DEEE0011279

This project will create an engineered geothermal system (EGS) in >4+ km deep rock with temperatures =425 °C—superhot rock (SHR), where conditions make normal water become supercritical.

Supercritical water can have energy densities greater than normal water, which should allow SHR geothermal projects to generate energy at far lower costs.

An EGS reservoir will be created between two wells in SHR rock on the western flank of Newberry Volcano in Oregon (Newberry).

This proposal will fund the second of these wells (production well 55B-29) and the application of new methods to stimulate and connect both new and naturally occurring fractures.

Mazama Engery

THIS FOA SUPPORTS THE ADMINISTRATION GOALS LAID OUT ABOVE. GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IS A RENEWABLE AND DIVERSE SOLUTION FOR THE UNITED STATES—PROVIDING RELIABLE AND FLEXIBLE, EMISSIONS-FREE ELECTRICITY GENERATION AND DELIVERING UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS TO AMERICA’S HEATING AND COOLING DEMANDS; DIRECTLY SUPPORTING THE ADMINISTRATION’S GOALS OF CARBON POLLUTION-FREE ELECTRICITY BY 2035 AND NET ZERO GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS BY 2050. GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES CAN BE FOUND NATIONWIDE AND REPRESENT VAST DOMESTIC ENERGY POTENTIAL; HOWEVER, ONLY A FRACTION OF THIS POTENTIAL HAS BEEN REALIZED DUE TO TECHNICAL AND NON-TECHNICAL BARRIERS THAT CONSTRAIN INDUSTRY GROWTH. THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S (DOE’S) GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE’S (GTO) 2022 ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SHOTTM ANALYSIS, BUILDING ON THE 2019 GEOVISION REPORT, CONCLUDES THAT WITH AGGRESSIVE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS, IN AREAS RELEVANT TO ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS (EGS), GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION COULD PROVIDE 90 GIGAWATTS-ELECTRIC (GWE) FIRM, FLEXIBLE POWER TO THE U.S. GRID BY 2050. ENHANCED GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS (EGS) ARE ENGINEERED GEOTHERMAL RESERVOIRS, CREATED WHERE THERE IS HOT ROCK (175-300+°C), BUT LITTLE TO NO NATURAL PERMEABILITY AND/OR FLUID SATURATION. DURING EGS DEVELOPMENT, SUBSURFACE PERMEABILITY IS ENHANCED VIA SAFE, WELL-ENGINEERED RESERVOIR STIMULATION PROCESSES THAT RE-OPEN PRE-EXISTING FRACTURES, CREATE NEW ONES, OR A COMBINATION OF BOTH. THESE OPEN CONDUITS INCREASE PERMEABILITY AND ALLOW FLUID TO CIRCULATE THROUGHOUT THE HOT ROCK. THE FLUID TRANSPORTS THE OTHERWISE STRANDED HEAT TO THE SURFACE WHERE CLEAN, RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY CAN BE GENERATED WITH CURRENT POWER GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES. RELATIVE TO OTHER GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES, EGS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE THE MOST GROWTH IN THE ELECTRIC SECTOR, AND IN THE GEOVISION SCENARIOS, SUPPORT NOTEWORTHY GROWTH WITHIN THE NON-ELECTRIC SECTOR FOR DISTRICT HEATING AND OTHER DIRECT-USE APPLICATIONS. THIS POTENTIAL EXPANDS IF SUPERHOT EGS RESOURCES (>375°C) ARE ACCOUNTED FOR. WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT AND SUSTAINED INVESTMENT IN EGS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND DEMONSTRATIONS TO REFINE OUR ABILITY TO ACCESS AND DEVELOP THESE RESOURCES, HOWEVER, THE 90 GWE TARGET WILL NOT BE ACHIEVED.

81.087 - Renewable Energy Research and Development

Golden Field Office (GFO) [DOE - EERE]

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) [DOE]

Seattle, Washington United States

City-Wide

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Pilot Demonstrations (DE-FOA-0002826)