Wednesday, December 21, 2016

USA, Nevada: GTO Announces Successful Seismic Data Acquisition at San Emidio and Crescent Valley Geothermal Fields

EERE Success Story—GTO Funding Supports Push to Identify New Geothermal Plays (EERE/GTO)

Seismic sensors ready to deploy in northern Nevada,
to help identify new geothermal plays.
(Photo Courtesy Optim Software)
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office reported completion last week of seismic data acquisition at two key geothermal sites in northern Nevada.

Supported as part of a $1.5 million federal share project launched via last summer’s Subsurface Science, Technology, and Engineering Research, Development, and Demonstration (SubTER) funding opportunity announcement, the data was acquired by U.S. Geothermal in the vicinity of existing geothermal operations at San Emidio and Crescent Valley. San Emidio has been engaged in previous DOE-funded efforts, and Crescent Valley is a key region in the ongoing Nevada Play Fairway Analysis, which seeks to expand geothermal operations in the state.

The resulting imagery, produced using MicroSeismic passive seismic emission tomography, should indicate the presence of permeability fairways that will aid in targeting new geothermal wells for production. Optim Software (Reno, NV) and Berkeley Lab (Berkeley, CA) will provide support during the data interpretation stages.