ADVANCED GEOTHERMAL ON THE VERGE

The Newberry Volcano Enhanced Geothermal Project: The Most Important Power Plant In The Country?

Peter Kelley-Detweiler, November 6, 2014 (Forbes)

“…On the Newbery Volcano, AltaRock Energy is engaged in a project to mine the earth’s heat two miles down and turn it into a reliable and cost-effective supply of electricity…EGS works by drilling a hole into the ground, and pumping water – with a biodegradable diverter, which enhances the fracture process – into a closed loop system to create fractures in the rock. Additional water is added (once the reservoir is saturated, very little water is lost in the closed loop) to absorb heat from the rock, which turns to steam at the surface and drives a turbine…

“…[An MIT study] noted, EGS is attractive for several reasons, including the fact that it provides virtually carbon free baseload (round the clock) electricity and the source rock resource exists widely throughout the United States. The plants are also highly scalable because they are modular…[and concluded that with] a combined public/private investment of about $800 million to $1 billion over a 15-year period, EGS technology could…produce more than 100,000 MWe of new capacity by 2050… EGS is a very different technology than hydro-fracking for natural gas…EGS stimulations result in seismicity that is lower than a packed football stadium during a big NFL game…[and] AltaRock is using a closed loop…With the development of the greenfield Newberry Volcano site, AltaRock is working to morph theory into reality… Newberry is a proof-of-concept well…” click here for more

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