Geothermal Water Use: Life Cycle Water Consumption, Water Resource Assessment, and Water Policy Framework

Description

This report examines life cycle water consumption for various geothermal technologies to better understand factors that affect water consumption across the life cycle (e.g., power plant cooling, belowground fluid losses) and to assess the potential water challenges that future geothermal power generation projects may face. Previous reports in this series quantified the life cycle freshwater requirements of geothermal power-generating systems, explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids, and assessed future water demand by geothermal power plants according to growth projections for the industry. This report seeks to extend those analyses by including EGS flash, both as part of the life cycle analysis and water resource assessment. A regional water resource assessment based upon the life cycle results is also presented. Finally, the legal framework of water with respect to geothermal resources in the states with active geothermal development is also analyzed.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
53 EPA Groundwater classifications for saline water https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%206%20-%20Categories%20of%20Saline%20Water.xlsx
33 Geothermal Water Use: Life Cycle water Consumption, Water Resource Assessment and Water Policy Framework https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/ANL-EVS-14-2.pdf
53 Life cycle water consumption result summary for EGS scenarios https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%203%20-%20Life%20Cycle%20Water%20Consumption%20Summary%20for%20EGS%20Scenarios.xlsx
53 A summary of parameters used as input to GETEM for Hydrothermal Scenarios https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%202%20-%20GETEM%20Hydrothermal%20Scenarios.xlsx
53 A summary of state geothermal laws and definitions in states with active geothermal development https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%207%20-%20State-Level%20Geothermal%20Water%20Management%20Definitions%2C%20Laws%2C%20and%20Principles.xlsx
53 A summary of parameters used as input to GETEM for EGS Scenarios https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%201%20-%20GETEM%20EGS%20Scenarios.xlsx
53 Scenario parameters for the regional water resource assessment, including both EGS and hydrothermal scenarios https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%205%20-%20Regional%20Water%20Resource%20Assessment%20Scenario%20Parameters.xlsx
53 Life cycle water consumption result summary for hydrothermal scenarios https://gdr.openei.org/files/420/Table%204%20-%20Life%20Cycle%20Water%20Consumption%20Summary%20for%20Hydrothermal%20Scenarios.xlsx

Tags

  • water-consumption
  • getem
  • policy
  • egs
  • life-cycle-assessment
  • binary
  • flash
  • hydrothermal
  • water-resource-assessment
  • egs-flash
  • water-resource
  • power
  • water
  • geothermal

Topics

Categories