Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by A. S. Batchelor
r r ~~~
1
and tax regimes in the USA to promote
entrepreneurial activity. These essential
institutional programmes have led to the
( I ) condensing
growth of investor confidence in the industry,
turbine but many problems of 'risk' management
remain to be solved. This topic is discussed in
more detail in a later Section. The industry is
moving forward into an era when major
financial institutions have more confidence in
7 5kgis-rlkWe their ability to assess the risks of a production
development once the initial exploration data
0
are available. However,there is still considerable
s scope for the industry to improve the overall
0
8 management and financing of projects from
inception to completion.
( 11) atmospheric
0 dry steam
0 single flash
0 double flash
0 total flow
binary systems.
The choice of the appropriate technology is
based primarily on the nature of the
15 kg Is -1 kW e geothermal resource, but the type of power
sales agreement with the local utility has a
major influence; this topic is discussed in the
a Section on binary plants. Schematics of each
system are shown in Fig. 2 with the principles
of the binary plant shown in Fig. 6.
Dry-steam plants
'Dry-steam' systems, as the name implies,
are applicable to fields that produce steam
flash t a n k / from wells sited in reservoirs that are
predominantly steam filled in the ground.
These reservoirs are the most profitable of all
geothermal resources, but they are rare
geological occurrences. There are only five
countries with extensive dry-steam resources in
use. They are:
0 The USA, 28 plants, 1918MWe,
68.5 MWeIplant
Ne11 I 1 0 Italy, 41 plants, 500MWe, 12.2 MWe/plant
underflow t 0 Indonesia, 3 plants, 85 MWe,
discharge or
reinjec t ton
28.3 MWe/plant
0 Japan, 1 plant, 22 MWe, 22.0MWe/plant
b 0 Mexico, 2 plants, IOMWe, S.OMWe/plant
These 75 plants provide more than 2535 MWe,
i.e. over 50% of the world's capacity of
geothermal power.
A guide to the typical cost for one of these
2 Schematics of detailed planning phase. Five additional plants can be obtained from one of the most
geothermal power-dant countries are close to joining the geothermal recent units to commence operations, a twin
systems:(a) community and, as these units come online, 65 MWe Toshiba unit at Coldwater Creek in
Single flash
the global installed capacity will rise to nearly The Geysers, Northern California, USA, where
7000 MWe, probably by 1990/92. the unit belongs to a group of municipal
Historically, the industry has been dominated utilities, the Central California Power Agency,
by the developments in the USA, with more and the steam field is owned by Geothermal
than 22OOMWe currently online. However, the Resources international Inc (GEO)(Fig. 3). The
Philippines, Mexico and Italy are each expected published costs for this facility (online in June
to exceed 1000MWe in the near future. 1988)were approximately $200 million for the
This growth and sustained development of plant ($1538/kWe) and $1 30 million for the
the technology has only been achieved with steam field ($1OOO/kWe).
the help of the United Nations and other The key technical issues affecting operating
agencies together with favourable legislation costs in the design for a dry-steam field are
40 POWER ENGINEERINGJOURNAL JANUARY 1989
-
~~
,[
deliverability of the field.
Typically, the inlet steam conditions to these
turbines are approximately 8-9 bar at 180-
1
185"C, i.e. a few degrees of superheat. Modern
plant design, primarily by US engineers and
Japanese manufacturers, has resulted in
specific steam consumptions of 6.35 kg
steam/kWh generated. The very low
I condenser
Oo5 I 2
Single-flash units
There are single-flashgeothermal units in
every country that is using geothermal power
systems; however, the largest number, 23, are
in the Philippines with a total capacity of
894MWe (39MWe per unit). The total number
of units in the world is 65 with a rated capacity
of 1411 MWe (21MWeiunit).
slngle or
These units work on separated steam at
t w o phase flow
saturation conditions from wells that produce
mixtures of steam, water and gases. The first
of these units to work with liquid-dominated
reservoirs was at Wairakei, New Zealand, in
1958. In essence, single-flashsystems use a
conventional steam turbine working at very
low inlet pressures and temperatures. The fluid
is allowed to flash to a given pressure and then
passed through a separator before entering the
well
I -
dlscharge
Total-flow plants
There are very few of these units ~ r i
operation, probably only two in the LJSA.
However, there have been research acid
development prograrnmes which rnijy lead to
more economic units.
The principle is simply that the prwwristd
hot water front the geothermal wells is
expanded though a rotary screw device o r an
impulse wheel instead of a valve or flasti .t-ark
arid the energy is used to drive a generalor
The steam goes on to a converitianal double--
or single-flash turbine.
The Desert Peak unit, in Norttiern Nevada,
has been operational since 1986 at 9MWe
total, al-though the majority of the power !: l
3 ~~~~~~~~~ creek 2 h iianc%w~ysterrrs makes these units appear this urrit is said to be derived from the
~~~~e ~~~~ ~~~~i~~final subsi.aritiaily bigger than the equivalerit single- assoc i a t d double--flash turbine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
flash wit, needing, say, 8 Ha for~ a 55 MWe
~ ~ ~ U #
-fLash
U Nevtvade
ORMAT 1 plant is actually 26 of these units closed Rankine cycles but a UK development
linked in a 'cascade' pattern. (Reference7) has used a total flow concept
The largest binary unit to date was the applied to the organic fluid. This uses a rotary
45 MWe Heber Binary Demonstration plant in expander and turbine combination to drive
the Imperial Valley which was completed in generators in the same way as described above
1985. This unit never operated satisfactorily for the steam equivalent. This technology
and is currently shut down. should deliver 25% more net power than a
These units allow substantially more power straight ORC system for about a 15% increase
to be converted from lower temperature in cost.
resources but they are much more expensive in One of the difficulties of using binary plants
initial capital cost, $1 750/kW gross, $2450/kW relates to the very high house power
net, and they consume very significant requirements. In the USA, some power sales
quantities of power to repressurisethe fluid agreements are based on the nameplate rating
after condensation.In a typical unit, more than capacity of the plant which means that the
30% of the gross power is needed to run the operator is in a better financial position if he
plant. uses a lower conversion rate for the
This has a 'knock-on' effect because more geothermal fluid and generates 30% more
brine is needed to reach the gross power, income by selling virtually all of the output. The
although this can be countered by using lower- plant is cheaper and the revenues are higher;
temperatures and shallower drilling. Despite the element that suffers is that the geothermal
the much vaunted higher efficiency of energy resource is exploited much less efficiently.
conversion from these units, the overall effect Binary plants can face further commercial
on the profitability of a project needs careful obstacles in situations where local taxes or
thought. 'rates' are based on the nameplate rating or
At 1 SO'C, the binary unit needs 76 kg/kWh the overall capital cost of the surface works.
gross, an apparent substantial advantage over This situation may be accentuated in the UK
the equivalent double-flash unit which would (see later) because plants in Cornwall will need
need 1 1 5 kg/kWh. However,when the binary a further 25% of the power for the re-injection
unit consumption is converted to net power, it pumps. For example, a 25 MWe gross binary
actually needs 1 12 kg/kWh, an insignificant unit may need 8MWe for the 'house power'
difference. and 6MWe for the circulation pumps. This
ORMAT has approached the problem of would result in only 9MWe of net power, yet
increasing the net output by using the the underground facilities must be sized for
770 kWe modular units in cascade. For 25MWe. Taxes based on gross value without
example, the first four units use heat relief mechanisms would be a further major
exchangers with hot water direct from the obstacle to this type of development.
wells, the next bank then use the first-stage Further cost penalties associated with fire
discharge and operate at lower temperature hazards and leakage of organic volatile liquids
but higher mass flow and so on. Eventually, the with costly make-up requirements in this type
last-stagedischarge is used to preheat the of plant are being addressed slowly. However;
condensed binary fluid prior to the first-stage the previous comments show that it is critical
heat exchangers. A schematic of a binary that the use of a binary plant in a geothermal
system is shown in Fig. 6, and the ORMAT 1 development must be based on a fully
plant in Fig. 7. integrated system study to ensure that the
The current binary systems are essentially commercial performanceis assessed reliably.
POWER ENGINEERING JOURNAL JANUARY 1989 43
- ~
I I
Possible application in the UK the heat must be swept from the rock by
1 he UK has neither dry steam nor liquid some form of artificial flow network Clearly, it
dominated reservoirs because it is remote from is not possible to sweep water through
regions of recent volcanic and tectonic completely intact formations, so the key
upheaval Additionally, there are no areas with principle is to seek areas where there are
reasonable geothermal temperatures shallower already major natural fractures forming
than 5000m and, over most of the country, it interlinked networks of fractures within the
would require drilling to 8000m to reach only otherwise solid formation (Fig 8) Some
180C If that depth is compared to the depth concepts for geothermal developments in HDR
of the average geothermal well of 2200m at a have sought completely intdct formations, but
temperature of 220"C, it can be seen that the experimental result3 show that natural
there is a wide gulf between current fractures always dominate the behaviour of the
geothermal technology and possible reservoir and form the majority of the heat-
geothermal developments in the UK exchange surfaces
However, in 1976, with the first significant Invariably, the existing fractures will not have
onset of soaring oil prices, a research sufficient width to enable water to be
programme was commenced in Cornwall to circulated through the rock, so they must be
establish whether or not a deep geothermal widened or 'stimulated' between the injection
system appropriate to UK conditions could be and production points This overall heat
engineered No attention was to be paid to the extraction process has become known as the
economics until technical feasibility was hot dry rock (HDR)system
established This was an emotive response by The earliest known references to artificial
the government of the day to the threat of geothermal systems in the UK go back to 1885
energy prices spiralling upward The original (Reference 9) and 1904 (Reference I O ) The
work by the author started in Cornwall in 1973 latter described many of the essential features
to determine methods of using recovered heat of a commercial system, e g large heat transfer
from deep mines, but quickly moved on to surface, low water losses and great depth
studying methods of 'mining' heat in its own Parsons' enthusiasm was not dampened by his
right as a commodity Reference 8 covers the estimate that it would take 85 years to sink
progrdmme milestones in the Cornwall project shafts deep enough to form the heat-
from 1973 to 1986 in reasonable detail exchange systems However, recent interest in
HDR originated at the Los Alamos Scientific
Laboratory, New Mexico, USA, in 1970
Hot-dry-rock systems (Reference 1 1 ) as a spin off from the rock
The absence of hot fluids in significant melting drill programme 'Subterrene', itself a
quantities underground in the UK means that spin-off from the nuclear powered rocket
:e-
water
Injection
r
HP Inlet
132 k*
g/s l
150'C
0 45 MPa P
SE
;er
from
*
modules 2,:
I
module 1
~ n j e c t ~ owell
n
300 kg l s
f l o w s In k g / s
temperature'c
pressure MPa absolute
penalties of its geographically extended region There are no fuel costs associated with
The total income for the plant can be geothermal plant so there is no reduction in 0
assessed on: and M costs when the output is curtailed. The
target for the plant operator is 100%
a 'floor' price per unit delivered availability to maximise profitability, and the
0 premium rates per unit delivered a t certain only issue of substance between the
times distribution utility and the generator is the
a value for the reactive power commercial value of the overall transaction to
0 a base capacity 'credit' for achieving a each party.
minimum availability, MY75%
a premium capacity 'credit' for achieving a Risks
premium target availability, say 85% The government-sponsored research
a 'super premium' for being available a t programme has not yet proven that the in situ
specific times for a minimum time period conditions at 6000m in South-West England
upon notification, say five hours earlier are suitable for considering HDR developments.
46 POWER ENGINEERING JOURNAL JANUARY 1989
This uncertainty is in addition to the problems carry a $50-80 million equity expenditure
related to the reservoir-creation procedures. before the risks are reduced to manageable
There are four measurements that need to proportions. The problem is that there is no
be made at depth before a detailed design can possibilityof selling power at a premium rate in
be commenced: a competitive market place. The rate will have
a regulated cap even with a small local
0 the in situ temperature premium justified by the geography of the
0 the in situ fluid pressure (affectswater region.
losses and operating pressures) The very fact that there is no alternative
0 the degree and extent of the fractilring market for the output from a geothermal plant
(affectswhether or not the wells can be far means that there must be 30 year power sales
enough apart to ensure an adequate life contracts for baseload capacity because any
and still have sufficient flow between them weaker contract would not give the assured
to extract the heat) revenues from the only possible customer for
0 the in situ stress field (affectsoperating the power. The very small running costs show
pressures and the stability of the that there is no advantage to reducing
underground system1. operations during low demand periods
Without this information, none of the results because the income reduction will outweigh
obtained from the research programme can be the cost savings.
translated to full-size operationswith any
commercial confidence.Moreover, the Environmental considerations
immediate commercial goal of a small HDR Principally, there will be no 'greenhouse' gas
power system in South-West England in five to emissions, no acid rain and no long-term
seven years time does not justify the risk of wastes generated by an HDR plant in Cornwall.
drilling the first exploration well as a project However, there will be a significant fresh-water
expense despite the fact that up to 1000MWe consumption and the generation of
could operate at any one time in Devon and microearthquakes at depths well below those
Cornwall if the technology is proven. The time used in the experimental programme. The
scale and the risk are simply too great to be mechanism of microearthquake generation is
accepted with the expected revenues available understood and the risk of triggering a
from power sales. damaging event is considered to be
Even if the exploration data become insignificant.13
available from another means, the risk of not There will be the usual problem of
interlinking the wells in an adequate manner construction traffic for a prolonged period and
and not being able to prove that the the visual intrusion of the drilling rig. However,
interlinking is adequate means that the long- one factor that must not be overlooked but
term financing cannot be assured until the needs careful management is the large number
system has operated for a reasonable time. of casual visitors attracted by the nature of the
There are very few ventures large enough to project. Even the experimental project has
47
attracted numerous parties that just turned up publication.
to peer over the site from a high vantage point. Undoubtedly,the heat is present at depth,
the power-generationtechnology exists, the
Way forward size of the individual projects is within the
The energy content of the South-Western scope of normal commercial activity (say $400
granites west of Exeter is known to be million), the process is environmentally benign
substantial. However, what is still not known is and there is a local need for the power. It now
the size of the exploitable resource as a requires sufficient commitment and
function of technical, logistical and contractual determination to obtain the necessary
constraints. confidence to move ahead to a prototype unit
The size of the exploitable resource from a or declare that the technology is not
technical standpoint has been estimated by appropriate to the UK.
the government as 6000 million tonnes of coal
equivalent,14and it is this potentially large Acknowledgments
energy source that has been the justification The author acknowledges the permission to
for the research programmes. However, the publish this article by the board of Geoscience
development phase will be long and arduous and the helpful comments and reviews by
as it has been with other power sources, e.g. Geoscience staff.
30 years or so for nuclear plants even with the
military support. References
The important conclusion from the research 1 ECONOMIDES, M. and UNGEMACH, P: 'Applied
programmes to date is that no physical barrier geothermics'. (John Wiley and Sons, Chichester,
England, 1987)
to the development of HDR systems has been
2 ARMSTEAD, H. C. H: 'Geothermal energy: its
discovered. The reservoirs will produce past, present and future contributions to the
adequate energy supplies if the interlinked energy needs of man'. (E. F. N. Spon, London, 2nd
surface area between the wells is large enough Ed., 1983)
and the apertures of the fractures allow 3 EDWARDS, L. M., CHILINGAR, G. V., RIEKE, H. H.,
sufficient flow between the wells. While the and FERTL, W. H.: 'Handbook of geothermal
reservoir stimulation techniques to achieve energy'. (Gulf Pub CO, Houston, Texas, 1982)
these goals are still under development, it is 4 KRUGER, P, and OTTE, C.: 'Geothermal energy:
timely to ensure that there is a market for the resources, production and stimulation'. (Stanford
power and that the geological conditions that Univ Press, Stanford, California, 1973)
5 DIPIPPO, R.: 'Geothermal electric power, the state
would enable these systems to be created
of the world-1 985,' In 1985 Int. Symp. on
actually exist. Geothermal Energy, Hawaii, Int. Vol., Geothermal
The steps required to ensure that the work Resources Council, Davis, California, pp. 3-18
continues and begins to attract commercial 6 DIPIPPO, R.: 'International developments in
confidence are: geothermal power production: Geothermal
Resources Council Bull., 1988, 17, (5),pp. 8-19
Drill a deep hole to 6000 m in Cornwall 7 SMITH, I. K., and MARTIN, P R.: 'Power from low-
without any further delay. grade heat sources-project SPHERE: on the
Continue to test and prove stimulation trilateral wet vapour cycle'. Chartered Mechanical
techniques. fng., January 1985
0 Continue to evaluate methods that can size 8 BATCHELOR,A. 5.: 'Development of hot dry rock
the heat-transfer area reliably and show systems in the UK: /E Proc. A, 1987, 134, (5).
that the well interlinking is, or is not, pp. 371-380
adequate early in the project. 9 GARDNER, 1. 5.: 'Can underground heat be
Use every opportunity to test the behaviour utilised?', Geological Magazine, 1885, Decade 111,
of natural geothermal systems that are 2, pp. 397-406
10 PARSONS, C. A.: President's address to the
close to the production concept of HDR. engineering section, British Association for the
0 Ideally, build a commercial HDR system on Advancement of Science. Trans. of section G,
the fringe of an existing field outside the UK BAAS report for 1904, pp. 667-676
to take advantage of all the infra-structure 11 SMITH, M. C.: 'Geothermal energy,' LASL report
of the system before moving ahead into the 5289. Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Los
more risky venture in the UK. Alamos, New Mexico, (LA-5289-MS),1973
0 Continue to establish the basis for a power- 12 ARMSTEAD, H. C. H., and TESTER, J. W.: 'Heat
sales agreement that will give the mining, a new source of energy'. (E. F. N. Spon,
institutions the confidence to proceed. London, 1987)
0 Seek other activities that could be mutually 13 ENGELHARD, L., and BABBEL, G.: (1979).
'Mechanical and seismic effects relevant to
beneficial to deep HDR and help to defray MAGES operation.' Int Energy Agency: Manmade
both the cost and risk problems by linking geothermal energy systems (MAGES),2 vols.
to other programmes. (appendix unpublished),OECD, Paris
14 NEWTON, K.: 'Resource Size estimates for
Institutional support, either directly by geothermal hot dry technology in the UK'.
grant/loan guarantees or major taxation reliefs, Energy Technology Support Unit, UKAEA Harwell,
with a realistic treatment of the value of the England (ETSU report no N2/85), 1985
local generation, will be essential to even
0 IEE: 1989
maintain a remote commercial interest in UK
HDR. There are a limited number of ideas to
mitigate the risk of the HDR system failing and Tony Batchelor is Managing Director, Geoscience
still obtain a secure value for the project, but Ltd., Falmouth Business Park, Bickland Water Road,
they need further development before Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4SZ. UK