Is Fracking for Enhanced Geothermal Systems the Same as Fracking for Natural Gas? (Renewable Energy World.com)
Advocates for both natural gas and geothermal are up in arms over whether fracking for enhanced geothermal systems should be scrutinized with the same parameters as natural gas.
The U.S. geothermal industry recently scored a big win when its first enhanced geothermal system (EGS) project went online in April. Ormat was able to stimulate a previously unproductive well at its Desert Peak project with EGS technology — injecting fluid into a well to reopen cracks and create a resource reservoir — and found an additional 1.2 MWe of capacity. Renewable energy experts applauded the project, dubbing it a "game-changer" and a "shining moment" for the industry.
Though the project represents a breakthrough for EGS technology and the geothermal industry in general, EGS has come under fire, with opponents accusing it as being just as dangerous as oil or natural gas hydraulic stimulation, commonly known as fracking. While traditional geothermal energy is viewed as clean renewable energy, could EGS technology, with its similar "fracking methodology," coupled with its rocky past, come under the same intensive scrutiny as natural gas fracking?
Ormat Technologies, Inc. will have a booth at the GEA Expo run in conjunction with the GRC Annual Meeting, Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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