Technology:

Scientists Turn CO2 From Geothermal Plant Into Solid Rock (CCTV)

In Iceland scientists are developing a new way to cut carbon emissions and improve air quality by turning toxic air into solid rock. China Central Television (CCTV)’s Zhang He reported this story from Reykjavik, Iceland.

To store carbon dioxide underground, Iceland scientists dissolve CO2 in water, and inject it into reactive volcanic basalt rock. Within a year, over 80 percent of the CO2 will transform into solid carbonate minerals, experts said.

The test are being conducted close to Hellisheidi Power Plant, a geothermal power plant in Reykjavik, that offers excellent conditions for the study as it has water, CO2, and basalt rocks.

Read More.........

Climate Change:

Graph of the Day: The Plunging Cost of Geothermal

The IRENA report, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014, concludes that biomass, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind are all competitive with or cheaper than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and despite falling oil prices.

Geothermal energy offers some of the cheapest renewable electricity.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:

St. Vincent’s Geothermal Project Gets US$15 Million Loan (I-Witness News)

US$6 million in IRENA/ADFD concessional loans will also go towards a 5 MW geothermal plant in Iran

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been granted a loan of US$15 million to help fund the development of a 10 to 15 megawatt geothermal project, expected to come on stream by 2018.

The funds are part of US$57 million in concessional loans for five renewable energy projects in developing countries financed under the second cycle of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves said that when the geothermal power plant is complete, it will reverse the ratio of electricity generated by fossil fuel and renewable sources.

“This project is over 50 per cent of our current demand,” he said, noting that it has the potential to generate 10 to 15 megawatts of electricity.

US$6 million in IRENA/ADFD concessional loans will also go towards a 5 MW geothermal plant in Iran. The 5 megawatts small-scale geothermal project, located in Ardebil, will receive $6m to help provide local heating and power for various agricultural activities benefiting 150,000 people.

Read More......

Peru:

Peru Agrees to Cancel Exploration Permit for Crucero Geothermal Area (SeeNews)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

Peru's energy ministry has approved a request from Magma Energía Geotérmica Perú S.A. (Magma Perú) to cancel a permit for exploration of geothermal resources in the Crucero area.

The company decided not to proceed with the second exploration phase and requested to return the whole area, the ministry said in a resolution published on Wednesday.

The request was filed in May 2014, three years after Magma Energia received the permit.

Canadian company Alterra Power Corp, currently holds 30% in early-stage geothermal assets in southern Peru, while the controlling 70% is in the hands of Philippine geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp (EDC).

Read More.......

Ethiopia:

Electroconsult Wins Aluto Langano Geothermal Exploration Contract (Africa News Hub)

Italian engineering firm ELC Electroconsult SpA recently won a USD-499,000 (EUR 429,300) contract, through a tender, for surface exploration in the Aluto Langano geothermal field in Ethiopia.

The company sealed the deal with the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) on January 7, the latter said in a statement Thursday.

ICEIDA and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) are co-funding a bigger project whose aim is to encourage and support geothermal exploration and capacity building in East Africa. The aim is to help countries in the region boost their geothermal knowledge and capacity.

ICEIDA and the Government of Ethiopia are partnering on the geothermal initiative.

American Samoa:

Geothermal Power Testing in American Samoa Positive (Radio New Zealand)

3D Simulation of Geologic Conditions of the NNW Rift Zone of
Tutuila, American Samoa (Courtesy of University of Hawaii, 2014)

American Samoa is moving forward with a geothermal study as the territory seeks out ways to replace imported diesel fuel.

The governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, says the American Samoa Power Authority, in collaboration with the American Samoa Renewal Energy Committee is exploring the feasibility of geothermal energy as an alternative energy source.

He says there have been positive results from a study by a team of scientists and engineers probing part of the main island of Tutuila.

The next step is to conduct drilling to further analyse geothermal resources.

USA:

Heat Exchange Industry News (Geothermal Exchange Organization)

The latest GEO Industry News is now available from the Geothermal Exchange Organization (GEO).

GEO Industry News is an electronic publication of GEO, the Geothermal Exchange Organization, a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association based in Springfield, Illinois, USA that advocates the environmental, energy efficiency and economic benefits of geothermal heat pump systems for heating and cooling applications in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings in the USA.

GEO Industry News (PDF)

New Zealand:

Mighty River Power Depends More on Geothermal Power (News Release)

Utility Boasts Geothermal Now NZ’s Second Electricity Fuel Source

Mighty River Power has released its latest Quarterly Operational Update for the three months ended 31 December 2014

During the second half of CY2014 New Zealand reached a significant milestone in renewable electricity supply, with geothermal generation replacing gas as the second most important electricity fuel source behind hydro. Geothermal generation has increased by more than 150% in the past decade. Unsubsidized investment, including $1.4 billion by Mighty River Power, has boosted geothermal output from 6.5% of national supply, to 16%. Geothermal is the only renewable not dependent on the weather – running 24/7. It has played an important role in displacing non-renewable generation, and overtaken both coal and gas-fired generation in the past six years, cutting millions of tonnes of emissions. Geothermal made up 40% of Mighty River Power’s total generation for the quarter.

Read More.......

Climate Change:

Renewable Power Costs Plummet: Many Sources Now Cheaper than Fossil Fuels Worldwide (IRENA - News Release)

The cost of generating power from renewable energy sources has reached parity or dropped below the cost of fossil fuels for many technologies in many parts of the world, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) revealed in a new report today.

The landmark report, Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014, concludes that biomass, hydropower, geothermal and onshore wind are all competitive with or cheaper than coal, oil and gas-fired power stations, even without financial support and despite falling oil prices.

For geothermal the highlights are:

• Geothermal power generation is a mature, commercially available solution to provide lowcost base load capacity in areas with excellent high-temperature resources that are close to the surface.
• Between 2007 and 2014, the LCOE of geothermal varied from as low as USD 0.04/kWh for second-stage development of a field to as high as USD 0.14/kWh for greenfield developments.
• Geothermal power plants are capital intensive, but they have very low and predictable running costs. Development costs have increased over time as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) costs and commodity prices have risen, as well as because of the rise in drilling costs, which is in line with trends in the oil and gas sectors.
• Total installed costs appear to have stabilized, but deployment remains modest, and not enough data is available to identify if this is statistically significant. 
• Projects that are planned for the period 2015 to 2020 expect to be able to reduce installed costs below recent levels.

Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2014 (PDF)   Read More..........

Global:

IRENA Leads the Way as Global Knowledge Hub on Renewable Energy (IRENA - News Release)

New online platform REsource, provides easy access to latest renewable energy data and information

The  best available data and information on renewable energy is now freely accessible. REsource, the online knowledge platform launched this week by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), enables users to easily find country-specific data, create customized charts and graphs, and compare countries on metrics like renewable energy use and deployment.

It also provides information on renewable energy market statistics, potentials, policies, finance, costs, benefits, innovations, education and other topics.

A search for "geothermal" returned 1,036 results. To access REsource visit: www.irena.org/REsource

Read More.......

Global:

GRC on Facebook - You Really Like Us!

Popular news website passes the 1000 "likes" milestone

The Facebook page for the Geothermal Resources Council reached a major milestone today. The website has reached 1,000 likes, a measure of the popularity of the information service.

The page was created on September 20, 2011 to provide a community for those interested in geothermal energy around the world.

Join us in the global geothermal community.......

Chile:

Chile Ahead of Renewable Energy Target (Business News Americas)

 Acera expects Chile's first geothermal project to enter construction by 2019-20.

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

Chile will likely reach its goal of a 20% contribution from non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) sources to the national energy mix four to five years ahead of schedule and without subsidies.

That's according to Carlos Finat, who directs the country's renewable energies association, Acera.

A signature goal of the government's 2014-18 energy agenda is the '20/25' objective, which calls for 20% of Chile's power generation to come from renewable sources by 2025.

The ministry also plans to submit a geothermal concessions law in 2015, and to implement schemes to mitigate the risks geothermal exploration drilling. Finat said that Acera expects Chile's first geothermal project to enter construction by 2019-20.

More than US$300m has been invested in geothermal exploration in the country so far, Finat said, calling the segment's delayed implementation a "pebble in the shoe" for the development of renewables in Chile.

Read More........

New Zealand:

Timber Company Uses Geothermal Energy To Help Penetrate US Architectural Products Market (EIN News - News Release)

(Courtesy Tenon)

Tenon is New Zealand's biggest exporter of value added timber mouldings and millwork finishes. It supplies, for example, such nationwide US chains as Lowes and The Home Depot.

Geothermal heat is the heat source for the plant's wood-drying kilns. The geothermal energy passing through the primary conduits heats the process water in the pipe jackets. The Taupo plant requires high pressure heat to produce timber mouldings and laminates

Having achieved the heat transfer, the piped geothermal gases and fluids are re-sequestered being injected back into their subterranean repositories in the Tauhara field.

Read More.......

GRC Annual Meeting:

2015 GRC Annual Meeting Call For Papers

Deadline: April 10, 2015

The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) invites you to present your latest technical work in geothermal research, exploration, development and utilization at the GRC's 39th Annual Meeting, September 20 - 23, 2015 at the Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada. Our theme this year is "Geothermal: Always On."

Anyone who wants to present at the GRC Annual Meeting must first submit a completed draft paper. Successful selection to present at the GRC 2015 Annual Meeting is prestigious and recognizes the presenter as a top industry expert. International participation is key to the success of the GRC Annual Meeting technical programs and we encourage geothermal researchers and experts from around the world to submit their work for consideration.

Draft Paper submission deadline is April 10, 2015

USA, California:

Opinion: Lithium Project Could Power Salton Sea Solutions (Desert Sun)

We welcome Simbol’s move in anticipation that it will power economic growth for this depressed area and help spur renewable energy development that will benefit the Salton Sea and the environment as a whole.

Word that Simbol Materials will begin work on a large-scale lithium extraction plant near Calipatria, extracting the heavy metal from geothermal brine, is a positive jolt for the Imperial and Coachella valleys.

Pleasanton-based Simbol says it will hire 400 workers for the 18-month construction project and the plant itself should employ about 180 once it is up and running. Residents of Imperial County, which had the highest unemployment rate in California in November at 22.6 percent, could get some of those jobs.

Meanwhile, all of us who are neighbors of the ailing Salton Sea ultimately could benefit from the Simbol project.

Read More.......

USA, Texas:

Power Plays: Geothermal Energy in Oil and Gas Fields (SMU)

May 18, 2015 – Workshop; May 19-20, 2015 – Conference; SMU Campus in Dallas, Texas

The SMU Geothermal Lab is hosting this 7th international energy conference and workshop.

Over 200 individuals in field operations, project development, technology, finance, engineering and resource assessment from the geothermal, oil, gas and renewable energy sectors are expected to attend.

Conference

The conference goal is to connect attendees with the knowledge, technical expertise and equipment options they need to successfully transition an existing oil or gas field into an electricity-generating system. To that end, speaker presentations are delivered as a plenary session with several breaks designed for networking.

Topics of discussion include power generation from flare gas, waste-heat and geothermal fluids, along with research updates on induced seismicity, onshore and offshore thermal maturation, Play Fairway Analysis and basin modeling. SMU researchers will present results from their Fall 2014 Eastern North American Margin Community Seismic Experiment (ENAM CSE) research. In addition, equipment such as one-well systems, desalination and other new technologies will be explored. Registration is open.

Workshop

A pre-conference workshop on May 18th, A Primer on Geothermal Energy Resources, provides a focused introduction for those new to the geothermal and energy communities. Four Continuing Education Credits are provided. The workshop is limited to the first 50 registrants to provide a classroom atmosphere with ample time for questions and answers. Registration is open.

More Information.......

USA, California:

GRC Member Helps Author Independent Scientific Study on California Fracking

Report explains differences in stimulation techniques

GRC Member Patrick F. Dobson, career geological staff scientist, Earth Sciences Division, at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, winner of a GRC Special Achievement Award in 2012, is one of the principal authors of a report on fracking.

The study, the first independent assessment required under the state's new fracking regulations, found 20-percent of oil production in California is fracked, and the vast majority occurs in Kern County.

However, the report includes language that seeks to explain how the methods used in geothermal reservoir stimulation is different to the fracking methods used in the oil and gas industry.

From page 79 of the report: "Geothermal energy involves the extraction of heat instead of fluids from the subsurface. However, it still requires fluid flow as an efficient means to transport heat. Hydraulic fracturing is used to enable fluid flow in some geothermal reservoirs that have low permeability. Geothermal fracturing has the goal of stimulating the entire reservoir volume through the opening of existing natural fractures by shear. Geothermal systems are typically fractured using water without additives or proppant."

Read More.......

India:

Iceland Assures Help on Ladakh Geothermal Project (4 Traders - News Release)

Pugah Valley (Courtesy indiatravelblog)

The MP of the Ladakh region in the in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in northern India, has urged Iceland to invest in geothermal projects in the cold Himalayan desert.

In a meeting with Ambassador of Iceland Thorir Ibsen in New Delhi, Ladakh MP Thupstan Chhewang highlighted the region's geothermal potential and particularly the 5 MW Puga geothermal generation project.

The MP said Ibsen has given the green signal for his country's support for further action on the project. According to the MP, Iceland assured that Puga is unequivocally the most promising geothermal resource in India and it has the no- risk geothermal prospect.

" The meeting was summed up with a decision to organize a meeting between the Union power minister and the minister for new and renewable energy and President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson during his visit to India in February, 2015," he said.

In 2010, an agreement was signed between Thermax Ltd, Pune, and Iceland- based Reykjavik Geothermal ( RG) and subsequently, the Thermax- RG consortium had carried out preliminary studies in the Puga geothermal area of Leh in 2011.

Read More........

New Zealand:

GNS Seismologist on Drilling the Alpine Fault (Radio New Zealand)

A project to drill 1.3km into the South Island's giant Alpine Fault has been halted tantalisingly close to its final goal.

A team of scientists has had to stop drilling with the borehole at 893m, which they estimate was as little as 100m short of the fault itself.

GNS Science seismologist Dr Rupert Sutherland is at the drill site in Whataroa near Franz Josef.

"We have learnt a vast amount about the structure and hydrology of the upper zone of the fault and about drilling in this challenging environment. Despite pulling up early in terms of depth, we are really happy with the technical and scientific achievements of the project," said Dr Sutherland.

Read More.......

New Zealand:

Geothermal Heat Prompts Spa Boom Dreams on South Island (Radio New Zealand)

The Alpine Fault is marked out on satellite images by
the western edge of the Southern Alps snowline.

A group advocating for geothermal technology says any spa-style tourism on the West Coast of the south island of New Zealand would need a big marketing campaign to pull in punters.

Scientists drilling under the Southern Alps to investigate the Alpine Fault near Franz Josef Glacier found warm water a little way down - and temperatures as high as 110°C at the bottom of the hole.

GNS Science project co-leader Rupert Sutherland said earlier that the water could be used to generate electricity.

The project discovered that temperatures increase by more than 140°C for every kilometer below ground. Such a high rate of temperature increase has important implications for the way rocks behave and for understanding earthquake processes along the Alpine Fault and at other major faults worldwide.

New Zealand Geothermal Association executive officer Brian White said the underground heat in the central North Island - where the country's geothermal electricity generation is located - is much higher, at about 300°C.

However, Mr White said the finding could benefit tourism in Westland.

Read More.......

Italy:

The Very Useful Art of Assessing a Supervolcano Without Making it Erupt (Phys.Org)

The Vesuvius Observatory (OV), monitoring both Mt Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei, is the oldest volcanology observatory in the world. Here geologists, geophysicists, and physicists join forces in a unique environment to understand what's beneath these volcanoes.

A good example is the EU deep drilling project, which the OV sponsors. The idea is simple: you drill to a depth of 2.5 miles inside Campi Flegrei caldera to get sensitive scientific data and rock samples, and obtain geothermal energy from the heated volcanic complex.

Using attenuation tomography the scientists scan the deep Earth interior, looking at how and where the velocity of the waves is changed by the medium. They have established that there is no large magmatic chamber under Campi Flegrei between 0km and 4km depth – at least there wasn't during the last seismic crisis, which was between 1980 and 1984.

Read More.......

USA, California:

Surprise Valley Geothermal Power Project Gets Million Dollar Grant (CEC)

Springtime at Surprise Valley Hot Spring, Joe LaFleur

The California Energy Commission has decided to award the Surprise Valley geothermal project a grant of over a million dollars.

The proposed resolution approving Agreement GEO-14-003 with the County of Modoc for a $1,129,619 grant to conduct geothermal resource assessments and exploratory drilling in the Surprise Valley Hot Springs area was passed at a meeting this morning.

The project will install and demonstrate a small geothermal distributed energy unit to generate electricity at Surprise Valley Hot Springs Resort and conduct a geothermal economic feasibility and market analysis to provide information that can be used in future planning for expanded geothermal development in the area.

The geothermal distributed energy unit is anticipated to offset the electrical load of the Surprise Valley Hot Springs Resort and save the resort over $10,000 per year in electricity costs.

In addition the Modoc Joint Unified School District is to get $3.1 million to expand the existing geothermal heating system at Modoc High School to include two additional schools and the public pool in Alturas. The expanded system is projected to save the school district more than $4.2 million in fuel and electricity costs over 25 years.

USA, Idaho:

North West Clean & Affordable Energy Conference (NW Energy Coalition)

29-30 May, Riverside Hotel, Boise, Idaho

The conference will feature speakers, panels and networking opportunities with clean energy experts and advocates from around the region.

Register........

Climate Change:

Obama Aims for Huge Cut in Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Wells (NBC News)

Methane is emitted naturally from geothermal systems, but those emissions are minimal at 0.5% Dry Gas % by Volume

The Obama administration laid out a blueprint Wednesday for the first regulations to cut down on methane emissions from new natural gas wells, aiming to curb the discharge of a potent greenhouse gas by roughly half.

Relying once again on the Clean Air Act, the rules join a host of others that President Barack Obama has ordered in an effort to slow global warming despite opposition to new laws in Congress that has only hardened since the midterm elections. Although just a sliver of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, methane is far more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

The White House set a new target for the U.S. to cut methane emissions by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2025, compared to 2012 levels. To meet that goal, the Environmental Protection Agency will issue a proposal affecting oil and gas production, while the Interior Department will also update its standards for drilling to reduce leakage from wells on public lands.

Read More.......

Germany:

New 4 MW ORC Plant Online in Oberhaching, Germany (Think GeoEnergy)

(Courtesy Erdwärme Grünwald GmbH)

A new Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) plant has been online since December producing 4.3 MW of electricity and district heating to the nearby town of Unterhaching in Germany.

“Already in the commissioning phase since the end of September, 2014, the ORC power plant Laufzorn smoothly produces green energy,” announced Erdwärme Grünwald GmbH. “We have made the right decision with the right technique. The ORC power plant will produce electricity very efficiently – the essential prerequisite to permanently generate revenues. We have weighted our sustainable geothermal source – especially during the warmer seasons when less heating is needed. Above all, our concern was to provide a safe and economical supply of heat to our Grünwalder citizens.”

Read More.......

Turkey:

European Bank to Boost Turkey's Geothermal Energy in '15 (Anadolu Agency)

(Courtesy Gurmat Electricity Generation Co.)

The European Reconstruction and Development Bank (EBRD)'s two investment funds for 2015 in Turkey's underdeveloped geothermal energy will help expand this sector in the country, according to the bank's director for power and energy.

The EBRD is planning to finance the development of a greenfield 123 MW geothermal power plant by the Gurmat Electricity Generation Co. in Germencik in the western province of Aydin which is set to become the second largest geothermal plant in the world when completed, EBRD Director for Power and Energy Nandita Parshad told The Anadolu Agency.

Aydin is the most geothermal-rich province in Turkey and already has a number of energy companies operating power plants in the region.

The $970 million Germencik Geothermal Power Plant is under construction and will completed by mid this year, and the EBRD will finance the plant with $150 million.

In addition to this project for the Germencik power plant, Parshad said that the Bank is due to put aside a $125 million for a program to support the early stage of geothermal development in Turkey. When approved by EBRD’s board of directors, the framework will combine the $100 million from EBRD’s funds with $25 million from the Clean Technology Fund, she said.

Read More.......

Curaçao:

Geothermally Powered Curacao – Reality or Deep Pipedream (Curacao Chronicle)

In view of some recent press reports, several people have asked for my opinion on whether Curaçao realistically has any geothermal energy potential. As reported in Amigoe (10 December and 5 January), specifically this refers to an apparent proposal received by Aqualectra to drill a very deep 7,000 meter geothermal well on the island.

Firstly, I must say, I was as surprised as probably many to read this. There are no known hot springs or any evidence of surface geothermal activity. While the island has a volcanic (diabase) core this is 90 million years old, and cooled significantly during exhumation (uplift) about 50 million years ago when it was accreted to the South American plate. There are no obvious major faults as potential hot fluid conduits, and any younger sediments form a thin uplifted rim around the island with no aquifer or shallow to even moderate level geothermal potential.

Read More.......

Indonesia:

Pertamina Geothermal Energy Allocates $432 Million in Investment (Jakarta Post)

35 MW Kamojang unit 5 is scheduled to be completed in July this year. 

Pertamina Geothermal Energy (PGE), a subsidiary of Indonesian state-owned PT Pertamina, has set aside US$432 million for several projects including the construction of new power plants, as well as maintenance and exploration in 2015.

“The allocation will be for the development of Kamojang unit 5 as well as ongoing projects such as Ulubelu, Lumut Balai and others. We will also have to perform maintenance work on other existing facilities,” PGE president director Rony Gunawan said on Monday.

Kamojang unit 5, which will have a 35 MW capacity, is scheduled to be completed in July this year. The project, located in West Java, will be the only PGE geothermal project to be completed this year. Progress has now reached 65 percent, according to Rony.

Other projects scheduled to be completed in the near future include Ulubelu unit 3 and 4, which are expected to be finished in July 2016 and May 2017, respectively.

PGE has a total capacity of 402 MW in electricity output from its geothermal power plants, equal to about 33 percent of the country’s total installed capacity of 1,403.5 MW.

Read More.......

Australia:

Raya Group Ltd Appoints New Managing Director (ABN Newswire - News Release)

The board of geothermal exploration company Raya Group Ltd, formerly Panax Geothermal Ltd, have announced the appointment of Daniel Joseph Lanskey to the position of Managing Director effective from today.

Mr Lanskey holds a post graduate Business Degree from Griffith University. He has over 10 years' experience in the energy industry and from 2006 until January 2014 was a Founder and Managing Director of Austex Oil Limited, which is now a successful US operating oil and gas production company.

Read More.......

Japan:

¥8 Billion Earmarked in Upcoming Budget for Geothermal Energy (The Japan Times)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

The Abe administration decided Wednesday to boost efforts next year to promote renewable energy following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, after the feed-in tariff system, which guarantees above-market rates for selling energy produced from clean sources, ran into trouble only two years after its introduction.

The administration is expected to secure in the fiscal 2015 budget a total of ¥130.7 billion for various programs to promote research into and use of renewable energy.

Out of that total, it is expected to spend ¥8 billion for promoting geothermal power.

Read More.......

Canada:

Opinion: Terrace, B.C. Needs to Warm to Geothermal (Terrace Standard)

The sudden drop in the price for oil presents an opportunity to take advantage and invest in a trillion dollar industry. That opportunity is geothermal energy. Oil and gas are finite resources. They may last one, three or even 10 more generations but geothermal, as well as wind and solar power, are infinite resources.

Geothermal energy is more abundant in all three Western provinces; BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan. All provinces of Canada have experience with wind farms and solar energy but much less with geothermal.

With the now much lower world oil prices there may soon be some idle oil and gas drilling rigs. The equipment, man power and engineering skills of this industry could quickly be adapted to drilling for and establishing geothermal energy plants ensuring continued employment and economic growth.

Read More........

USA, Arizona:

Geothermal Energy to Help Power Super Bowl (News Release)

Phoenix regional utility Salt River Project, on behalf of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, is partnering with the NFL Environmental Program to provide green energy for the American football Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Feb. 1, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

The electricity needed to power the Super Bowl will be from 100 percent renewable energy resources to offset greenhouse gas emissions associated with Super Bowl XLIX.

In 2014 the utility sourced 304,089 Megawatt Hours of electricity from geothermal energy, just under 18% of the renewable energy resources.

The SRP board has set a goal to meet 20 percent of SRP’s retail electricity requirements through sustainable resources by 2020. Currently, SRP is ahead of schedule — providing more than 12 percent of retail energy needs with sustainable resources, which include solar, wind and geothermal energy, hydropower, as well as energy efficiency measures.

Read More.......

Costa Rica:

Costa Rica Eyes National Parks’ Volcanoes for Energy (National Geographic)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

The volcanoes of Costa Rica’s lauded national park system have helped make it a tourism favorite for generations. But three bills before the national legislature offer a reminder that volcanoes also make the parks attractive for another use: drilling for geothermal power.

Demand for electricity has been rising in Costa Rica for decades, and proponents say geothermal is a carbon-free solution, for a country that has pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2021. However, the volcanic areas with the highest geothermic activity have long been set aside as national parks, causing conflict between conservationists and the country’s state electrical company.

The new legislation would allow the exploitation of geothermal energy within protected areas: two by public or private enterprise, and one permitting only the state electricity company. The third is considered to have the most potential to pass, but it has high-profile opponents, including President Luis Guillermo Solis, who said in December he would not support the bill.

Read More.......

Germany:

Giant "Fossil-Free", Geothermal-Powered Glasshouse Goes into Production (Horticulture Week)

Almost entirely self-sufficient, Bavaria's largest glasshouse has now begun yielding an anticipated 4,400 tonnes of tomatoes and peppers per year, thanks to geothermal heat.

Steiner Vegetables invested €17.5m (£14m) to construct the 12 hectares of glass in the municipality of Kirchweidach in partnership with a local geothermal specialist, which took two years.

The energy use is complemented by recycled hot water from residential heating, biogas and photovoltaic. It is also self-sufficient in water use, and use of insecticides is avoided.

While installation costs of geothermal are higher than for conventionally heated structures, the heat is up to 70 per cent cheaper than oil or gas, according to owner Josef Steiner.

Read More........

Global:

Top 10 Countries in Geothermal Power (ThinkGeoEnergy)

ThinkGeoEnergy has published an updated Top 10 list of countries, based on the installed geothermal power generation capacity (Status January 2015).

El Salvador:

El Salvador: 40% de su Energía a Través de la Geotermia Para 2020 - El Salvador Plans 40% of Energy to Come from Geothermal by 2020 (Piensa en Geotermia - Think GeoEnergy)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

El Salvador está creando un ambicioso plan quinquenal con el objetivo de producir el 40% de la energía del país a través de la geotermia y convertirse en un líder regional.

El Salvador is creating an ambitious 5 year plan with the goal of producing 40% of the nation’s power from geothermal and becoming a regional leader.

Leer Más.......            Read More.......

Climate Change:

South Korea Launches World’s Second-Largest Carbon Trading Market (Climate Progress)

(Courtesy CIA.gov)

South Korea launched its cap-and-trade system Monday, an act that makes the country home to the world’s second-largest carbon trading market.

The cap-and-trade system, which was approved by the country’s National Assembly in 2012, will cap the emissions of 525 of the biggest companies in the country. Overall, South Korea has capped its 2015 to 2017 country-wide emissions at 1.687 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The system is part of the country’s goal to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below current levels by 2020.

Read More.......

USA, California:

Lithium Plant to Bring 400 Jobs to Imperial Valley (The Desert Sun)

Depending on how profitable the process ends up being, it could also help drive geothermal energy development by the Salton Sea

Tesla Motors isn’t coming to town, but plans to extract enormous amounts of lithium near the Salton Sea are steaming toward reality.

Simbol Materials will soon start construction on a large-scale lithium plant in Calipatria, which the company says will employ 400 people during an 18-month construction period and between 120 and 150 people once finished. Many of those high-wage jobs could go to residents of the Imperial Valley, one of the state’s most impoverished areas.

The Pleasanton-based company has spent a year and a half demonstrating its innovative — and top-secret — process for extracting lithium from geothermal brine, a leftover of geothermal energy production from the John L. Featherstone geothermal power plant by the southern shore of the Salton Sea. Lithium is a key ingredient in the batteries used by many electric automakers, and the prospect of abundant lithium — which is now largely produced overseas — caught Tesla’s attention last year.

Until Simbol starts consistently producing large quantities of battery-grade lithium, no one will know for sure that its extraction process works as advertised. But depending on how profitable the process ends up being, it could also help drive geothermal energy development by the Salton Sea, which has ground to a halt in recent years.

Read More.......

Iceland:

Geothermal Powered Data Center Gets More Funding (ZDNet)

All of the electricity for the data center comes from 100% renewable, geothermal and hydroelectric energy, with no green energy price premium. 

Verne Global, the UK-based data-center company known for its Icelandic facilities, has landed $98m in series D funding.

The new financing round, announced today, was led by Icelandic asset management and private equity firm Stefnir. The cash injection will provide Verne Global with the funds to expand its wholesale and co-location services, and help it develop more data-center space in the chilly north.

Verne Global is one of a handful of data-center providers that have trekked north in the hope of taking data and computing workloads from the south with them. One element that makes Iceland potentially attractive to firms with tons of data to store is that energy is dirt cheap in the country but as clean as whistle, sourced almost entirely from geothermal power.

Read More.......

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:

St Vincent Geothermal Energy Project On Track (IPS)

Householders and manufacturers are hoping that the geothermal energy exploration, which has been underway for more than a year, will in fact produce the 10-15 MW of electricity that the country desperately needs to relieve its dependence on high-cost fossil fuels and give new life to the manufacturing and agro-processing sectors.

The geothermal energy exploration is a partnership between the Unity Labour Party government, the Icelandic Firm Reykjavik Geothermal Ltd., and Emera Inc., an international energy company with roots in Nova Scotia, Canada that also owns power stations in the Caribbean.

One year after the geothermal project was launched, Prime Minister Gonsalves, who will run for a fourth consecutive five-year term in elections this year, told Parliament in December that the geothermal power plant is on track for a 2017-2018 completion.

By June 2015, a technical report will be completed and well and plant site selection will be done, Gonsalves, who also holds the energy portfolio, told lawmakers.

Read More.......

USA, California:

GRC Member is New Director of USGS Earthquake Science Center (USGS)

Dr. Stephen Hickman’s research focuses on borehole and laboratory studies of the interaction between stress, fractures, and fluid flow in high-temperature geothermal systems and the physical and chemical processes controlling faulting and earthquake generation within active faults.

Dr. Stephen Hickman

The U.S. Geological Survey is pleased to announce the selection of GRC Member Dr. Stephen Hickman to serve as the new director of the USGS Earthquake Science Center, headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Dr. Hickman succeeds Dr. Thomas Brocher, who served in the position for the past six years.

“Steve Hickman’s decades of experience in the USGS as a research geophysicist will serve the Survey and the American people well as he embarks on his new leadership position,” said USGS Pacific Region director Mark Sogge. “He has led or participated in numerous scientific projects in the United States and abroad, and was co-principal investigator on the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth, a major component of the National Science Foundation's EarthScope facility. His extensive science and leadership skills will be invaluable as he guides the Center and works with our partners to address new scientific and technical challenges ahead.”

Read More.......

Publications:

Electromagnetic Geothermometry, 1st Edition

by Viacheslav Spichak & Olga K. Zakharova 

Electromagnetic Geothermometry explores, presents and explains the new technique of temperature estimation within the Earth’s interior; the Electromagnetic technique will identify zones of geothermal anomalies and thus provides locations for deep drilling.

This book includes many case studies from geothermal areas such as Travale (Italy), Soultz-sous-Forêts (France) and Hengill (Iceland), allowing the author and reader to draw conclusions regarding the dominating heat transfer mechanisms, location of its sources and to constrain the locations for drilling of the new boreholes.

Covering a topic that so far has very little coverage (due to its newness) Electromagnetic Geothermometry presents ground breaking information on the interpretation of MT signals. And as such, is similar to the work that was done to develop new generations of seismic inversion methods that have since come to dominate the oil industry.

Up until now geophysical methods have had difficulty resolving temperature differences which have been critical in the understanding of location and magnitude of geothermal resources

Read More.......

USA:

Green Tax Incentive Compendium: Federal and State Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency ( Robinson+Cole)

A few weeks ago the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 was signed into law retroactively extending tax incentives for geothermal renewable energy projects.

Jerome L. Garciano at Robinson+Cole has updated a PDF summary of the incentives.

Green Tax Incentive Compendium: Federal and State Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (PDF)

Ethiopia:

Aluto Langano Geothermal Project Hobbled By Shortage of Water (allAfrica)

Aluto Lango Geothermal Power Plant (Coutesy BGR.Bund.De)

One of the projects funded by the Japanese government in Ethiopia, the newly-initiated Aluto Langano geothermal power plant, is said to be delayed due to shortage of water supply that is essential in an initial test drilling work.

The Alto Langano geothermal project, which is being undertaken near Lake Langano is expected to generate some 70 MW electric power for the country. The project was set to be finalized and start power generation by the end of 2018. According to Jin Kimyaki, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Ethiopia, however, the project is facing some challenges that are hindering its progress. One of the challenges he mentioned was the availability of water for the first phase drilling activity.

Read More.......

USA:

U.S. Can More Than Triple Share of Renewable Energy by 2030, New IRENA Report Says (News Release)

The U.S. has some of the world’s best geothermal resources, primarily in the west, but is currently using only 10% of its potential. REmap envisages an additional 18 GWe in power generation from geothermal, adding to 6 GWe under current plans.

The United States can increase the use of renewable energy in its energy mix from 7.5 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent by 2030, according to a new report released today. Renewable Energy Prospects: United States of America, prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), also says the U.S. can increase its use of renewable energy in power generation from 14 per cent to almost 50 per cent by 2030, making it the world’s second largest renewable energy user after China.

Read More.......

Australia:

Active Volcanoes in Victoria, Australia!? (Blog Post)

by Stephanie, exploration geologist, graduate research student (MSc) at University of Tasmania

Unsuspectingly lurking next to the massive metropolis of Melbourne, Australia, is a region of young and active volcanoes! This volcanic province covers an area >23,000 km in the southern state of Victoria. The volcanoes here are dormant, but still active, with the last eruption ~5000 years ago at Mt. Gambier.

The landscape is flat due to extensive plains of basalt, but it is riddled with features like volcanic scoria cones, maars, shield volcanoes, etc. 

I recently jumped on the opportunity to head across the water from Tassie to check out some of these stunning and ideal landforms on a trip lead by Dr. David Cooke and Dr. Rebecca Carey from our geology department at the University of Tasmania. Hopefully in this blog post I can share my travels to some of these young volcanic features and show what they look like and how they formed.

Read More........

Indonesia:

Course - Introduction to Geothermal Drilling and Management (Society of Petroleum Engineers)

23 – 24 February, Jakarta, Indonesia

Instructor Jonathan Hernandez

Led by GRC Member Jonathan Hernandez of Dewhurst Group LLC this two-day course will offer an introductory overview on Geothermal Drilling through various lenses.

The first will be a general refresher on an introductory level with a technical background. Secondly the course will focus on the difference between Oil and Gas Projects and Geothermal Drilling. Finally the course will cover Geothermal Drilling Management such as cross functional teams, project management with production and development as the goals; it will cover case studies around the world and differences in management styles in Geothermal Drilling Projects, and how they all affect the drilling progress and completion of wells. The course will be done with a classroom approach including possible quizzes and handouts as well as interactive participation.

Course Brochure (PDF)

Global:

Geothermal Resources Council Welcomes New President

Paul Brophy is new President of the GRC

Paul Brophy has been elected by his peers on the GRC Board of Directors to be the next President of the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC). He replaces Louis E. Capuano, Jr., who remains on the Board of Directors as Past President.

Paul is currently President of EGS Inc. based in Santa Rosa, California and has over 45 years worldwide experience in the field of energy and natural resources, of which 35 years has been in the geothermal industry. He has worked on projects in numerous countries such as Australia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Russia, Peru, Chile, Indonesia, Montserrat, and the Philippines.

Paul has previously served as President (2007-2008) and Vice President of the Geothermal Resources Council, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Geothermal Association (based in Germany) and chairs its Finance Committee.

In 2011, Paul Brophy was awarded the Joseph W. Aidlin Award, recognizing outstanding contributions to the Geothermal Resources Council and to the development of geothermal resources.

Paul Brophy earned an M.S. in Mining and Exploration from the University of N. Queensland, Australia, a M.S. degree in Geophysics from the University of Leeds, England, and a B.S. (Honors) in Geology from the ChelseaCollege, University of London, England. He is a registered Professional Geologist and Certified Hydrogeologist in the state of California.

St. Lucia:

Soufriere Residents Embrace Geothermal Exploration (HTS St Lucia)

Saint Lucia will begin geothermal exploration in January 2015. Representatives of the Ministry Of Sustainable Development and Energy are hoping this will lessen the country’s dependence on oil and diesel. The geothermal development will take place in the town of Soufriere where residents are welcoming the news.

Kenya:

Kenya Taps into Geothermal Energy (Al Jazeera English)

Kenya's government has promised electricity bills will come down thanks to new investment in geothermal energy.It is good news for households who previously complained of hefty bills. Hopes are also high that there will be a boost to big business.