Technology:

Simulation Capability Illuminates Geothermal Energy Potential (DOE Pulse)

FALCON is being used to model how the injection of cold water
might increase the permeability, and hence the energy production,
at one geothermal site.

Geothermal energy could become a cost-competitive source for electricity in the very near future with the help of a subsurface modeling program designed by researchers at DOE's Idaho National Laboratory. The Fracturing and Liquid CONvection (FALCON) code can analyze various facets of the subsurface physics behind geothermal energy extraction.

Traditional geothermal energy can be accessed only at rare sites where subsurface heat, water and permeable rock converge. However, Enhanced (or Engineered) Geothermal Systems (EGS) can be built so that they add fluid to the system, as well as increase rock permeability via techniques such as fracturing. Thus, an EGS site only needs a location with subsurface heat. At that point, FALCON can swoop in to optimize the process.

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