Posted on 02/22/2015 6:03:13 PM PST by ckilmer
NN.COM › Earth Matters › Energy
Hey, if we can drill for oil, we can drill for heat. (Photo: Getty Images, Roustabouts at Spindletop)
"These drilling rig operators are selling their services right now at half the price," said Thompson. "So this is a prime opportunity for us to be more cost-competitive, but to also get out-of-work people back to work."
“It’s just such a wonderful opportunity to have some cost decreases in our own industry,” Thompson said. “Now, when they find themselves out of work, we’re welcoming them with open arms.”
Geothermal energy from EGS represents a large, indigenous resource that can provide base-load electric power and heat at a level that can have a major impact on the United States, while incurring minimal environmental impacts. With a reasonable investment in R&D, EGS could provide 100 GWe or more of costcompetitive generating capacity in the next 50 years. Further, EGS provides a secure source of power for the long term that would help protect America against economic instabilities resulting from fuel price fluctuations or supply disruptions.
If this was the time to invest in it people would be. If they aren’t it isn’t.
People need to learn about energy density.
Thirty years ago POWER ENGINEERING magazine had a long article about geothermal energy. They found a place in New Mexico, started drilling, ordered the turbine generator and got everything set up.
A few years later, I saw, in the same magazine, that turbine generator for sale as there was not enough steam to get it up to speed.
Total waste of money.
If there is truly a market for this, hopefully someone will devise a portable unit that can be carried in pieces and assembled in back yards that are not accessible to the current large rigs. I would consider an installation, but it’s not a viable option in my present location. There’s just not enough room to get a large vehicle in place. Engineers are devising some amazing and innovative equipment these days - hopefully someone’s thinking about this problem - potentionally a large market. I can even see a co-op with four home owners sharing resources in a common series of wells.
I know low temp. geothermal is much more expensive than natural gas. I think high temp geothermal is much more expensive. This is not Iceland - where it can be cheaply done do to the occurrence of volcanoes and there is no natural gas around.
Nope. The cost of drilling the hole is not major expense of geothermal.
Note in the past few decades, we have had several times of stacking up oil rigs in the US. Geothermal is hardly new. Why didn’t it take of during those times?
Thirty years ago POWER ENGINEERING magazine had a long article about geothermal energy. They found a place in New Mexico, started drilling, ordered the turbine generator and got everything set up.
A few years later, I saw, in the same magazine, that turbine generator for sale as there was not enough steam to get it up to speed.
Total waste of money.
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I don’t think the geothermal business has been static in those 30 years. Here’s a utube of how the geothermal plants work currently.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRR7yL3bbGY
Back when nat gas was pretty pricey, the economics of geothermal for home heating (here in Indiana) was fairly good.
(although some folks had a lot more in unexpected repair expenses than budgeted)
Now with cheap nat gas I think the payback is much longer.
Of course the A/C side has to be considered also, but rising electric rates also affect the cost to pump the water for geo.
I’ve spent some time in the oil patch, both Oklahoma and California. There are definitely hot spots. In Huntington Beach, California, it has been a problem from time to time that the drilling fluids turn to steam in some zones.
There are small demonstration electric plants already on line for 40 years or more in California. Still, it is a matter of economics. The drilling is only part of the calculation. It is not cheap to keep the steam plants on line, but technically, there is not much novelty to any of it. I like it in theory.
Oldplayer
Rock solid BS.
People need to learn about energy density.
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Oil is going to be more energy dense for portable purposes than anything else. But geothermal is not a portable energy source in the way oil is. Rather geothermal is like coal or wind solar or natural gas. It generates electricity. Having said that, I don’t think geothermal generated electricity is all that cheap. The point of the article above is that maybe the oil drilling rigs would sell their services for half price and thereby slice a big chunk of the cost out of a geothermal plant.
Note in the past few decades, we have had several times of stacking up oil rigs in the US. Geothermal is hardly new. Why didn’t it take of during those times?
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Good question. but the last extended downturn oil prices was back in the 90’s —before the fracking revolution. Maybe some similar innovations have happened in geothermal. Maybe not. I just don’t know. But that possibility is not out of the question.
The point of the article is that with business off for drillers —they might be willing to drill geothermal for half price just to keep their people handy until prices turn around. This would shave some considerable time to profitability for these geothermal wells.
Geothermal isn’t very practical, because unless you’re real close to a volcano or something, you have to drill DEEP to get good heat sources. This isn’t something every house can just have installed in their backyard.
I know low temp. geothermal is much more expensive than natural gas. I think high temp geothermal is much more expensive. This is not Iceland - where it can be cheaply done do to the occurrence of volcanoes and there is no natural gas around.
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Judging by the map above the best places for high temperature geothermal are out west where there’s not much natural gas.
Now with cheap nat gas I think the payback is much longer.
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Judging by the map above, the best places for hot geothermal are out west where there’s not much natural gas.
Nope. The cost of drilling the hole is not major expense of geothermal.
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If that’s the case, then the author is whistling Dixie.
There are small demonstration electric plants already on line for 40 years or more in California. Still, it is a matter of economics. The drilling is only part of the calculation. It is not cheap to keep the steam plants on line, but technically, there is not much novelty to any of it. I like it in theory.
Oldplayer
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Where’s the cost. Does the steam bring up a nasty brew that eats into the equipment causing regular costly repairs?
Geothermal isn’t very practical, because unless you’re real close to a volcano or something, you have to drill DEEP to get good heat sources. This isn’t something every house can just have installed in their backyard.
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True. If you look at the map above, you’ll notice that the hot zones where geothermal works best — are all out west.
There aren't many places where Geothermal would work --- we're not talking about heat pumps.
They are not cheep on a KwH basis even in the most favorable locations.
It won't be long before oil prices rise again and those rigs are in demand for 'high density' energy (oil and gas) in other places.
Geothermal is like wind, or hydro or solar... very limited geographically and not well suited for baseload power demands.
Yes. Hydrogen sulfide, which loves to eat steel, and then if you want to get anti-nuke paranoid, they emit more radioactivity via Radon that all the Nuke plants in the US.
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