Wellhead-sized binary-cycle geothermal power plants. Final report

Technical Report · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5322989

Linam, P A; Norman, W M; Outten, T W; Tanner, A L

Conceptual designs and estimates of capital costs as well as operating and maintenance costs were developed for wellhead binary-cycle geothermal power plants. Known geothermal resources were characterized, and three were selected as typical of the geothermal resources most likely to be developed for utility use within the next decade. Two wellhead power plant sizes were evaluated for each resource, resulting in six cases. Ten wellhead power plants were considered for the full development of a geothermal resource field. Prefabrication of modules containing portions of the facility was evaluated and included in the design where appropriate. The design development and cost estimates were based on mature technology indicative of the 5th to 10th plant installation to eliminate first-of-a-kind engineering and development costs. Estimates of the cost of elecricity were developed for each case. The sensitivity of the cost of electricity was examined for a number of variables. At brine costs of about $1 per million Btu, one of the plants was judged to be competitive. 50 figs., 76 tabs.

• Research Organization: Fluor Engineers, Inc., Irvine, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5322989
• Report Number(s): EPRI-AP-4198; ON: TI85920854
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
BINARY-FLUID SYSTEMS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST
DESIGN
ENERGY SYSTEMS
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
Geothermal Legacy
PERFORMANCE
POWER PLANTS
RECOMMENDATIONS
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
WELLHEADS