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Geothermal Energy in Colorado

Geothermal Energy in Colorado. Paul Morgan Colorado Geological Survey for the Colorado Rural Electric Association Energy Innovations Summit 2013 October 28, 2013, Denver, Colorado. Geo thermal: Earth - heat. Direct Use – direct use of Earth’s heat as heat

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Geothermal Energy in Colorado

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  1. Geothermal Energy in Colorado Paul Morgan Colorado Geological Survey for the Colorado Rural Electric Association Energy Innovations Summit 2013 October 28, 2013, Denver, Colorado

  2. Geothermal: Earth-heat • Direct Use – direct use of Earth’s heat as heat • Spas, greenhouse heating, district heating… • Geosource Heat Pumps – Earth is used as thermal mass for heating and/or cooling • Power generation – convert Earth’s heat into another form of energy, usually electricity

  3. Direct Use Under-Developed in Colorado Americulture: Animas Valley New Mexico Main product: Tilapia fingerlings The Greenest MW is the MW not generated Eurofresh: Willcox Arizona Main product: Gourmet tomatoes & other salad vegetables

  4. Power Generation The simplest system uses dry steam Although other schemes have been suggested, geothermal power is currently produced by using geothermal heat to vaporize a fluid which drives a turbine which rotates a generator Dry steam is rare

  5. Binary Power Plant Most newer systems are binary power plants

  6. Soda Lake II, Nevada, 12 MW

  7. Chena Hot Springs, Alaska, 400 kW Binary Water-Cooled Geothermal Power Plant Source: Chena Hot Springs Resort

  8. Environmental Benefits of Binary Geothermal Systems • No emissions: • No NOx, SO2, COx, particulate matter, etc. • Minimal water use with air-cooled or direct water-cooled plants • No impact on water quality • Minimal land use: • Subsidence and seismicity mitigated by reinjection • Can be made to blend in with surroundings

  9. Geothermal Energy in Colorado

  10. Colorado Interpretive Geothermal Gradient Map >50°C/km or >2.7°F/100 ft

  11. Concluding Remarks • Three basic flavors of geothermal use: • Direct-use: Long history in Colorado, but under-developed in terms of full potential • Heat pumps: • Potential just being recognized: domestic, state, retail buildings; the no-brainer clean energy solution • Geothermal power generation: • Colorado’s new frontier – first deep wells will probably be drilled in 2014

  12. Acknowledgements: This work benefitted from conversations and corrections from many colleagues in the Colorado Geological Survey, the Division of Water Resources, the Governor’s Energy Office, and Pioneer natural Resources. Matt Sares, Hal Macartney, Francisco Flores and Kevin Rein have been particularly helpful. Partial funding has been received in contracts from the Department of Energy through the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office and the National Geothermal Database System Project through the Arizona Geological Survey. For Further Information http://geosurvey.state.co.us/ Energy Resources Geothermal Paul Morgan tel: 303 384 2648 e-mail: morgan@mines.edu Thank you

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