Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects

Description

This report is the third in a series of reports sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program in which a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production are evaluated. The first report made an initial attempt at quantifying the life cycle fresh water requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids. The initial analysis of life cycle fresh water consumption of geothermal power-generating systems identified that operational water requirements consumed the vast majority of water across the life cycle. However, it relied upon limited operational water consumption data and did not account for belowground operational losses for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). A second report presented an initial assessment of fresh water demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation. The current analysis builds upon this work to improve life cycle fresh water consumption estimates and incorporates regional water availability into the resource assessment to improve the identification of areas where future growth in geothermal electricity generation may encounter water challenges.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
53 Data compiled from NEPA documentation concerning average water consumption figures for geothermal exploration well drilling https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%203%20-%20Water%20Requirements%20for%20Exploration%20Well%20Drilling.xlsx
33 Report: Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/ANL_EVS_R-12_8_Final.pdf
53 This file takes monthly self-reported production and injection figures from geothermal projects in Nevada and compares their volumes with permitted volumes from Nevada's online Water Permit database https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Appendix%20D1%20-%20Geothermal%20Production%20Injection%20and%20Permit%20Data.xlsx
53 Data compiled from NEPA documentation concerning average water consumption figures for geothermal observation well drilling https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%202%20-%20Water%20Requirements%20for%20Observation%20Well%20Drilling.xlsx
53 Data compiled from NEPA documentation concerning average water consumption figures for geothermal production and injection well drilling https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%204%20-%20Water%20Requirements%20for%20Production-Injection%20Well%20Drilling.xlsx
53 Examples of both international and domestic geothermal projects involving EGS stimulation activities obtained from a literature search. Data includes project name, location, well name, type of geologic formation stimulated, stimulation water consumption, and reference data was obtained from. https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Appendix%20B%20-%20EGS%20Stimulation%20Jobs%20from%20Literature.xlsx
53 Operational water consumption data for aboveground activities for geothermal projects in Nevada, California, Oregon, and Australia. https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Appendix%20D2%20-%20Aboveground%20Operational%20Water%20Consumption%20in%20Geothermal%20Power%20Plants.xlsx
53 Summary of water-based stimulation activities, the average volume of water used in the stimulation, and their corresponding geologic formations obtained from a literature review https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%205%20-%20Summary%20of%20Water-Based%20Stimulation%20Activities%20from%20Literature.xlsx
53 This file details chemical geothermal well stimulation activities obtained from a literature review, including chemical used, volumes utilized, and the corresponding geologic formations stimulated https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%206%20-%20Chemical%20Stimulation%20Projects%20Found%20in%20the%20Literature.xlsx
53 This file details water volume, length of test, and flow rate for EGS well stimulation and flow testing as obtained by a literature review, including pre-stimulation and post-stimulation testing, as well as short-term and long-term circulation testing https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%207%20-%20Flow%20Test%20and%20Circulation%20Test%20Water%20Requirements%20for%20EGS.xlsx
53 This file details belowground (reservoir loss) for several EGS projects as obtained from a literature review, including information regarding relevant geologic formation, well depth, and loss percentages encountered https://gdr.openei.org/files/244/Table%208%20-%20EGS%20Operational%20Losses%20Belowground.xlsx

Tags

  • exploration-well
  • production
  • water-consumption
  • circulation-test
  • loss-rate
  • production-well
  • belowground-loss
  • nepa
  • egs
  • operational
  • flow-test
  • life-cycle-assessment
  • chemical
  • loss
  • operational-loss
  • geology
  • life-cycle
  • cooling
  • well
  • water-resource
  • california
  • power
  • observation-well
  • injection
  • stimulation
  • drilling
  • make-up
  • water
  • domestic
  • permit
  • aboveground
  • reservoir-loss
  • international
  • oregon
  • nevada
  • geothermal
  • regional-water-resource-assessment
  • injection-well

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