km2 in the so-called Southern Lakes District of the Central Main Ethiopian Rift. Within that area, RG said its scientists have “pinpointed an area of 200 km2 in which high temperatures up to 350 °C have been identified, indicating a potential of 500-1,000 MW”. The project plans to use geothermal energy from three different reservoirs at Corbetti, Tulu Moyer and Abaya.

Exploratory drilling was scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2014 and to last for up to eight months. Production drilling and construction of the first phase is scheduled to start after financial closing in the first quarter of 2015, RG said, adding that negotiations are underway with the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPC) for a “25-year-plus” power purchase agreement. Initial studies and field work for the project were completed by the end of October 2013.

In late May 2014, the World Bank’s Board of Directors approved a US$200 million loan to Ethiopia to develop Ethiopia’s potential geothermal sites at Aluto and Alaloband in the rift valley of the Afar State. Two World Bank trust funds, the International Developmental Association (IDA) and the Scaling Up Renewal Energy Program (SREP), are expected to finance the loan.

The project to develop the two geothermal sites, Aluto and Alaloban, will be undertaken in two phases. An institutional framework for geothermal development will be established in the first phase. In the second phase, electricity will be generated from the steam resources developed in the first phase.

One World Bank trust fund, SREP, was established to scale up the deployment of renewable energy solutions and expand renewable energy markets in the world’s poorest countries. A targeted program of the Strategic Climate Fund, it aims to demonstrate the economic, social and environmental viability of low-carbon development pathways. Ethiopia is among the eight pilot countries.

Sources: http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2014/june/ethiopian-power-project-wins-backing-from-geothermal-fund/,

http://www.2merkato.com/news/alerts/3003-world-bank-approved-us-200-million-loan-to-ethiopia-to-develop-geothermal-energy

Kenya: Three power firms

selected to construct 100 MW

in Menengai

Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company (GDC) selected three companies to construct 100 megawatt

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geothermal plants in Menengai, Rift Valley in the East African country to further its mission to produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity by 2030. The companies are Quantum Power, Ormat Technologies Inc., and a local firm, Sosian Energy. According to the GDC, the three independent power producers were selected from the 12 bids submitted in September 2013 at the close of the tendering process. Ormat, chosen through its subsidiary OrPower 4, and the other power companies will each build a 35 MW steam power plant under a build-own-operate model starting this December. Following its decision, the GDC signed a deal with the IPPs who will construct the power plants estimated to cost about Sh4 billion each (US$45.7 million). The IPPs will receive steam from the state-owned company at Sh3.05 (US$0.04) per kilowatt hour, forming part of the earnings expected to help reduce GDC’s dependence on government and boost drilling activities in other South Rift geothermal fields and Suswa and Baringo in the North Rift. Drilling should be completed by end of the year. Investors will deliver power at Sh7.40 (US$0.085) per kilowatt hour, excluding value added tax. The 100 megawatts of electricity expected from the IPPs will be added to the national grid by the end of 2015.

Source: http://www.ventures-africa.com/2014/05/3-power-firms-selected-to-construct-100mw-geothermal-plant-in-kenya/

AMERICAS

Bolivia: Agreement for

construction of the Laguna

Colorada geothermal project

In early May, the Bolivian minister of foreign relations and the Japanese vice-minister of foreign relations

signed an agreement to construct the Laguna Colorada geothermal project in the Sol de Mañana field, Department of Potosí, southern Bolivia. The project will be composed of 100 MW divided into two successive steps of 50 MW, and includes an electric substation and a transmission line connecting to the country’s silver largest mine, San Cristóbal. The first stage is slated to be completed and brought online in 2019. JICA has designated US$25 million to begin the operations, including drilling four production wells. The agreement was signed in La Paz under the framework of the “centenary of bilateral relations Bolivia-Japan”. The Japanese official said it was the first project in the new cooperation agenda, demonstrating its high importance to the Japanese Government. Current electrical demand in Bolivia is 1,350 MW.

Sources: http://www3.abi.bo/#, http://www.bnamericas.com/news/electricpower/bolivia-japan-ink-geothermal-project-deal

Mexico: New geothermal act is

discussed in Congress

Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín, Mexican

Geothermal Association

Following the energy reform, in late April 2014 a package of nine initiatives issuing or amending 21 laws was sent to the Mexican Senate by the federal government. One initiative relates to geothermal and includes a new geothermal law (LEG: Ley de Energía Geotérmica) and an amendment of the current Law of National Water (LAN: Ley de Aguas Nacionales). The following highlights describe the more important aspects of the proposed LGE composed of 67 permanent articles and 13 transitory articles.

The initiative divides the process of geothermal development into three successive stages: reconnaissance, exploration and exploitation. All require registration, permit or concession, respectively, issued by the Ministry of Energy (SENER). To undertake geothermal exploratory activities in a specific area, interested parties must register with SENER. The registration will be valid for eight months. After six months, technical and financial reports must be submitted to SENER before applying for an exploration permit in the same area. The exploration permit shall be issued for three years and may be extended only once in the three upcoming years. In the case of exploring for conventional hydrothermal systems, the licensee shall drill and complete one to five exploration wells –the final number will be decided by SENER depending on the extent of the area. In other fields, e.g. hot dry rock, SENER will determine whether or not and how many exploratory wells must be drilled (Art. 14). The licensee

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will have exclusive rights to explore the permit area (Art. 16), which will be a maximum of 150 km2.

No later than three months before the end of the permit (or extension), if the results are successful, the licensee must certify the fulfillment of its obligations and provide technical information to SENER and apply for an exploitation concession in the area. Only exploration permit holders who have fulfilled their commitments may apply for an exploitation concession in the same area, although the concession area can be smaller than the explored area. To apply for the grant, the applicant must have made requests for power generation, grid connection feasibility, royalty payments and corresponding applications on environmental matters. If a concession is granted, the concessionaire will have a maximum of three years to get any other authorizations, especially an environmental license and a grant to use geothermal waters. Exploitation concessions will be valid for 30 years, and may be extended.

Neither an exploration permit nor an exploitation concession can be sold—a cause for revocation (Art. 39, IV). But both can be assigned under permission by SENER or under a simple notification if the permit or concession is transferred to a company of the same group (Art. 29). SENER may launch a public tender for an exploitation concession when the concessionaire notifies SENER the company cannot meet the terms and conditions of the grant. Areas subject to early termination, revocation or forfeiture of title can be subject to public bid (Art. 47). The CFE (Comisión Federal de Electricidad) may participate as an associate of the winner of exploitation concessions.

All geothermal water that comes from exercising a permit or concession must be reinjected into the geothermal area (Art. 37). Where geothermal resources are extended to other geothermal areas with different concession holders, a joint operation may be agreed with prior authorization from SENER.

SENER will rule on the admissibility of applications to occupy lands with probable geothermal resources in the subsurface on hearing testimony from the affected party and outside expert opinion. The amount of compensation will be determined by an appraisal made by the federal agency in charge of these activities.

CFE will have 120 business days after the law is passed to deliver to SENER a list of all the geothermal areas it wishes to continue working in for either exploration or exploitation. These areas, of course, will include the four geothermal fields in operation (Cerro Prieto, Los Azufres, Los Humeros and Las Tres Vírgenes) and probably the Cerritos Colorados field –where CFE drilled several exploration wells in the past. Over another similar period, SENER will review CFE’s request and award the proper concessions and permits.

Then the CFE will be subject to all terms and conditions of the LEG including the obligation to drill exploratory wells over a maximum of six years in the areas for which the exploration permit was granted by SENER.

CFE may be associated with individuals who will develop some of the geothermal projects. The rest of the projects will be tendered under the terms likely to be defined in the further regulation of the LEG. In such cases, the CFE may sell the technical information generated as result of its reconnaissance and exploration activities through public tenders.

In the case of private projects already started when the act was passed, the interested parties must formally notify SENER of the location of the exploration and exploitation projects within a maximum of 30 working days from the enactment of the LEG. Doing this time, they will gain a preferential right to request the permit or concession, for which they must follow the standard procedures of the LEG. This is the case for the private geothermal projects under development by Grupo Dragón and Mexxus-RG in the state of Nayarit, and Prados Camelinas in the state of Michoacán.

Furthermore, the proposed changes to the LAN are minimal in the case of Article 3, which includes the formal definition of a hydrothermal geothermal reservoir, and Article 18, to which the term of hydrothermal geothermal reservoir is added. Changes to Article 81 are greater, but are simply adjustments to the provisions of the LEG, particularly in relation to the possible interactions among the geothermal reservoir and adjacent or overlying aquifers. It seems clear geothermal power projects will have no major problems with the provisions in the draft of the amended LAN. In the case of direct uses of geothermal, most of the low-temperature, shallow geothermal reservoirs are hydraulically connected to aquifers regulated by LAN.

The initiative is under discussion and should be passed in early July 2014.

View of the Cerro Prieto geothermal field.

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US: The Geysers, Stillwater

and the new NGDS

Geysers project and development rights acquired by US Geothermal: US Geothermal, Inc. agreed to buy Ram Power Corp.’s proposed Geysers California geothermal project for US$6.4 million in cash. Ram Power announced that it has signed a Stock Purchase Agreement with US Geothermal Inc. for the purchase of the project that includes the Ram’s subsidiaries of Western Geopower, Inc., Skyline Geothermal Holdings, Inc., and Etoile Holdings, Inc., which, in turn, includes all membership interests in Mayacamas Energy LLC and Skyline Geothermal LLC. The acquired Ram subsidiaries possess full development interest in the project. The interests include all geothermal leases (covering 3,809 acres or ~1,540 hectares), development design plans, and permits for a proposed 26-MW, net, power plant. Also included are the land and ownership of the geothermal mineral rights for the Mayacamas property purchased by Ram in 2010. The property contains 4 of the 5 existing geothermal wells immediately available for production or injection. Finally, the acquisition includes a 50% undivided interest in the geothermal mineral rights relating to the property and the 5th existing well purchased by Ram in 2010. The other 50% interest in this property is contained within an acquired leasehold interest.

The power plant and well pads for the Geysers Project were planned by Ram Power to be constructed on the site of the former Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Unit 15, a 55-MW geothermal power plant that operated from 1979 to 1989 and has since been decommissioned and largely dismantled. PG&E Unit 15 site is currently level and fill soil covers the abandoned foundations of the turbine generator and cooling tower. In addition, five abandoned PG&E Unit 15 well pads are planned to be used for steam production wells for the Geysers Project. Ram expected to use an existing well for injection. An assessment report in 2011 indicates that the estimated sustainable steam capacity in the area is 209-218 tons per hour equivalent to about 26-27 MW.

U.S. Geothermal, Inc. announced it has acquired geothermal property to evaluate a new project at Vale, Oregon, about 19 km east of the Neal Hot Springs geothermal power plant. The new leases encompass 368 acres (149 hectares) of geothermal energy and surface rights acquired from private landowners in Malheur County and the City of Vale. The property is within the Vale Butte geothermal resource area and provides the opportunity to evaluate the development of a known geothermal resource. An extensive database of geophysical and geological information from previous geothermal exploration in the Vale Butte area was used to evaluate the prospect. Geochemical analyses of

samples taken from the shallow, hot wells indicate a potential reservoir temperature of 311-320 °F (155-160 °C). Past exploratory drilling near the site by Trans Pacific Geothermal and Sandia National Laboratory encountered temperatures over 300 °F (150 °C) in the basement rocks. The company is developing a staged geophysical and exploration drilling program to evaluate the potential for commercial power production. Fault structures and hydrologic characteristics have been identified that are similar to the Neal Hot Springs site, and are wholly contained within the newly acquired lease package.

Sources: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-07/u-dot-s-dot-geothermal-to-buy-california-project-for-6-dot-4-million, http://ram-power.com/current-projects/geysers-california, http://www.renewablesbiz.com/article/14/04/us-geothermal-acquires-development-rights-vale-butte-geothermal-resource-area?utm_source=2014_04_15&utm_medium=eNL&utm_campaign=RB_DAILY&utm_term=D&utm_content=214475

New CSP facility to be added to the Stillwater hybrid plant: Enel Green Power North America (EGPNA) announced work has started at the Stillwater geothermal plant, in Nevada, U.S. to add a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) facility to operate alongside the geothermal plant. It is composed of binary cycle power plants using mid-enthalpy fluids. The Stillwater facility, which is already paired with a 26-MW photovoltaic facility, will be the first geothermal plant to be coupled with a CSP facility, turning it into a hybrid plant able to combine the continuous generating capacity of binary-cycle, medium-enthalpy geothermal power with solar thermodynamics. The CSP plant will add 17 MW to the already installed capacity of 33 MW of geothermal origin and 26 MW of photovoltaic technology, for a combined total of 76 MW. EGPNA will use parabolic trough technology and demineralized water under pressure as the working fluid. It is expected the CSP portion will generate about 3 GWh per year. The produced energy will be sold to NV Energy through the existing 20-year

The Stillwater plant (photo by EGP North America).

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Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). EGPNA underscored that “thanks to the innovative technology that will enable the use of the sun’s heat to raise the temperature of the geothermal fluid extracted from the wells—it be possible to improve the cycle’s yield and increase its electricity output”.

Source: http://www.csp-world.com/news/20140402/001341/enel-build-first-csp-geothermal-hybrid-plant-nevada

Launching the National Geothermal Data System: The U.S. industry has named as one of the largest barriers to widespread adoption of geothermal technologies the lack of quantifiable, geothermal-relevant, subsurface data. The Department of Energy (DOE) has answered the call with a mammoth collection of geoscience information with enough raw data points to pinpoint the elusive sweet spots of geothermal energy. The data are called the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS).

The NGDS is a huge catalog of geoscience documents and datasets with information about geothermal resources located primarily within the United States. The Geothermal Technologies Office at the U.S. DOE funded the design and testing process to compile an active, nationwide network of interoperable nodes, storing new and legacy data that developers, industry, and academia can use to help adopt geothermal energy. Today, millions of records of research and site demonstration data have been compiled for free access by the geothermal community.

The NGDS applications will aid developers to:

• Determine geothermal potential • Guide exploration and development • Make data-driven policy decisions • Minimize development risks • Understand how geothermal activities affect the community and the environment • Guide investments

The NGDS can be used in many ways, depending on the user’s needs and interests. Generally, the NGDS is used by:

• Agencies, businesses, and researchers who wish to use the documents and datasets for research, resource characterization, and prospecting. • Stakeholders who want to contribute additional data. • Web developers who want to create custom applications that interact with NGDS data.

NGDS data records are contributed by academic researchers, private industry, and state and federal agencies, including all fifty State Geological Surveys. In addition, all DOE-funded projects are required to register their data in the NGDS, leveraging more than US$500 million in total geothermal investment.

Source: http://energy.gov/eere/geothermal/national-geothermal-data-system-ngds-initiative

ASIA/PACIFIC RIM

China: Establishing a national

geothermal association

China will establish a national association to promote geothermal resources, according to a forum held in east China’s Jiangxi Province on May 13, 2014. To ease pressure on energy and resources, and to improve the environment, the Ministry of Land and Resources is taking the lead in the association, said Wang Bingchen from the Counselors Office of the State Council at the forum in Xinyu City. With technological breakthroughs in geothermal exploration, power pumps and electricity generation, China’s geothermal power industry will be booming again, said Mao Rubai, former chairman of the Environmental Protection and Resources Conservation Committee of the National People’s Congress. Rubai added that geothermal energy will supply heating for 500 million square meters nationwide and raise geothermal generating capacity by 100 MW as of 2015. Juliet Newson, president of the International Geothermal Association (IGA), said at the forum that they hope to expand cooperation with China in the future. “A national geothermal association in China will help promote international academic exchanges and technological innovation,” Newson said.

Source: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/202936/8626247.html

Indonesia: New areas and feed-in tariffs for geothermal

power

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The Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry is offering nine new work areas to public bidders for geothermal projects nationwide, in a bid to generate more electricity from renewable resources. Of the total 1,030 potential megawatts announced, the ministry estimates that the total geothermal capacity to be developed will amount to 550 megawatts with total investment of around US$2.1 billion. Developing geothermal resources in the country remains problematic for investors, due to their hard-to-locate locations primarily in forests or conservation areas. At one time, the issue was the government’s ceiling price for electricity generated from geothermal power plants, considered fairly low by investors to make geothermal viable.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Minister said relevant parties were revising the 2003 Geothermal Law to make work on forest conservation areas legal under the 1999 Forestry Law, and then “…geothermal will no longer be considered a mining activity so that it can be carried out in forest areas,” the Minister said. He added that a ministerial decree had been recently signed on the ceiling price for electricity produced from geothermal resources. According to the decree, the floor for geothermal power tariff was fixed at US$11.8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) and the ceiling at US$29.6 cents per kWh for projects with Commercial Operation Date (COD) planned for 2015-2025. The current tariff for geothermal power is below US$9 cents per kWh.

Sources: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/05/govt-auctions-9-new-geothermal-work-areas.html, http://en.ift.co.id/posts/gov-t-sets-ceiling-for-geothermal-power-price-at-29-6-cents-per-kwh

EUROPE

In memoriam Oskar Kappelmeyer

(Excerpts from notes by F. Rummel, Bayreuth, Germany, 10.12.2013, and the EGEC Newsletter)

Dr. Oskar Kappelmeyer passed away on 7 December 2013 in Passau, Germany, at the age of 86. He was born on 5 December 1927 in Regensburg, Germany, where he attended high school. He studied geophysics at the Institute of Geophysics of the University of Munich and got his Ph.D. in 1955 with a dissertation on “Temperature measurements in shallow soil layers to detect deep-seated anomalies”.

In 1953-1954, he joined the Office of Waste Management (AfB) and was subsequently named Head of the Geophysical Exploration Unit of the current Federal Office for Soil Research (BfB) and the Federal

Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hannover. He carried out geophysical exploration studies in Thailand and Bangladesh and was involved in the development of geothermal in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Italy (Campi Flegrei and Ischia). His pioneering book, co-authored with Ralph Haenel, “Geothermics with Special Reference to Application” is on the basics of geothermal energy and was published in 1974.

After visiting the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico, U.S., he became enthusiastic about Hot Dry Rock (HDR) research and development. He started German participation in the LANL project and undertook with F. Rummel the HDR research project Falkenberg in the Upper Palatinate, which he headed as a BGR employee from 1977 to 1986. In 1987 and based on this work, he co-founded with other researchers from several French, English and German universities and institutes, the European Hot Dry Rock project at Soultz-sous-Forêts.

Oskar was for many years chairman of the European HDR Association (EHDRA) that coordinated the Soultz project. In 2007, he attended the commissioning of the first HDR power plant in the world at Soultz.

In 1987, at the age of 60 years, he retired from BGR Hannover to found the company Kappelmeyer Geothermal Consult GmbH (GTC) in Passau, which participated in HDR research at Soultz.

Since 1963 he was a member of the German Geophysical Society (DGG). In 1991, he was one of the ten founding members of the German Geothermal Association (today the Federal Geothermal Association, GtV). He was honored in 1994 with the first Patricius Award, recognizing his extensive contributions to geothermal energy.

Dr. Kappelmeyer was married to Sigrid Kappelmeyer who died in July 2013. His children Thomas, Oskar and

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Angela Kappelmeyer spoke at his funeral on 14 December 2013. Burkhard Sanner, President of the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC), wrote: “For me, (Oskar) is the real father of geothermal energy research in Germany, going back to the 1950s. Internationally renowned through his leadership in the German fracking experiments in the 1970s and later in the Soultz project, he had a great influence on many of today’s geothermal experts… We owe Oskar a lot, in scientific knowledge, practical geophysics, and also industrial policy. He will be remembered as one of the greats in geothermal history”.

Sources: http://www.geothermie.de/news-anzeigen/2013/12/11/gtv-bv-trauert-um-grundungsmitglied-oskar-kappelmeyer.html, EGEC Newsletter, December 2013, p. 1.

Europe: Geothermal District

Heating has the potential to

alleviate Europe’s energy

security crisis

(Excerpts from a press release by the European Geothermal Energy Council, May 15th, 2014)

Over 25% of the EU population lives in areas directly suitable for Geothermal District Heating (GeoDH). A large potential remains in Central and Eastern Europe, with Geothermal District Heating (GeoDH) systems in operation in 22 European countries including Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Romania, where existing heat networks are well developed.

Geothermal generation has its roots in Europe. In the EU, 180 geothermal district heating systems have a total installed capacity of 1.1 GWth, producing some 4,256 GWh of thermal power, (i.e. 366 kilotons of oil equivalent in 2012). The geothermal potential is recognized by some EU Member States in their National Renewable Energy Action Plans. However, the actual potential is significantly larger. To increase awareness, GEODH (www.geodh.eu), an IEE (Intelligent Energy Europe) project co-financed by the EU, has assessed and presented for the first time the potential in Europe on an

interactive map.

From the map we can note that:

• GeoDH can be developed in all 28 EU countries; • Geothermal can be installed with existing DH systems during extension or renovation, replacing fossil fuels; • New GeoDH systems can be built in many regions of Europe at competitive costs; • The Pannonian basin is of particular interest for potential development in Central and Eastern Europe.

GeoDH technology is a valuable and immediate option for alleviating Central and Eastern Europe’s dependency on Russian natural gas imported for heating. To facilitate this, the GeoDH consortium proposes to:

• Simplify the administrative procedures to create market conditions facilitating development; • Develop innovative financial models for GeoDH, including a risk insurance scheme and the intensive use of structural funds; • Establish a level playing field by liberalizing the gas price and taxing GHG emissions in the heat sector appropriately; • Give technicians and decision-makers from regional and local authorities the technical background necessary to approve and support projects.

Source: http://geodh.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/PR-Geothermal-District-Heating-has-the-potential-to-alleviate-Europe%E2%80%99s-energy-security-crisis.pdf

Germany: A new Master of Science programme in

Geothermal Engineering

Khatia Dzebisashvili, Institute of

Petroleum Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology

Clausthal University of Technology is pleased to announce the launch of a brand-new international Master course in Geothermal Engineering (pending accreditation) starting from the upcoming 2014 winter semester. The course structure will provide students with fundamental knowledge on geothermal reservoir

GEOTHERMICS International Journal of Geothermal Research and its Applications

Published under the auspices of the International Geothermal Association

Content of the latest issues: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics

IGA News No. 96 12

www.geothermal-energy.org July-September 2014

characterisation and exploitation, and how to manage geothermal projects effectively, in order to maximise commerciality within the operational constraints.

The main modules of the programme are: fundamentals, geology and geophysics, reservoir engineering, drilling and completion, geothermal production, and energy management.

Application deadline is July 15th for international applicants and October 1st for German applicants. The course is fully taught in English.

Please follow this link for further information about the programme:

http://www.ite.tu-clausthal.de/mscgeothermal/

Italy: Geothermal incentives

Current incentives for renewable energy in Italy, apart from solar PV, were established by a Decree issued by the Minister for Economic Development on 6 July 2012. They apply to all renewable power developments, except for solar PV, with greater than 1 kW capacity built or renovated after 31 December 2012 contributing power to the national grid. Own-use power is not eligible for incentives. Solar PV is subject to separate pre-existing regulations.

Significant features of the Decree include a cap on the overall cost of renewable incentives of €5.8 billion (US$7.9 billion) per year (excluding solar PV) and access via registration with the energy services agency (GES: Gestore Servizi Energetica S.p.A.). Annual capacity quotas also apply. Geothermal up to 35 MW may be registered for each year in 2013, 2014 and 2015. From early 2014 on, no new geothermal plants have been registered with GSE but the unused quota can be carried forward.

Geothermal plants with greater than 20 MW capacity may only be registered after participation in a competitive Dutch auction conducted by GSE.

Registration takes place annually within a sixty day period determined by GSE. GSE is required to publish a notice of the registration procedures 30 days before the start of the registration period, and before 31 March of each year.

After registration, three types of incentives are available for geothermal net power added to the grid:

1) All-inclusive tariff for plants of up to 1 MW capacity. The applicable tariff varies according to plant technology and capacity, and is the sum of the base tariff (Table 1) plus an applicable premium tariff (Table 2). In this case, the power generated is sold to GSE.

2) Differential tariffs for plants with greater than 1 MW capacity (smaller plants may also opt for this tariff). The

applicable tariff is the sum of the base tariff and any applicable premium tariffs less the hourly zonal electricity price (assumed zero if negative). In this case the power generated is sold by the plant owner directly to the market, which is operated by the power market agency (GME: Gestore Mercati Energetici). The incentive provides a base level tariff with the plant operator able to utilize any peaks in the market which may occur above the incentive.

Net capacity in kW

Period in years

Base tariff

€/MWh US$ȼ/kWh

1 up to 2,000 25 135 18.4

>2000 up to 20,000

20 99 13.5

>20,000 20 85 11.6

Table 1. Geothermal incentive base tariffs.

Case Premium tariff

€/MWh US$ȼ/kWh

Total re-injection of spent fluid into the source aquifer with no emissions

30 4.1

First new plant (10 MW) within a production license area with no previous plants

30 4.1

High-enthalpy resources from which at least 95% of H2S and Hg are removed from emissions

15 2.1

Table 2. Geothermal incentive premium tariffs

3) All-inclusive tariff for national interest resources which contain more than 1.5% gas by weight. Two tariff schemes are applicable:

- 200 €/MWh (27.3 US$ cents per kilowatt-hour) where the resource temperature is up to 151 °C.

- Where the temperature is between 151 and 235 °C the tariff is reduced by 0.75 €/MWh (10 US$ cents per kWh) for each degree above 151.

On acceptance of a new geothermal project by GSE, a period of 28 months is allowed for construction, commissioning and the start of commercial operations. The incentive tariff is reduced by 0.5% for each month of delay, although allowance is made for delays outside operator control such as environmental assessments. Delays beyond 28 months attract a tariff penalty of 15%.

Source: http://www.volcanex.com/italian-geothermal-incentives/

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Spain: EGS technical potential

assessed at 700 GWe

Researchers at the University of Valladolid have estimated the power technical potential from geothermal heat under the 10 km of the Iberian Peninsula to be about 700 gigawatts, electric. The research was published in the Renewable Energy journal and César Chamorro, one of the authors, said this potential, assessed between 3 and 10 km depth, is five times the entire installed capacity existing today. “Even if we limit the estimate up to 7 km depth, the potential is 190 GWe—and between 3 and 5 km depth it is 30 GW,” he said. All the estimates refer to the technical potential. The so-called renewable or sustainable potential, based on the harnessing of the heat flow that reaches the crust from the earth’s interior, is significantly lower–only 3,200 MW for Spain. According to the research, Galicia, western Castilla and León, the Sistema Central Andalucía and Catalonia are the regions with the greatest potential for higher temperatures at lower depths.

Source: http://www.agenciasinc.es/Noticias/La-energia-geotermica-de-la-peninsula-iberica-puede-generar-cinco-veces-la-capacidad-electrica-actual

Switzerland: St Gallen geothermal

power project abandoned

A plan in eastern Switzerland to supply geothermal electricity was stopped on May 16th 2014. The city of St Gallen said there was not enough hot water to continue a project to build a power station using the renewable energy resource. Officials said the risks of further, small-scale earthquakes and financial issues had contributed to

the decision. Drilling work at the site outside St Gallen was temporarily stopped in July 2013 when a tremor, measuring 3.5 on the Richter scale, shook the earth. The borehole was later drilled to a total depth of 4,400 m and was sealed by late 2013. Voters in 2010 had given a green light to the geothermal project, including extending a grid for community heating to the tune of CHF160 million (US$178 million). The federal authorities also paid CHF19 million. The Federal Energy Office said last year the potential for geothermal electric production in Switzerland was very high, but it warned of uncertainties due to costs and the feasibility of getting such projects off the ground.

Source: swissinfo.ch and agencies http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/St_Gallen_geothermal_power_project_abandoned.html?cid=38581540

Turkey: First production well started in the Kokaköy project

Transmark Turkey announced in late May it has successfully spudded its first geothermal production well, KOC-1, in the project Kocaköy, Çanakkale province, in northwestern Turkey. The project is being developed by Transmark Services, a subsidiary of Transmark Holding. KOC-1 is being drilled by Transmark Service’s 125 tons Semi-trailer Mounted Rig Gerry-II.

The Kokaköy project is one of the three geothermal concessions of Transmark Turkey and it is located on the southwestern rim of the Biga Peninsula, Çanakkale province. This province is well-known for its geothermal surface manifestations, exploration projects and the 7.5-MW Tuzla Geothermal Power Plant, which is in the vicinity of KOC-1 drill site. The other two concessions are Gülpinar and Babakale. Prior the drilling, the exploration team applied advanced exploration methods to generate a geothermal conceptual model and proposed a production well target. Some of the studies are remote sensing, structural geology, geochemistry and geophysics with MT surveys. The well KOC-1 targets two reservoir sections, one shallow and one deep within the same reservoir. It is expected the well will produce medium enthalpy fluids. According to Transmark Turkey, the country is deemed as one of the “hottest” markets in Europe for geothermal and is the seventh most promising country in the world for geothermal energy potential.

Source: http://www.transmark-renewables.com/Message.aspx?message=32

OCEANIA

Map of surface heat flow in the Iberian Peninsula, by Universidad de Valladolid. Available at:

http://www.agenciasinc.es/Multimedia/Infografias/Mapa-de-flujo-de-calor-en-superficie-de-la-

peninsula-iberica.

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New Zealand: Officially

finished the construction of

the Te Mihi power plant The firm Contact Energy Limited confirmed in middle May the Te Mihi power station had been handed over from the construction contractor and was under the operational and commercial control of Contact. The power plant is expected to run baseload through the higher-demand winter period until its first inspection in late 2014. The hand-over of Te Mihi, stated Contact, concludes a six year investment in over AU$2 billion (US$1.87 billion) of renewable and flexible generation assets. The Te Mihi power station includes two new steam turbine generators of 83 MW each, constructed near the 53-year-old Wairakei geothermal power station northwest of Taupo. Thus Te Mihi will produce 166 MW and some of its generation will replace older parts of the existing Wairakei geothermal station, which will be taken out of commission. The initial result will be an increase in output from the two power stations of about 114 MW.

Sources: https://www.nzx.com/companies/CEN/announcements/250066, http://www.contactenergy.co.nz/web/ourprojects/temihi?vert=au

Australia: Dismantling ARENA and related problems The Australian government plans to axe the funding body for new technologies in renewable energy, ARENA the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, to save more than a billion Australian dollars. But ARENA has said that money would help to build an AU$7.7 billion (US$7.19 billion) fleet of projects to develop solar, wave and geothermal technologies, and the clean energy industry was voicing dismay over this governmental plan. ARENA was supporting the Australian universities, researchers, and small-to-medium enterprises, developing products and technologies they could use to compete in a global marketplace. ARENA’s CEO said Australia could be the loser if the more than a billion dollars of support for world-leading scientific R&D ends.

Thus the future of geothermal in Australia seems to rest on the willingness of investors to help Petratherm raise AU$5 million by the middle of July. The money will fund a second well for the AU$62 million Paralana project in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, which taps naturally fractured shales just above the hot basement rocks. The equity target will open up the potential of a further grant of AU$27.5 million from the Australian Renewables Agency (ARENA) –which will see out

nearly 200 legacy projects totaling AU$1 billion– allowing the company to build a demonstration plant. Petratherm is planning to cut costs to save cash in the case of not reaching the target, with directors halving their fees, deferring payment and paying in scrip, as well as four in seven resigning, in order to fund a potential case of “care and maintenance” for the project. Up to late May, the project has cost AU$36 million.

Sources: http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2014/s4005586.htm, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/latest/petratherm-in-rush-for-5m/story-e6frg90f-1226919104554

OTHER

Global: The geothermal power

market grows at 4-5% says

the new GEA report

A new report from the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), released on April 22 at the organization’s International Geothermal Showcase in Washington, D.C., reveals the international power market is booming, with a sustained growth rate of 4% to 5%. The “2014 Annual U.S. & Global Geothermal Power Production Report” finds almost 700 projects currently under development in 76 countries. Threats caused by climate

Simplified geology of the Paralana project (map by Petratherm).

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www.geothermal-energy.org July-September 2014

change and the need for a renewable energy source that can satisfy both firm and flexible grid needs are among the key factors driving the international community to invest in geothermal power.

The new global geothermal capacity in 2013 was 530 MW, 85 MW of which were installed in the U.S., according to the report. U.S. growth was flat because of policy barriers, gridlock at the federal level, low natural gas prices and inadequate transmission infrastructure. According to the report, the American geothermal industry was working on 977 MW of new capacity (Planned Capacity Additions or PCA’s) at sites that hold over 3,092 MW of power potential in eight western states.

In 2013, 25 pieces of legislation in 13 U.S. states were enacted specifically to address geothermal power and heating systems, creating a foundation for the environment needed to foster geothermal growth in these states. The Salton Sea Resource Area is a new initiative in California that could be a significant source of growth for the U.S. geothermal power industry if several policy barriers are overcome in the near term. The Imperial Irrigation District has pledged to build up to 1,700 MW of geothermal power by the early 2030s at the Salton Sea. If successful, this initiative could increase the nameplate capacity of the U.S. by 50% over the next 20 years.

Globally, significant geothermal development growth is expected over the next few years. East Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia are building power plants greater than 100 MW. For comparison, the average size of a geothermal power plant in the U.S. is about 25 MW. Latin American nations such as Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Honduras have significant potential, but are in the early stages of identifying their resources. The GEA estimates that Chile is actively developing 50 projects and prospects, and that Indonesia has 4,400 MW of planned capacity additions announced in the pipeline alone.

In terms of established nameplate capacity, the U.S. (with a total in 2013 of 3,442 MW) still outpaces the Philippines (1,904 MW in 2013) and Indonesia (1,333 MW), the world’s second and third ranked geothermal energy producers.

Source: http://www.geo-energy.org/pressReleases/2014/New%20GEA%20Report%20Global%20Geothermal%20Market.aspx

International: General Electric

takes part of Alstom

General Electric Co. (GE) is set to take over the gas and steam turbine businesses of Alstom SA, the French builder of trains and power plants. GE announced in early May that it has made an offer to pay around US$13.5 billion to buy Alstom, an amount representing about 25 percent more than the current market value of Alstom. Combined with the US$3.4 billion net cash held by these businesses, the deal would give GE complete control of the Alstom’s power and grid businesses for a total sum of US$16.9 billion. But the French government who holds a veto over any Alstom deal, disapproved the offer, citing concerns related to loss of jobs in France and dissolution of an iconic French brand. Over the next two months, Alstom received competing joint bids from the German Siemens AG and the Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Mitsubishi would bid US$4.9 billion for Alstom’s steam-turbine business and Siemens would pay a similar amount for Alstom’s gas-turbine business. But finally Alstom’s board unanimously chose a GE’s revised bid after GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, met with the French president Francois Hollande and also addressed the French parliament to resolve their concerns.

GE has been shifting its focus toward units that make jet engines, locomotives and industrial equipment and

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IGA News No. 96 16

www.geothermal-energy.org July-September 2014

shrinking the finance division, called GE Capital, which imperiled the company during the global financial crisis. Alstom has been selling assets to cut costs and reduce debt. Alstom is the world leader in turbines for dams, while it lags behind GE and Siemens in gas turbines. It is the third-largest maker of power transmission gear after ABB Ltd. and Siemens, and competes with the German company and Canada’s Bombardier Inc. for trains and other rail equipment. Alstom had to be bailed out by the French government and banks in 2004 after a series of technical flaws in a gas turbine business.

Sources: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2014/04/ge-reportedly-in-talks-to-buy-frances-alstom-for-13-billion?cmpid=WNL-Friday-April25-2014, http://renews.biz/67303/siemens-alstom-bid-in-june/, http://www.milenio.com/negocios/siemens_y_mitsubishi-activos_alstom-mitsubishi_heavy-shunishi_miyanaga_0_315568637.html, http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/18899, http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/06/25/ge-set-to-expand-its-power-business-with-alstom-acquisition/

Technology: High-power fiber

lasers for the geothermal, oil,

and gas industries

Mark Zediker

(Condensed from the original note published on 11 April 2014, SPIE Newsroom. DOI: 10.1117/2.1201403.005288)

The concept of using lasers to drill through rock has been discussed in the oil and gas industries since the development of the high-power laser in the 1960s. The innovation that opened up the prospect of commercializing laser drilling was the introduction of a 10 kW fiber laser by IPG Photonics in 2008. A year later, with the assistance of the Colorado School of Mines developing a laser drilling process capable of creating a commercial grade borehole was started, along with the supporting technology necessary to field a laser drilling system.

The first major advance in the drilling industry was the invention of a twin-roller-cutter drill bit by Howard Hughes in 1908. (The drill bit was used in the early 1920s at The Geysers Geothermal Field in Northern California.) The drill bit revolutionized the drilling industry and allowed the Hughes Tool Company to dominate the drill bit market. The original concept of a twin roller was improved upon by a researcher at the Hughes Tool Company and resulted in the introduction

of the tri-cone bit 24 years later, which has been the workhorse of the drilling industry for the last 80 years. The next advance in drilling technology was the introduction of the polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bit by General Electric in 1971, which has overtaken the tri-cone bit as the market leader in recent years. However, both bits still struggle with ultra-hard crystalline rocks such as dolomite, basalt, and granite. Now, a new type of drilling system that combines a precision heat source with a PDC bit has been developed, which is more effective at drilling rocks with compressive strengths exceeding 30 ksi (kilograms per square inch) than either a conventional tri-cone bit or a PDC bit.

The drill bit features a rotating laser beam that fractures and weakens the rock, combined with a set of PDC cutters that scrape the weakened rock from the area that is exposed to the laser beam. The laser energy that exits the drill bit creates a unique pattern on the rock that is rotated—much like a radar sweep—to heat up the bottom surface of the borehole. The laser effectively spalls the surface of the rock, and in doing so introduces micro-fractures that enable easy removal of the layer of fractured rock. Since the strength of the rock is reduced during this process, it takes very little mechanical energy to ultimately remove the rock. For example, a conventional tri-cone bit requires over 25,000 lbs of weight on the bit to penetrate rock with > 30 ksi compressive strength. The new drill bit is capable of penetrating the same rock at 2–3 times the rate of penetration, but with less than 1500 lbs of weight on bit while being rotated with less than 100 ft-lbs of torque and using less than 10 hp (horse-power) during the drilling process. It has successfully drilled through all of the rocks found in oil, gas, and geothermal applications

A test hole drilled 12’ deep in dolomite rock with a compressive strength exceeding 30 ksi. The

discoloration of the rock is oil discarded by the drilling motor.

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www.geothermal-energy.org July-September 2014

with 4, 6, and 8.5” diameter bits. It has also successfully integrated the laser drill into a drilling rig and demonstrated boring a 12’ hole through dolomite with a compressive strength of 30 ksi (see attached figure).

The goal of this project was to demonstrate improved speeds for drilling through ultra-hard crystalline rock compared to a conventional drilling system, which in turn reduces the cost of drilling geothermal wells. With partnership of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) and CSM, a laser-based drilling process with a faster rate of penetration (2–3×) and substantial decrease in the weight on bit (>25×) has been demonstrated, which ultimately leads to a longer bit lifetime. The next step is to perform drilling tests at higher power levels to characterize the scalability of the drilling process.

Disclaimer note: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

Source: http://spie.org/x106865.xml?

Technology: Arrangement of

deep borehole exchanger

Dace Ozola and Ojars Ozols

Email: geo_lv@inbox.lv

(Note: This collaboration was received from Latvia. In the opinion of some members of the Information Committee there is no innovation in the proposed borehole exchanger, since its description is the standard today. It was also pointed out that the description does not include any mention on the isolation of the inner tube, which is a critical part. Anyway, it was finally decided to publish an edited version of the original communication, as follows.)

We have worked out a technical solution for a hot dry rocks deep borehole heat exchanger (BHE) system of coaxial pipes, combining directional drilling and cementing material of improved thermal conductivity. The technical purpose of this solution is to maximize efficiency of heat exchange between the hot dry rocks and the closed loop circulation system, at the same time keeping its simplicity and safety. The advantages of this technical solution are the following:

• It can be applied anywhere - no search for subsurface hot water is needed; • It is environmentally friendly - no chemical pollution; • There is no risk of induced seismic activity; • Only one borehole is needed - short drilling time, low drilling costs; • Different heat exchange fluids can be used in a closed system but water; • The borehole can be drilled near existing thermal or electric power plants and connected to regional, municipal or local networks - no new infrastructure or wide areas are needed, • It is possible to calculate and control obtainable amount of heat per unit of time.

The method works in the following way (see figure).

1) First, the vertical borehole (1’) is drilled perpendicular to the surface of the earth to reach the area of geothermal heat. Approaching the hot layers (approximately100 ºC) of the ground (17), the borehole (1”) is deviated in a 30-60º angle against vertical direction for maximum use of upcoming geothermal heat flow according to the depth of the borehole, and the length and diameter of the casing.

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2) After drilling the borehole, it is washed under pressure, as are the void spaces and fractures around the well.

3) The external circulation pipe (2) is placed into borehole (1). The external surface of the external pipe (2), is bonded to the hot rock (17) by some material (6) of enhanced high thermal conductivity (for example, cement containing an admixture of aluminum shavings, flint dust or carbon fibers) filling all natural fractures and the borehole (1) around the external pipe (2), providing maximum thermal contact between the surface of the external pipe (2) and the hot rock (17).

4) Then the end of external pipe (2) is closed by occluding block (18), forming a closed-loop system. The internal pipe (4) is inserted into pipe (2), in a free or coaxially fixed position, forming a loop of downgoing and upgoing flow (7, 8). The mouth (9) of the internal pipe (4) is located near the occluding block (18).

5) The heat is transferred from hot rocks (17) to cementing material of high thermal conductivity (6), then to external pipe (2), then to the liquid (7). There are no more void spaces around the pipe decreasing the effectiveness of heat exchange due to low thermal conductivity of air. The cementing material (6) of improved thermal conductivity spreads deep into the rock, collects the heat from a wider area and divides the heat flow equally among all surfaces of the external pipe (2).

6) Thermal energy is carried to the surface by the up-going flow (8). The heated liquid goes to the heat exchanger and transfers its heat and then returns through the down-going pipe (2) for re-starting the cycle.

We have submitted a patent application of this solution in the patent office of the Republic of Latvia as private persons.

Technology: New tools for

measurements at high

temperatures

The Icelandic startup company GIRO recently introduced a new temperature and pressure measurement tool that can be used up to 400 °C. The new measurement tool, called HP1, is the result of two-years of development work at the company, which was founded in 2011. Iceland’s National Power Company (Landsvirkjun) has cooperated with GIRO on developing the meter and has provided both financial and technical assistance, plus access to equipment and wells for testing. Landsvirkjun’s CEO Hordur Arnarson received the first meter at a ceremony in Reykjavik in

March. Initial measurements of temperature and pressure with HP1 at the Krafla geothermal field in the North of Iceland were conducted in collaboration with the Icelandic engineering groups Mannvit, Reykjavik Energy and Landsvirkjun. The results have been promising. GIRO is also working on the development of G1, a heat resistant direction and tilt meter, which is now being tested. The company hopes to finalize testing later this year. The new meter will be more heat resistant than older scopes and will increase efficiency and reduce the cost of geothermal drilling. Currently one must drill and cool wells to measure the exact direction and angle.

Source: http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/18168

Analysis: Geothermal Energy -

An Emerging Option for Heat

and Power

Roland N. Horne and Jefferson W.

Tester

(Excerpts by Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín from an article by Roland Horne and Jeff Tester originally published in The Bridge, a quarterly journal edited by the US National Academy of Engineering, Vol. 44, No. 1, Spring 2014.)

(…) This renewed interest (in geothermal energy) is the result of world economic and political forces—mainly increased oil prices and moral preference for renewable energy—combined with technological advances making geothermal energy more accessible. There have been three particularly significant innovations in utilization technologies:

1. Increased use of innovative power plants, often by marrying steam turbine (flash) plants with binary cycle plants or using cogeneration approaches to provide both heat and electric power. The result is an increased recovery of thermal energy from the resource.

2. Use of fluids of lower temperature, with refined binary cycle power plants. The result is the wider availability of producible resources. A noteworthy example is the 250 kilowatt (kW) organic Rankine cycle plant at Chena Hot Springs, Alaska, which produces electricity from a very low temperature (74 °C) geothermal resource (Lund et al., 2010).

3. Reservoir enhancement techniques. Over the past 35 years around the world, many EGS (Enhanced or Engineered Geothermal Systems) field projects at various scales have been under development. The first commercial EGS plant began operations in Landau, Germany, in 2007 (Schellschmidt et al., 2010). By 2013 active EGS field projects were operating at three sites in Europe, one in Australia, and five in the United States.

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For many years geothermal power plants had a degree of uniformity thanks to the general adoption of strategies that had worked in the small number of early flash plants. Based on experience in the dry steam fields at The Geysers in California, the 55-MW plant came to be accepted as “normal” in size, and based on reservoir temperatures common at the time turbine inlet pressures

tended to be in the vicinity of 600 kilopascals (kPa).

Recently, however, there has been considerable variation in plant design. A good example is the combined cycle plant at Rotokawa, New Zealand, one of the first built with binary bottoming cycles supplied from the exhaust of a steam flash plant. It combines a back-pressure steam turbine that has a very high inlet pressure (2,550 kPa) with multiple binary cycle plants that receive the exit steam (Legmann and Sullivan, 2003). This combined cycle unit has a steam consumption of around 5 kg/kWh (kilowatt hour), which is better to the steam consumption of about 8 kg/kWh at The Geysers (computed from data in Sanyal and Enedy, 2011) or around 9 kg/kWh in Ahuachapán, El Salvador (Handal et al., 2007).

Combinations of binary and flash plants are now found in several other projects and in some cases have been integrated into a range of direct uses and other applications. An excellent example of such integration is the Svartsengi power plant on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula. It provides hot water and CO2 for a range of uses—fish farming, carbon recycling, enhanced crop and

algae growth in geothermally heated and lighted greenhouses and photobioreactors, and warm water for the Blue Lagoon spa resort.

There is also interest in the combination of geothermal generation with other sources, as in the geothermal-solar operations in Ahuachapán (Alvarenga et al., 2008; Handal et al., 2007) and Stillwater, Nevada (Greenhut et al., 2010). The combination of geothermal and solar thermal energy provides an opportunity to raise source fluid temperatures and even out the inherent intermittency of insolation. The combination of solar photovoltaic and geothermal sources allows for increased generation in the hot afternoon, when the air-cooled condensers of geothermal binary plants are at their lowest efficiency. Other designs combining gasified biomass and geothermal heat are under consideration (Tester et al., 2010).

Innovation will certainly continue with new hybrid energy combinations for the supply of heat and power and for the possible use of geothermal reservoirs to sequester CO2 generated from fossil fuel power plants (Randolph and Saar, 2011).

As electric production from lower temperatures becomes more common, another intriguing possibility is the recovery of geothermal energy from coproduced fluids, such as water brought to the surface in oil fields. Pilot projects are in operation in Wyoming (Johnson and Walker, 2010) and Huabei, China (Gong et al., 2011). The global oil industry produces as much as 300 million barrels of water per day (540,000 kg/s) and in many places the temperatures are within the range of operational geothermal power plants. Oil field operations are often substantial consumers of electrical power, so the generation of electricity local to the operation is of particular benefit.

The importance of resource temperature is somewhat more complex than appears at first. Although in simple terms it is true that hotter is better, there remains a “hole” in resource accessibility because self-flowing steam/water wells in hydrothermal systems drop substantially in productivity at temperatures below a certain range, while in pumped wells the downhole pumps are effective only up to a specific temperature range. This was succinctly described by Sanyal and colleagues (2007), who showed that a gap lies roughly between 190 and 220 °C, where neither pumped nor self-flowing wells provide sufficient thermal output (Figure 2). This resource temperature gap represents a technological challenge that is being addressed by the geothermal industry.

The prospect for major expansion of geothermal development lies in EGS when one or more of the three critical ingredients for an operable system are lacking: sufficient reservoir permeability and porosity, sufficient

Figure 2. Net megawatt (MW) capacity of a geothermal well as a function of temperature. The productivity index (PI) is defined as the ratio of the

volumetric flow rate of produced fluid divided by the pressure drop through the reservoir. l/s/bar

=liters/second/bar. Reprinted (in The Bridge) with permission from Sanyal et al. (2007).

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quantities of natural steam or hot water in the reservoir, and sufficiently high temperatures (Figure 3).

EGS provide a means of using geothermal energy when hydrothermal conditions are not ideal, that is, when natural conditions in the host rock do not provide sufficient fluid content and/or connected permeability. The idea behind EGS is to emulate what nature provides in high-grade hydrothermal reservoirs at depths where rock temperatures are sufficient for power or heating applications. A fractured reservoir is stimulated hydraulically and connected to an injection and production well separated by sufficient distances to yield a sustainable system for extracting the stored thermal energy in the rock.

But there remain several important challenges before EGS will be ready for commercial development: an increase in production rates by a factor of 2 to 4 to reach levels comparable to those of commercial hydrothermal reservoirs, the achievement of sustained production with sufficient reservoir thermal lifetimes, and demonstration of the effective application of EGS technology over a range of geologic conditions. A MIT-led study (Tester et al., 2006, 2007) and recent IPCC report (Goldstein et al., 2011) provide detailed evaluations of the technical and economic requirements and deployment status and potential of EGS.

Conclusion

Geothermal energy has experienced a renaissance in the past 10 years as many new technologies and countries have joined the industry. The technology for generating electricity and deploying district heating from high-grade hydrothermal systems is relatively mature and reliable. Technologies for geothermal heat pumps are also mature and are being deployed at increasing rates in the United States and Europe. The use of innovative hybrid and combined heat and power plants, lower resource temperatures, and enhanced reservoir stimulation methods are making geothermal energy accessible in a much greater variety of places. At a number of field test sites in the United States and elsewhere, EGS technologies are being demonstrated at a scale that is approaching commercial levels and, if operated long enough to prove sustained production, would enable the deployment of a substantially increased fraction of the huge geothermal resource base, which for the United States amounts to about 14 million exajoules (Tester et al., 2007).

Cited References

Alvarenga Y, Handal S, Recinos M. 2008. Solar steam booster in the Ahuachapán geothermal field. Geothermal Resources Council Transactions 32:395–399.

Goldstein B, Hiriart G, Bertani R, Bromley C, Gutiérrez-Negrín L, Huenges E, Muraoka H, Ragnarsson A,

Tester J, Zui V. 2011. Geothermal energy. In: IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. Edenhofer O, Pichs-Madruga R, Sokona Y, Seyboth K, Matschoss P, Kadner S, Zwickel T, Eickemeier P, Hansen G, Schlömer S, Von Stechow C, eds. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

Gong B, Liang H, Xin S, Li K. 2011. Effect of water injection on reservoir temperature during power generation in oil fields. Proceedings of the 36th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, January 31–February 2.

Greenhut AD, Tester JW, DiPippo R, Field R, Love C, Nichols K, Augustine C, Batini F, Price B, Gigliucci G, Fastelli I. 2010. Solar-geothermal hybrid cycle analysis for low enthalpy solar and geothermal resources. Proceedings World Geothermal Congress, Bali, Indonesia, April 25–29.

Handal S, Alvarenga Y, Recinos M. 2007. Geothermal steam production by solar energy. Geothermal Resources Council Transactions 31:503–510.

Johnson LA, Walker E. 2010. Oil production waste stream, a source of electrical power. Proceedings of the 35th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, February 1–3.

Legmann H, Sullivan P. 2003. The 30 MW Rotokawa I Geothermal Project: Five years of operation. International Geothermal Conference, Reykjavík, September.

Figure 3. The continuum of geothermal resources as a function of average temperature gradient, natural connectivity, and fluid content. Relative values of

permeability (k) and porosity (φ) indicate effective ranges in natural geologic settings. The arbitrary scale

for permeability is the ratio between the effective permeability of the entire geothermal system relative to

a very permeable unconsolidated sand. Adapted from Thorsteinsson et al. (2008). ∇T = geothermal

temperature gradient.

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Lund JW, Gawell K, Boyd TL, Jennejohn D. 2010. The United States of America country update 2010. Proceedings World Geothermal Congress, Bali, Indonesia, April 25–29.

Randolph JB, Saar MO. 2011. Combining geothermal energy capture with geologic carbon dioxide sequestration. Geophysical Research Letters 38:L10401.

Sanyal SK, Morrow JW, Butler SJ. 2007. Net power capacity of geothermal wells versus reservoir temperature: A practical perspective. Proceedings of the 32nd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, January 22–24.

Sanyal SK, Enedy SL. 2011. Fifty years of power generation at the Geysers geothermal field, California: The lessons learned. Proceedings of the 36th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, January 31–February 2.

Schellschmidt R, Sanner B, Pester S, Schulz R. 2010. Geothermal energy use in Germany. Proceedings World Geothermal Congress, Bali, Indonesia, April 25–29.

Tester JW, Blackwell D, Petty S, Richards M, Moore MC, Anderson B, Livesay B, Augustine C, DiPippo R, Nichols K, Veatch R, Drake E, Toksoz N, Baria R, Batchelor AS, Garnish J. 2006. The future of geothermal energy: An assessment of the energy supply potential of engineered geothermal systems (EGS) for the United States. Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Department of Energy Report, for the US DOE Idaho National Laboratory, INL/EXT-06-11746 (2006) presented at the 32nd Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering, Stanford University, January 22–24, 2007. Available at http://geothermal.inel.gov/publications/future_of_geothermal_energy.pdf.

Tester JW, Anderson BJ, Batchelor AS, Blackwell DD, DiPippo R, Drake EM, Garnish J, Livesay B, Moore MC, Nichols K, Petty S, Toksoz MN, Veatch RW, Baria R, Augustine C, Murphy E, Negraru P, Richards M. 2007. Impact of enhanced geothermal systems on US energy supply in the twenty-first century. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences 365:1057–1094.

Tester JW, Joyce WS, Brown L, Bland B, Clark A, Jordan T, Andronicos C, Allmendinger R, Beyers S, Blackwell D, Richards M, Frone Z, Anderson B. 2010. Co-generation opportunities for lower grade geothermal resources in the Northeast: A case study of the Cornell site in Ithaca, NY. Proceedings of the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA, October 24–27.

Source: http://www.nae.edu/Publications/Bridge/110801/111017.aspx

Geochemistry: Integrated

Solute Geothermometry

Solute geothermometers have been successfully used for decades to infer the temperatures of deep geothermal reservoirs (temperature being a key parameter in evaluating how productive a geothermal source could be) from analyses of spring or exploration-well fluid samples. However, traditional geothermometers relying on the concentrations of one or a few solutes have limitations, particularly when geothermal fluids ascending to the ground surface are affected by gas loss, mixing, or dilution with shallower waters, masking their deep geochemical signatures.

A team of the Earth Sciences Division (ESD) of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the U.S. revisited a geothermometry method relying on the saturation indices of multiple minerals computed from full chemical analyses of geothermal fluids. The method was initially developed in the early 1980s by Dr. Mark Reed at the University of Oregon. Now, the ESD team with Nicolas Spycher and Loic Peiffer as lead, and including Christoph Wanner, Eric Sonnenthal, Guiseppi Saldi, and Mack Kennedy, aimed to simplify the application of this method and to combine it with numerical optimization for a more integral application using multiple water analyses simultaneously and from various locations. The reconstruction of the deep geothermal fluid compositions and geothermometry computations were implemented into a stand-alone program (Geo-T), allowing unknown or poorly constrained input parameters to be estimated by numerical optimization using external parameter estimation software. The reservoir temperature was then estimated by numerically assessing the clustering of mineral saturation indices computed as a function of temperature.

This new geothermometry system was tested both with geothermal waters from previous studies, and with fluids at various degrees of water–rock chemical equilibrium obtained from laboratory experiments and reactive transport simulations. The method was further tested and applied at the Dixie Valley geothermal system. Such an integrated geothermometry approach presents advantages over classical geothermometers for fluids that have not been fully equilibrated with reservoir minerals, or that have been subject to processes such as dilution and gas loss. The range of applications for this method and other solute geothermometers was further investigated using a reactive transport model and

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simulated geothermal springs under various rates of fluid ascent and reaction with surrounding rocks.

Three papers presenting this new system are to appear in the July 2014 issue of Geothermics. The first paper (Spycher et al., 2014) details the geothermometry approach. In the second paper (Peiffer et al., 2014) the approach is applied to the Dixie Valley geothermal system in Nevada. In the third paper (Wanner et al., 2014), a reactive-transport model of Dixie Valley is applied to evaluate deep fluid and thermal flow patterns at this site, as well as to test various solute geothermometry methods using synthetic water compositions from a modeled spring.

Source: http://earthsciences.typepad.com/blog/2014/05/integrative-solute-geothermometry.html

Science: Water trapped in the

mantle can be the source of

our oceans

A reservoir of water three times the volume of all the oceans has been discovered deep beneath the earth’s surface. The finding could help explain where the earth’s seas came from. The water is hidden inside a blue rock called ringwoodite that lies 700 kilometres deep in the mantle. This new discovery supports an alternative idea that the oceans gradually oozed out of the interior of the early earth. “There is good evidence the earth’s water came from within,” says Steven Jacobsen of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The hidden water could also act as a buffer for the oceans on the surface, explaining why they have stayed the same size for millions of years. Jacobsen’s team used seismological data, grew ringwoodite in his lab and exposed samples of it to massive pressures and temperatures matching those at 700 kilometers down. They found signs of wet ringwoodite in the transition zone 700 kilometers down, which divides the upper and lower regions of the mantle. At that depth, the pressures and temperatures are just right to squeeze the water out of the ringwoodite. “It is rock with water along the boundaries between the grains, almost as if they're sweating,” says Jacobsen.

Jacobsen’s finding supports a recent study by Graham Pearson of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Pearson studied a diamond from the transition zone that had been carried to the surface in a volcano, and found that it contained water-bearing ringwoodite, the first strong evidence that there was lots of water in the transition zone. “Since our initial report of hydrous ringwoodite, we’ve found another ringwoodite crystal, also containing water, so the evidence is now very strong,” says Pearson.

So far, Jacobsen only has evidence that the watery rock sits beneath the U.S. He now wants to find out if it wraps around the entire planet.

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25723-massive-ocean-discovered-towards-earths-core.html#.U5po9fl5Nu4

The purpose of WING (Women in Geothermal)

Andrea Blair

Chair of WING (a.blair@gns.cri.nz)

The purpose of WING is to promote the education, professional development and advancement of women in the geothermal community (worldwide). It is free to join and members come from all aspects of industry,

Example multicomponent geothermometry using a geothermal water from Long Valley, California.

The temperature is determined from the saturation indices of all minerals shown. Top:

saturation indices as a function of temperature. Bottom: minimization of saturation indices using

standard statistical functions (median, mean, root mean square and standard deviation).

Results of classical geothermometers are also shown for comparison (using the reconstructed

composition of the deep fluid) (Figure taken from:

http://earthsciences.typepad.com/.a/6a0133f32df47b970b01a73dc9689f970d-popup).

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IGA News

IGA News is published quarterly by the International Geothermal Association. The function of IGA News is to disseminate timely information about geothermal activities throughout the world. To this end, a group of correspondents has agreed to supply news for each issue. The core of this group consists of the IGA Information Committee:

Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín, Mexico (Chairman) Rolf Bracke, Germany Paul Brophy, USA Varun Chandrasekharam, India Surya Darma, Indonesia Lúdvík S. Georgsson, Iceland José Luis Henríquez, El Salvador Susan F. Hodgson, USA Eduardo Iglesias, Mexico Marcelo J. Lippmann, USA Alfredo Mañón-Mercado, Mexico Fernando (Ronnie) Peñarroyo, Philippines Paul Quinlivan, New Zealand Alexander Richter, Iceland Horst Rueter, Germany Benedikt Steingrímsson, Iceland Koichi Tagomori, Japan Shigeto Yamada, Japan

The members of this group submit geothermal news from their parts of the world, or relevant to their areas of specialization. If you have some news, a report, or an article for IGA News, you can send it to any of the above individuals, or directly to the IGA Secretariat. Please help us to become essential reading for anyone seeking the latest information on geothermal worldwide.

While the editorial team makes every effort to ensure accuracy, the opinions expressed in contributed articles remain those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the IGA. The editorial team does not assume any liability for external content taken from public sources and websites, or endorse the products or services mentioned.

Send IGA News contributions to the editor (l.g.negrin@gmail.com) and/or: International Geothermal Association (IGA) c/o Bochum University of Applied Sciences Lennershofstr. 140, 44801 Bochum, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)234 32 10712, Fax: +49 (0)234 3214809 E-mail: iga@hs-bochum.de

This issue of IGA News was edited by Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín. Susan F. Hodgson proofread the articles. Distributed by Marietta Sander for the IGA Secretariat. Design layout by François Vuataz.

from science and engineering through to business, legal, and government. It is a supportive environment whereby we aren’t looking to place blame, we actually like men, but to empower our WING. We have country/region Ambassadors, and a Global Steering Committee which drive the WING engine.

WING’s focus for the next year is “Bringing Us Together”; gathering the coalition of the willing; networking through events, conversations on Facebook and Linked In; and old fashioned getting out there and talking to each other.

I have recently taken over the position as Global Chair for WING, and look forward to growing our international WING network of amazing women. In my day job I do a lot of international travel, and have met some inspiring women in our industry that are working hard and making things happen.

At the World Geothermal Congress in Melbourne and New Zealand next year we will be having a global WING networking event and an Ambassadors meeting to develop the WING direction for the next five years. Here we will decide where we will put our energy. In the meantime, I encourage you WING’s out there to participate in the events and online communication, make an effort to meet and talk to other women in geothermal, chase those leadership roles and be visible to our community!

In fact if you wish to host a WING event, which can be as small as after work drinks, I encourage you to do so (and let us know about it). Put a group of smart women into a room together and awesomeness is bound to happen.

If you are travelling to another country for work or play and would like to meet other WINGs just let us know and we can put you in touch with local members.

Upcoming WING events:

- WING Networking Event during the 38th Annual Meeting of the GRC, Portland, US. Tuesday 30th September 2014, 5-7 pm, Urban Farmer, 525 SW Morrison St.

- WING Networking Event during New Zealand Geothermal Workshop, 24-26th November 2014, Auckland, NZ.

- WING Networking Event + Ambassadors Meeting during World Geothermal Congress 2015, 19-25th April 2015, Melbourne Australia and New Zealand.

If you are interested in becoming a WING member send me an email saying “add me to the Team”.

Go forth with the power of awesomeness!

IGA News No. 96 24

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