Geothermal Energy : : Delivering on the Global Potential / / edited by Paul L. Younger.

• TeilnehmendeR: Younger, Paul L.,
• Place / Publishing House: Basel : : MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute,, 2015.
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (430 pages) :; illustrations

After decades of being largely the preserve of countries in volcanic regions, the use of geothermal energy-for both heat and power applications-is now expanding worldwide. This reflects its excellent low-carbon credentials and its ability to offer baseload and dispatchable output - rare amongst the mainstream renewables. Yet uptake of geothermal still lags behind that of solar and wind, principally because of (i) uncertainties over resource availability in poorly-explored reservoirs and (ii) the concentration of full-lifetime costs into early-stage capital expenditure (capex). Recent advances in reservoir characterization techniques are beginning to narrow the bounds of exploration uncertainty, both by improving estimates of reservoir geometry and properties, and by providing pre-drilling estimates of temperature at depth. Advances in drilling technologies and management have potential to significantly lower initial capex, while operating expenditure is being further reduced by more effective reservoir management - supported by robust mathematical models - and increasingly efficient energy conversion systems (flash, binary and combined-heat-and-power). Advances in characterization and modelling are also improving management of shallow low-enthalpy resources that can only be exploited using heat-pump technology. Taken together with increased public appreciation of the benefits of geothermal, the technology is finally ready to take its place as a mainstream renewable technology, This book draws together some of the latest developments in concepts and technology that are enabling the growing realisation of the global potential of geothermal energy in all its manifestations.After decades of being largely the preserve of countries in volcanic regions, the use of geothermal energy-for both heat and power applications-is now expanding worldwide. This reflects its excellent low-carbon credentials and its ability to offer baseload and dispatchable output - rare amongst the mainstream renewables. Yet uptake of geothermal still lags behind that of solar and wind, principally because of (i) uncertainties over resource availability in poorly-explored reservoirs and (ii) the concentration of full-lifetime costs into early-stage capital expenditure (capex). Recent advances in reservoir characterization techniques are beginning to narrow the bounds of exploration uncertainty, both by improving estimates of reservoir geometry and properties, and by providing pre-drilling estimates of temperature at depth. Advances in drilling technologies and management have potential to significantly lower initial capex, while operating expenditure is being further reduced by more effective reservoir management - supported by robust mathematical models - and increasingly efficient energy conversion systems (flash, binary and combined-heat-and-power). Advances in characterization and modelling are also improving management of shallow low-enthalpy resources that can only be exploited using heat-pump technology. Taken together with increased public appreciation of the benefits of geothermal, the technology is finally ready to take its place as a mainstream renewable technology.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors VII -- About the Guest Editor X -- Preface: Geothermal Energy: Delivering on the Global Potential -- Chapter 1: Enhancing Geothermal Reservoir Characterisation -- Gamma-ray Spectrometry in Geothermal Exploration: State of the Art Techniques -- Seismic Velocity/Temperature Correlations and a Possible New Geothermometer: Insights from Exploration of a High-Temperature Geothermal System on Montserrat, West Indies -- Determining the Maximum Depth of Hydrothermal Circulation Using Geothermal Mapping and Seismicity to Delineate the Depth to Brittle-Plastic Transition in Northern Honshu, Japan -- 3D Geothermal Modelling of the Mount Amiata Hydrothermal System in Italy -- The Marsili Volcanic Seamount (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea): A Potential Offshore Geothermal Resource -- Geothermal Potential Evaluation for Northern Chile and Suggestions for New Energy Plans -- Implications of Spatial Variability in Heat Flow for Geothermal Resource Evaluation in Large Foreland Basins: The Case of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin -- Estimating Limits for the Geothermal Energy Potential of Abandoned Underground Coal Mines: A Simple Methodology -- Chapter 2: Uptake of Geothermal Energy -- Geothermal Power Growth 1995-2013-A Comparison with Other Renewables -- National Deployment of Domestic Geothermal Heat Pump Technology: Observations on the UK Experience 1995-2013 -- Deep Geothermal Energy Production in Germany -- Differences in Public Perceptions of Geothermal Energy Technology in Australia -- Geophysical Methods for Monitoring Temperature Changes in Shallow Low Enthalpy Geothermal Systems -- Chapter 3: Operational Performance of Geothermal Energy Systems -- On the Design and Response of Domestic Ground-Source Heat Pumps in the UK -- Temperatures and Heat Flows in a Soil Enclosing a Slinky Horizontal Heat Exchanger -- Thermoeconomic Analysis of Hybrid Power Plant Concepts for Geothermal Combined Heat and Power Generation -- Thermal-Economic Modularization of Small, Organic Rankine Cycle Power Plants for MidEnthalpy Geothermal Fields -- Geothermal Power Plant Maintenance: Evaluating Maintenance System Needs Using Quantitative Kano Analysis.