Geothermal power for the entire U.S.

From the Energy Blog...

The following is a summary—newly posted on the Energy Blog—of claims made by MIT's Jefferson Tester and his team that studied the capacity of geothermal energy in the U.S.

• Geothermal resources are available nationwide, although the highest-grade sites are in western states.
• Geothermal energy using enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology would greatly increase the fraction of the U.S. geothermal resource that could be recovered commercially.
• The United States, generating 300 megawatts, is already the biggest producer of geothermal.
• If geothermal is going to be anything more than a minor curiosity, it has to reach at least the level of hydro and nuclear power, or 100,000 megawatts out of 1 million—one-tenth of total capacity," he said.
• The study found that geothermal could supply a substantial portion of the electricity the United States will need in the future, probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact.
• The process involves drilling to as deep as 30,000 feet, pumping water under pressure into fractures to break apart underground rock formations and freeing up reservoirs.
• Seismic activity is a risk, he said. "The big challenge is to show you can do it not only in California, but also in the Midwest and ultimately on the East Coast, where you have to go deeper."
• Among geothermal's advantages are its below-ground, out-of-sight nature, making it easier to site, and its high capacity and because, unlike solar or wind, it runs a the time. Environmental impacts are "markedly lower than conventional fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants."
• Meeting water requirements for geothermal plants may be an issue, particularly in arid regions."

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New technique reveals Earth's internal heat

From MIT via Science Daily...

A 'seismothermometer' of the Earth's temperature at extreme depths.

"High-resolution images that reveal unexpected details of the Earth's internal structure are among the results reported by MIT and Purdue scientists in the March 30 issue of Science....

The technique—akin to medical imaging such as ultrasounds and CAT scans—led to detailed new images of the boundary between the Earth's core and mantle. These images, in turn, help researchers better understand how and where the Earth's internal heat is produced and how it is transported to the surface. They also provide insight into the Earth's giant heat engine--a constant cycle of heat production, heat transfer and cooling.

Years of work by Ping Wang, EAPS graduate student at MIT, led to the possibility for high-resolution imaging, and in collaboration with EAPS mineral physicist Dan Shim, the team produced maps of temperature and heat flow some 3,000 kilometers below the Earth's surface, using the data to provide a kind of "seismothermometer" of the Earth's temperature at extreme depths...."

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Mining heat from the earth

From the Christian Science Monitor...

New techniques could expand the capabilities of geothermal power, producing 10 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050.

"Here's one vision for easing America's energy and emissions woes: Hundreds of drilling rigs are deployed throughout the country. But they're not prospecting for oil; they're looking for underground rock hot enough to produce steam-driven electricity. The potential? Enough power to provide 10 percent of US electricity by 2050 – with near-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. That's the promise of "enhanced geothermal systems," or EGS, says a recent report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass."

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U.S. Senate actions indicate that coal is here to stay

From Forbes.com...

"Coal is here to stay as a significant part of the national fuel mix even as there is increased investment in wind, nuclear and geothermal projects. In a study on the future of coal released earlier this month by MIT, experts said, "We believe that coal use will increase under any foreseeable scenario because it is cheap and abundant."

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Presentation: "Future of Geothermal Energy"

The following summary points were given on March 1, 2007 as part of a slideshow presentation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Advantages of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) — power plants in 'low grade' settings where the hot rock source is deeper in the earth — are listed as follows:

1. Large, indigenous, accessible base load power resource — 14,000,000 EJ of stored thermal energy accessible with today’s technologies. Key point — extractable amount of energy that could be recovered is not limited by resource size or availability
2. Fits portfolio of sustainable renewable energy options — EGS complements the existing portfolio and does not hamper the growth of solar, biomass, and wind in their most appropriate domains.
3. Scalable and environmentally friendly — EGS plants have small foot prints and low emissions — carbon-free and their modularity makes them easily scalable from large size plants.
4. Technically feasible — Major elements of the technology to capture and extract EGS are in place. Key remaining issue is to establish inter-well connectivity at commercial production rates — only a factor of 2 to 3 greater than current levels.
5. Economically favorable — projections favorable for high grade areas now with a credible learning path to provide competitive energy from mid- and low-grade resources
6. Deployment costs modest — an investment of $200-400 million over 15 years would demonstrate EGS technology at a commercial scale at several US field sites to reduce risks for private investment and enable the development of 100,000 MWe.
7. Supporting research costs reasonable — about $40 million/yr needed for 15 years — low in comparison to what other large impact US alternative energy programs will need to have the same impact on supply.

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Geothermal potential

From the Climate Crisis Coalition: Daily News

New geothermal power projects by 2050 could provide 100,000 megawatts of electricity—enough to power about 80 million US homes, or as much as US nuclear power plants make today, the MIT study said. But US geothermal development will ...

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White House seeks to cut geothermal research funds

From Reuters...

The Bush administration wants to eliminate federal support for geothermal power just as many U.S. states are looking to cut greenhouse gas emissions and raise renewable power output. The move has angered scientists who say there is enough hot water underground to meet all U.S. electricity needs without greenhouse gas emissions.

"[Geothermal] is far from a mature technology." —Roy Mink, former geothermal program director at the U.S. Dept. of Energy

The Department of Energy has not requested funds for geothermal research in our fiscal-year 2008 budget," said Christina Kielich, a spokeswoman for the Department of Energy. "Geothermal is a mature technology. Our focus is on breakthrough energy research and development."

The administration of George W. Bush has made renewable energy a priority as it seeks to wean the United States off foreign oil, but it emphasizes use of biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel for vehicles and nuclear research for electricity. In spite of its enormous potential, the geothermal option for the United States has been largely ignored,' a recent study led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.

Last year, the DOE requested no funding for geothermal for the 2007 fiscal year, after funding averaged about $26 million over the previous six years, but Congress restored $5 million. This year, the DOE's $24.3 billion budget request includes a 38 percent federal spending increase for nuclear power, but nothing for geothermal.

Advocates say they hope Congress can restore at least $25 million in funding to keep geothermal research on track...

more related_1 »related_2

Geothermal Advocates go to Washington

The following presentations were given at the March 1, 2007 briefing on geothermal energy to members of the U.S. Congress. This second annual briefing was hosted by Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and featured the following presenters:

(1) Bernie Karl, Chena Hot Springs Resort, Alaska

(2) Karl Gawell, Geothermal Energy Association (GEA)

(3) Jefferson Tester, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

(4) Roy Mink, U.S. Geothermal Inc.*

(5) Paul Thomsen, Ormat Technologies Inc.

*Mink is the former DoE Geothermal Program Director.

more

GEOTHERMAL FEATURE: Heat Rises III

A Superior Idea

At first glance, MIT’s Prof. Jefferson W. Tester was doubtful about the practicality of Atlantic Geothermal’s “heat canal” concept. Once Dr. Tester took a good look at the heat canal idea, however, his skepticism changed. Should the concept prove workable, Tester told Atlantic Geothermal’s founder, David Reynolds, the heat canal approach to enhanced geothermal energy development would offer real advantages to geothermal heat mining.

Let’s be clear on the importance of the Feb. 12 meeting between Tester* and Reynolds. An expression of geniune interest by one of the world’s foremost authorities on geothermal energy can go a long way toward bringing a good idea into the real world of analysis, conclusion and validation. This would be very good for Atlantic Geothermal, of course; but launching a superior geothermal energy production design would be enormously beneficial to a world in desperate need of clean energy sources. It would also, by the way, be very good for the U.S. economy, as well as the quality of the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink.

Prof. Tester agreed that the heat canal looks good on paper. Rather than building multiple enhanced geothermal wells to pump water down into hot rock and extract steam to drive power-generating turbines at each site, the heat canal would draw from a much larger underground field for a much longer period of time — possibly measured in centuries rather than decades for the typical geothermal site. The heat canal, a horizontal bore 50 ft. wide and 80 to 100 miles long, 20,000 ft. below the surface and filled with sea water under pressure, with bore holes extending laterally 7500 ft. into hot rock, would generate an estimated 16 times the energy of the largest conventionally designed enhanced geothermal well, yet all that energy would be extracted from a single site. This design, Prof. Tester said, would significantly increase operating efficiency through a “synergy of systems.”

During their discussion, Tester and Reynolds identified two optional designs for the bore holes that could work with the required efficiency. One option would utilize fracturing of the hot rock area from which heat would be extracted. (Fracturing allows more heat to be extracted, but could multiply any tendency within the site toward geological instability.) The second option would involve drilling a lattice of bore holes and, while more expensive to install, would not require fracturing.

The next step is to have a mathematical analysis of for both options performed by GeothermEx, the big California-based geothermal exploration and development firm. Tester told Reynolds that he would be glad to verify mathematical calculations of heat extraction rates the geothermal canal model. While the sustainability of the heat canal design is being calculated, Atlantic Geothermal will be refining the design concept and trying to get a fix on projected costs. The immediate question is, how many billions of dollars are we talking about?

by Loren Jenks (lorenjenks@charter.net)

*Dr. Tester, the H. P. Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, directed the multidisciplinary task force that recently released its major report, “Future of Geothermal Energy: Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on tbe United States in the 21st Century.”

GEOTHERMAL FEATURE: Heat Rises II

“Renewable” or “Sustainable”

When is an energy source “renewable” and under what conditions is the same energy source “sustainable?” Before tackling these two different but not mutually exclusive terms with regard to geothermal energy, I scoured the Internet for “How many engineers does it take to install a light bulb?” jokes. I found some of varying quality, the best of which I will get to later.

On one engineering website I also found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies. The directions went like this: To a 2-L jacketed round reactor vessel with an overall heat transfer coefficient of about 100 Btu/F-ft2-hr, add ingredients one, two and three with constant agitation. In a second 2-L reactor vessel with a radial flow impeller operating at 100 rpm, add ingredients four, five, six, and seven until the mixture is homogeneous... and so on.

Since chocolate chip cookies are essential to the future of a technology-based civilized society (a statement that I consider inarguable) and noting that any currently available chocolate chip cookie recipe assumes a stable and affordable supply of electricity, let’s turn our attention once again to geothermal power generation.

To Atlantic Geothermal’s Dave Reynolds, the staggeringly comprehensive MIT study on geothermal resources, released last month, comes just in time. The report basically concludes that geothermal power generation, far from being a failed technology, simply hasn’t been sufficiently developed yet — this from scientists who were in on the original geothermal developments in the western U.S. 30 years ago.

Mostly as a result of the MIT study, there’s a lot of talk now about enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), which potentially could extend geothermal capacity beyond those places in the Western states where the earth’s mantle is thin and the ground occasionally moves with disturbing suddenness. There are no operational EGS plants in the United States, although test projects here and in other parts of the world have proven the feasibility of the concept.

Reynolds wants to make clear what the MIT report does not do. It does not establish that geothermal heat, a renewable energy source, is sustainable. That is, a reliable source that can be tapped indefinitely, because the flow of heat through subterranean rock layers will not be depleted by geothermal heat mining. This is what Atlantic Geothermal’s proposed Geothermal Heat Canal is all about — drawing heat from a large enough area to make significant power generation at the source site sustainable for generations.

The Heat Canal project goes beyond the conclusions advanced by the MIT study, which envisions clusters of single-source geothermal heat wells drilled vertically, just like oil wells. These heat wells would run productively for a certain number of years, then be left unused for about 3 times longer to allow temperatures in the heat basin to regenerate. That’s the renewable part. Basically, it’s like crop rotation, which is a step beyond the hunter-gatherer approach to food production.

Reynolds maintains that, with the Heat Canal, wells would not have to be abandoned at regular intervals. And they would not have to be sited in geologically unstable regions. He asserts that geothermal energy can be extracted in large amounts from sites that today are considered impractical — which so far is nearly everywhere. He also believes that with adequate research funding, we might be able to shave a decade or two from current projections for achieving energy self-sufficiency.

Is it worth doing? How much oil do you have in your back yard?

Oh, about the light bulb joke. It takes five engineers — one to design a light bulb that never needs changing, one to figure out how to rewire the grid, two to make the necessary installations, and one to write the software program that controls the wall switch. Got that?

by Loren Jenks (lorenjenks@charter.net)

'Flabbergasted' About Geothermal in Nashua, NH

Reprinted with permission from The Nashua (New Hampshire) Telegraph.

"At the risk of being one of those people who talks about their vacations all the time (I’m actually one of those people who talks about their kids all the time), I must admit that ever since I visited Iceland last year, I’ve really wanted a geothermal power plant.

That doesn’t mean one of the so-called “geothermal” systems we have around here, which are really heat-exchange systems that use the constant temperature of well water to lower the cost of heating and cooling a building.

I’m talking about real geothermal, which uses extreme heat from underground magma or natural radioactive decay to boil water and send it shooting up through power-producing turbines.

Iceland has lots of that stuff, since it’s located over the joint where the European tectonic plate is separating from the North American plate, so magma is constantly shooting up out of the ground. (Iceland is basically one-third volcanoes, one-third glaciers, and one-third Bjork fans.)

One time, in fact, Iceland had to stop drilling a geothermal well because a volcano erupted right up through the borehole! Is that neat or what?

It’s the only such event in history, as I learned from the video for visitors at the massive Krafla power plant. I writhed with envy when I heard it, because I live in seismically inactive, geologically boring New Hampshire. No subsurface magma here.

"So I was flabbergasted last month when I saw that a much-publicized MIT report urging geothermal energy for the U.S. cited our own Conway as a potential location for a power plant."

In fact, it was the only promising site east of the Mississippi.

“That’s because of all the granite you have. The uranium, thorium and potassium act like a natural nuclear reactor and keep the rock warm,” said Ron DiPippo, a former dean of engineering from UMass-Dartmouth who was on the panel that wrote the report.

In fact, he said in a telephone interview last week, during the 1970s oil shocks a “hot, dry rock” experiment was planned for Conway to determine the suitability of geothermal power, but it never went anywhere.

The new study, titled “The Future of Geothermal Energy,” says the best bet is a more aggressive method that involves pumping water down to subterranean heat sources, so it can shoot back up again and power the turbines. They call it the Enhanced Geothermal System.

Alas, further review of the report shows that Conway is the least promising of the various locations considered by the group, because you’d have to drill down six miles to get enough heat. (By contrast, a deep drilled well goes down barely one-tenth of a mile.)

As a result, the cost estimates put together by the 18-member panel at the urging of the U.S. Department of Energy say power from a Conway geothermal plant could cost two to six times as much as from the other sites it considered, all of which were out West.

“It’s certainly one of the more expensive places to look at,” admitted DiPippo.

But finding cheap power to be tapped in the next few years wasn’t the point of the study. It was designed to highlight the plausibility of geothermal energy in the U.S., so that more research and development will occur and geothermal can be added to the nation’s mix of power sources.

Maybe even in the North Country.

“If we’re talking 40 or 50 years down the road and petroleum is either non-existent or so expensive we have to look for alternatives, then it’s not unreasonable to begin to look at places like Conway,” said DiPippo. “We’ve got to start looking at this now, if we want it to succeed."

Man, I am ready. Could you imagine it: A day of skiing, then taking a dip in a geothermal hot tub?

Eat your heart out, Bjork!"

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Link to the original Nashua Telegraph online publication, February 7, 2007: Geothermal energy is hot topic in U.S. among scientists

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'Acronym Soup' ~ MIT UMass

GEOTHERMAL FEATURE: Heat Rises

Atlantic Geothermal’s Dave Reynolds is not reinventing the wheel; he’s building a coach from spare parts left lying around for years by the oil, gas and mining industries. In other words, as has been said already, the technology exists today to make the United States energy independent, perhaps indefinitely. How? By tapping into the heat that lies beneath our feet. If it’s done right, Reynolds claims, the energy obtainable from hot rocks is sustainable for centuries, does not require burning fossil fuels, will not pollute the environment, runs 24 hours a day seven days a week, can provide an unending supply of fresh water from sea water, and is not only achievable but affordable at today’s energy prices. His argument is compelling.

Sure, there are obstacles to overcome, questions to be answered. For example, how clean is it? Atlantic Geothermal advances a feasible design solution to concerns about mineral pollutants leached from subterranean rock. Could extended development of geothermal energy cause earthquakes? Well, listen folks, what they’re doing now, drilling into fissures between tectonic plates to mine readily available steam, does not fill me with reassurance. Atlantic Geothermal is advancing a project to run steam turbines on heat mined from almost anywhere within 100 miles of the ocean — specifically, New England, which is not considered a hotbed of geothermal capacity, nor of earthquakes.

The landmark MIT report on potential geothermal resources, released January 22, demonstrates with mountains of data that “enhanced geothermal systems” (EGS) can meet up to 10 percent of the nation’s current and projected electricity needs by 2050. This amount would replace the generating capacity that will be lost by the expected retirement of old coal-fired and nuclear generating plants.

Atlantic Geothermal’s visionary project leapfrogs the 30-year continuous operating life expectancies of EGS plants by greatly expanding the hot rock energy field. By drilling an 80- to 100-mile-long, 50-ft.-wide tunnel three miles below the surface, then expanding bore holes 1500 ft. laterally, the project could realize an energy field potentially 3,000 ft. wide and 80 miles long. Reynolds projects that one such system could generate 1600 megawatts of power per hour — 16 times the output of a large conventionally designed EGS plant, and nearly matching the output of Hoover Dam. And, due to the greatly expanded heat reservoir of a field that size, the generating capacity would last indefinitely. Land use concerns? Except for the input and output facilities, the entire system is three miles underground, maintained by hydrostatic pressure.

It bears repeating that the know-how exists today to bring Atlantic Geothermal’s vision of perpetually sustained clean energy into reality. All it takes is political and economic willpower. What are we waiting for?

by Loren Jenks (lorenjenks@charter.net)

Boston Globe: "The power of rocks..."

From the Boston Globe...

"Vast slabs of hot rock, buried miles underground, could provide an energy alternative to coal, gas, and oil -- and do less damage to the environment... "

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See our initial post on the early web logs in the first week following publication of the "Future of Geothermal Energy."

(FINAL) Who Blogged About the MIT Geothermal Study?

Below are 62 web log postings from the week following the publication of the landmark Massachusetts Institute of Technology/U.S. Department of Energy assessment of the potential of geothermal power for the entire country.

Day 1

Blog Search Results (Tuesday, January 23)

1. MIT-led Panel Backs Geothermal as Key U.S. Energy Source A comprehensive new MIT-led study on the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a substantial portion of the electricity the country will need in the future -- probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact. Renewable Energy Access http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=47192
2. Slashdot // MIT-Led Study Says Geothermal Energy Is Viable Amigoro writes to tell us about a study for the US Department of Energy, led by MIT, indicating that geothermal energy could account for 10% of energy production in the US by 2050. The study concludes that geothermal is proven, ... PC Apex Forums http://forums.pcapex.com
3. Tremendous untapped potential for geothermal A new MIT-led study on high-temperature geothermal potential in the United ... What we're talking about here are what MIT calls "enhanced geothermal systems" ... EGS technology could be deployed commercially on a timescale that would ... Clean Break http://tyler.blogware.com/blog
4. MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a ... linkfilter.net Peak Energy http://peakenergy.blogspot.com
5. Geothermal not ready yet needs some research MIT study on geothermal energy suggest 100GW can be generated by 2050. $300-400 million over 15 years would need to be invested in research and cost reduction for 15 years before geothermal would be cost competitive. ... advanced nanotechnology http://advancednano.blogspot.com/index.html
6. US urged to ramp up geothermal power Reuters: US urged to ramp up geothermal power. "This is a big resource that is perhaps undervalued by people who are thinking of options for the country," said Jefferson Tester, an MIT chemical engineering professor who led the 15-month ... Kruse Kronicle http://krusekronicle.typepad.com/kruse_kronicle/
7. MIT Thinks Heat Can Do The Trick Geothermal is suited for very specific regions. What I don’t understand is why oil companies, with their already deep wells, don’t get in the game. Conflict of interest, perhaps? According to some smart people at MIT: “A comprehensive ... The Sietch Blog http://www.blog.thesietch.org/
8. Tapping Earth’s Fire Lifting my long unused blog-voice as though to test the microphone, I share this link on geothermal energy (via slashdot today): MIT-led panel backs ‘heat mining’ as key US energy source - MIT News Office. ... HELIOLITH http://heliolith.com
9. Earth's thermal energy could supply US A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the... CR4 http://cr4.globalspec.com/
10. 'Heat mining' could be key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored... KurzweilAI.net Accelerating Intelligence News http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/
11. Earth's thermal energy could supply US From What's Next In Science & Technology: A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the... Method: The Best Science Blog Posts http://science.blogdig.net/
12. MIT-led study finds geothermal energy potential untapped News Page One Heat mining technology can be improved and deployed broadly to generate clean electricity, says an Energy Department-sponsored report. Technology - OrangEye.com http://www.orangeye.com/
13. Geothermal energy could power more US homes CAMBRIDGE, Mass. An MIT study indicates the US could generate much of its needed electricity by tapping into heat energy locked under the Earth's... Eyewitness News/TV http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/global/category.asp
14. Geothermal Energy NPR had a bit about a new geothermal energy study performed by MIT which claims that "...mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a substantial portion of the ... Treehugging Industrial Suburbanite http://agdubbs.blogspot.com/index.html
15. Panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in ... Megite Science News: What's Happening... http://www.megite.com/
16. Tremendous untapped potential for geothermal A new MIT-led study on high-temperature geothermal potential in the United States concludes that there's a lot more we should be doing to tap this energy goldmine. What we're talking about here are what MIT calls enhanced geothermal ... Inveslogic http://www.inveslogic.com/inveslogic_Latest_News?cid=45
17. MIT Study: Geothermal Could Provide 10% of Energy by 2050 Yesterday, MIT released a study that said that America could derive 10% of its energy production from geothermal sources by 2050 -- and it's generated quite a debate over energy issues at Slashdot. NEI Nuclear Notes http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/
18. MIT-led panel says 28000 Exajoules of geothermal potential in the US This entry goes on in detail about this with pointers to the conference where the paper was presented as well as to the MIT site where an article was published on the results. 28000 EJ may sound huge, but I was startling that the entire ... Digg / Science http://digg.com/view/science
19. Real geothermal - in New Hampshire? There was a lot of press yesterday about a report from MIT saying that geothermal energy - pouring water on underground hot spots and using the resulting steam to drive generators - could provide as much as 10 percent of the nation's ... GraniteGeek http://granitegeek.area603.com/index.php?blogId=6
20. MIT-led panel backs ‘heat mining’ as key US energy A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth’s hard rock crust could ... Prime News Blog http://www.primenewsblog.com/
21. 'Heat Mining’ Backed In Geothermal Energy Report A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United ... An 18-member panel led by MIT prepared the 400-plus page study,... viability of using enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology to greatly ... Mining News http://paguntaka.org/
22. MIT-led panel backs ‘heat mining’ as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth’s hard rock crust could supply a ... GREENIRVANA http://greenirvana.com/
23. MIT Finds Vast Untapped Geothermal Energy for Electricity The United States already has geothermal systems operating in the West, but MIT concludes that the technology can be used broadly and be economical. Learn more about it. MIT-led study finds geothermal energy potential untapped. Local Cooling for Global Warming http://localcooling.blogspot.com/index.html
24. Heat Mining' as energy source MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the ... and economic viability of using enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology to greatly ... Universal Jellyfish http://universaljellyfish.blogspot.com/
25. MIT: Hot Rocks could provide significant power source Jeffrey Technology Review: Abundant Power from Universal Geothermal Energy: by Kevin Bullis -- August 1, 2006 "An MIT chemical engineer explains why new technologies could finally make 'heat mining' practical nearly anywhere on earth." Energy Answers http://energyanswers.blogspot.com/

Day 2

Blog Search Results (Wednesday, January 24)

1. A New Look at Geothermal Energy's Vast Potential A comprehensive new MIT-led study on the potential for geothermal energy within the United ... HDR geothermal power utilizes the hot temperatures (up to 570 C) of ... This HDR or EGS technology differs from traditional geothermal energy ... WattHead http://watthead.blogspot.com/index.html
2. MIT Studies Geothermal Energy “Now that energy concerns have resurfaced, an opportunity exists for the US to pursue the enhanced geothermal system option aggressively to meet long-term national needs,” said panel head Jefferson Tester, a chemical engineer at MIT. ... Reporting on the Middle East, Science... http://cnpublications.net/
3. Hot Promises of Geothermal Energy A Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led study of geothermal energy within the ... Tester [the HP Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT] said. ... the development of EGS by increased investments by these two industries. ... MotherJones.com MoJo Blog - Social Issues... http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/
4. MIT-Led Study Says Geothermal Energy Is Viable Amigoro writes to tell us about a study for the US Department of Energy, led by MIT, indicating that geothermal energy could account for 10% of energy production in the US by 2050. The study concludes that geothermal is proven, ... Slashdot http://slashdot.org/
5. Geothermal for the US This article points to a study sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the US could generate large electric capacity by tapping into heat locked below the Earth's surface. According to MIT's Jefferson Tester... IfEnergy http://www.ifenergy.com/
6. Earth Power is Cheap and Clean The MIT scientists looked at the economic and environmental costs and benefits of using enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology, and found that the technology would provide quick returns on investment. The US is already the largest ... aboutMyPlanet.com http://www.aboutmyplanet.com/
7. Drilling for geothermal power Yesterday, MIT released an expert panel's report (PDF) evaluating the potential use of geothermal energy within the US. Typically, geothermal energy has involved extracting hot water from geologically active areas (such as geyser ... Peak Oil News & Message Boards http://peakoil.com/
8. MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source Massive study of hot rocks in the USA. The Newest Searchles Posts http://www.searchles.com/
9. Ars Technica // Drilling for geothermal power An analysis by MIT suggests that geothermal energy could supply up to 10 percent of the US's current power needs by 2050, but only if we get aggressive about extracting it. More... PC Apex Forums http://forums.pcapex.com/
10. MIT releases major report on geothermal energy A comprehensive new MIT study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored ... Channel: Science Tags: Geothermal energy electricity science US MIT. Netscape.com Science Stories http://www.netscape.com/

Day 3

Blog Search Results (Thursday, January 25)

1. Heat Mining: A New Energy Source for the US While working on the Environment section of the new World Almanac for Kids, however, I came across an interesting new MIT report, which suggests that geothermal energy could commercially supply 10% of the United States’ electrical ... The World Almanac http://www.worldalmanac.com/blog/
2. Who's Blogging About the MIT Geothermal Study? On Monday, MIT announced the publication of "The Future of Geothermal Energy: Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century." As of this writing, Atlantic Geothermal has tracked more than 35 blog ... Geothermal Power Blog http://irblog.blogs.com/geothermalpower/
3. MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a ... This And That (And Is It Getting Hot In Here?) http://allthisandthat.blogspot.com
4. MIT-led panel backs ‘heat mining’ as key US energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United ... An 18-member panel led by MIT prepared the 400-plus page study, ... viability of using enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology to greatly ... TragicPlanet.org http://tragicplanet.org/
5. Environmental News: Environmental News from Grist Report encourages investment in safe, clean geothermal energy ... researchers say: generating steamy geothermal electricity by circulating water down into hot rocks ... An MIT study commissioned by the US … Umbra on burning yard waste ... Global Warming is Real http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com/blog
6. Update on Geothermal Energy Now, there is a massive report published by MIT, at the behest of the US Dept. of Energy. It is a big report, a 14MB PDF download: The Future of Geothermal Energy. It is mentioned in an MIT news release:. MIT-led panel backs 'heat ... The Corpus Callosum http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/
7. MIT-Led Study: Geothermal Could Supply Substantial Portion of ... Green Car Congress: Schematic of a conceptual two-well Enhanced Geothermal System in hot rock in a low-permeability crystalline basement formation. Click to enlarge. A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal ... Power Supply - Uttaruk.com http://powersupply.uttaruk.com/
8. Geothermal Energy Solar, wind, biofuels, hydro and nuclear energy are the main possibilities right now, but a new report from MIT suggests that geothermal energy may soon supply up to 10% of the nation's electrical needs. Geothermal power plants are ... Primordial Blog http://primordial-blog.blogspot.com/index.html
9. Let the Earth Do the Work Of all the alternative energy solutions out there, geothermal is the one that seems to get the least attention. Now, in what is hailed as the 'first new look at geothermal in 30 years,' an MIT-led, Energy Dept. ... Sierra Club Compass http://www.sierraclub.org/compass/index.asp
10. Geothermal Heat Mining Promises Abundant, Cheap Energy MIT professor, Jefferson Tester, believes that mining this energy could be exceedingly economical in the short run, given the rapid increase in deep-drilling and reservoir stimulation technology. “The study shows that drilling several ... Environmental Geography http://environmentalgeography.wordpress.com/
11. Thermal Under Where? An MIT study commissioned by the US Energy Department says geothermal energy can be accessed affordably, sustainably, and large-scale-ably with an investment of as little as $800 million over 15 years. Gristmill http://gristmill.grist.org/
12. Enhanced Geothermal beats clean coal So-called “clean coal” plants can’t hold a candle to geothermal electrical generation ... EGS [enhanced geothermal systems] technology could be deployed ... to the total R&D investment made in the past 30 years to EGS internationally, ... Mark Wells http://www.markwells.ca/
13. A New Look at Geothermal Energy's Vast Potential MIT-led Panel Backs Geothermal as Key US Energy Source [From MIT via Renewable Energy Access.com:] A comprehensive new MIT-led study on the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of ... Inveslogic Geothermal Power http://www.inveslogic.com/inveslogic_Latest_News?cid=45
14. [Geothermal Power] MIT study: Get more energy from Earth's heat 2 An opportunity exists for the US to pursue the enhanced geothermal system option aggressively to meet long-term national needs," said panel head Jefferson Tester, a chemical engineer at MIT. People who don't know how Geothermal power ... eco-texts http://ecoenglish.blogspot.com/index.html

Day 4

Blog Search Results for Friday, January 26 (FINAL)

1. MIT back ‘Heat Mining’ as energy source A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could ... TimesToCome Blog http://timestocome.com/wordpress2
2. Environmentalism Present Technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and small hydro projects now provide 160 gigawatts of electricity generating capacity, about 4 percent of the world total," the US-based Worldwatch Institute said Sunday in a press ... Environment and the Psychology of Behavior http://environmentalpsych.blogspot.com/index.html
3. MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source MIT-led panel backs 'heat mining' as key US energy source January 22, 2007 A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining... NoNuke.org - MySpace Blog http://blog.myspace.com/nonuke
4. MIT: Major Report on Geothermal Energy + Live radio interview 6pm A comprehensive new study of the potential for geothermal energy within the US has found that mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a substantial portion of the ... Digg / Science / digg http://digg.com/view/science
5. Environmental News: Environmental News from Grist Report encourages investment in safe, clean geothermal energy ... researchers say: generating steamy geothermal electricity by circulating water down into hot rocks ... An MIT study commissioned by the US … Global Warming is Real http://www.globalwarmingisreal.com/blog
6. Heat Mining: A New Energy Source for the US While working on the Environment section of the new World Almanac for Kids, however, I came across an interesting new MIT report, which suggests that geothermal energy could commercially supply 10% of the United States’ electrical ... The World Almanac http://www.worldalmanac.com/blog/
7. Pantagraph.com Letters Wind-farm opponents should help everyone A Massachusetts Institute of Technology-led study of geothermal energy within ... W.] Tester [the HP Meissner Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT] said. ... the development of EGS by increased investments by these two industries. ... Wind Power Blog http://wind-power.bucks-today.com/
8. Drilling for geothermal power Ars Technica: An analysis by MIT suggests that geothermal energy could supply up to 10 percent of the US’s current power needs by 2050, but only if we get aggressive about extracting it. Original post by Ars Technica and software by ... Power Supply - Uttaruk.com http://powersupply.uttaruk.com/
9. Heat Mining A comprehensive new MIT-led study of the potential for geothermal energy within ... And unlike wind and solar systems, a geothermal plant works night and day, ... drilling for oil could be applied to enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). ... Muck and Mystery http://www.garyjones.org/mt/
10. Geothermal Heat Mining Promises Abundant, Cheap Energy MIT professor, Jefferson Tester, believes that mining this energy could be exceedingly economical in the short run, given the rapid increase in deep-drilling and reservoir stimulation technology. “The study shows that drilling several ... Environmental Geography http://environmentalgeography.wordpress.com/
11. A New Look at Geothermal Energys Vast Potential MIT-led Panel Backs Geothermal as Key US Energy Source[From MIT via Renewable Energy Access.com:]A comprehensive new MIT-led study on the potential for geothermal energy within the United States has found that mining the huge amounts of ...Uranium Stock Reports http://www.uraniumstockreports.com/

MIT Study: Enormous Potential for Geothermal Power

The U.S. has the capacity to meet 10% of its energy needs from geothermal sources within the next 50 years. This projection is part of a new MIT-led study that outlines the future impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) in the United States.

• Read MIT's announcement or download the full report, "Future of Geothermal Energy" (MIT/DoE, 2007)
• Link to feature on the U.S. Idaho National Laboratory web site.
• Track this story online...Reuters NPR Marketplace New York Times Christian Science Monitor ABC News MSNBC Environmental Leader Renewable Energy Access Innovations Report InsideGreenTech PhysOrg Planet Ark Scientific American ZDNetEarthimes.org Technology Review

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GEOTHERMAL FEATURE: New England Is Ready

By Christopher Sawyer-Laucanno

In June 2005, President Bush, made a pitch for building nuclear reactors as an alternative to coal and oil-fired generating facilities. “Nuclear power is one of America's safest sources of energy," said Bush. As usual, the president is off the mark. Even if Bush and company want to ignore that the potential for radiation leaks still exists, and that there are no viable long-term solutions for storing nuclear waste, his own Homeland Security folks have warned that nuclear plants are deemed serious targets for terrorist action. There is a reason that no new nuclear facilities have been constructed since 1979: they are neither safe, green nor reliable.

There is a true green alternative, however, to fossil fuel generating plants (and, of course, nukes). In Northern Europe, and on the West Coast, geothermal power production--which uses heat under the earth’s surface as a natural fuel source--is increasingly proving to be a real solution. California, in fact, is the national leader in the use of geothermal energy for electricity generation. Seven percent of the state's total power production output is geothermally generated. With its 41 working geothermal plants, California accounts for almost 40 percent of the total worldwide geothermal power production. The combined production capacity of approximately 1,900 megawatts of electrical power per hour is enough to supply nearly two million typical households. And new plants are underway.

Up until now, geothermal energy has been thought to be impractical for use in New England. In contrast to the Western United States, where massive amounts of heat lurk near the earth’s surface, in New England the heat is further underground. And yet, in New England, at just a depth of three to five miles, the earth’s temperature reaches about 300 degrees F., well above the temperature needed to boil water. As MIT professor Jefferson Tester notes, geothermal production is possible in New England due to advances in drilling technology that allow for heat extraction of depths up to 6 miles: “All the technology that goes into drilling and completing oil and gas production systems…could in principle be extended to deep heat mining. Hydraulic methods have been the ones that hold the most promise, where you go into the system and you pressurize the rock -- just water pressure.”

While Tester is interested in the math and theory of geothermal generation, Atlantic Geothermal, in Florence, Mass, a small visionary company founded by J. David Reynolds, is actively working to prove that geothermal power is viable for New England. Reynolds, who studied engineering at Northeastern, has devised a system that uses ocean water to power the turbines for making electricity. Reynolds’ plan is ambitious but given today’s drilling technology, far from impossible.

Reynolds calculates that a tunnel 50 feet in diameter, and some 80 to 100 miles long, would be needed to produce enough constant heat to generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity per hour

His plan, simply put, is to bore a tunnel from the ocean inland at a depth of about three or four miles. Geologic maps of coastal New England show that at this depth the temperature reaches at least 300 degrees F. Reynolds calculates that a tunnel 50 feet in diameter, and some 80 to 100 miles long, would be needed to produce enough constant heat to generate 1,600 megawatts of electricity per hour, nearly as much as that produced geothermally in all of California, or at the giant Hoover Dam that currently outputs 1,731 megawatts hourly.

He notes that the technology is here, the water is here, the heat is here. He also likes to point out that 100 years ago the state built a 25-mile long aqueduct from the Quabbin to Boston using mainly manual labor (his system uses robotic drilling equipment). And while he admits that it would be expensive, given the return of free power forever for a utility company, the cost could be absorbed within perhaps a decade. And it’s absolutely clean, absolutely renewable, with no waste by-products. In fact, the only by-product is desalinized water, which could also reduce dependence on the Quabbin and other reservoirs.

If industry buys in to Reynolds’ idea, New England’s dependence on dirty, non-renewable fossil fuels for electricity generation will be a thing of the past.