Losing steam at the Geysers

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Independent Energy; (United States)

OSTI ID:5424813

Gipe, P

Everyone agrees that steam production is declining at the Geysers geothermal field in Northern California. The state's Oil and Gas Division states simply that the field is finite and is being overproduced. With four percent of the state's electricity generated at the Geysers, resolving the problem quickly is at the top of the agenda for the California Energy Commission (CEC)-and the geothermal industry. A number of technical solutions have been proposed, but ultimately the rate of extraction may have to be controlled in order to maximize the resource. The Geysers reservoir covers some thirty square miles in Sonoma and Lake counties about 100 miles north of San Francisco. A dry steam reservoir, it differ from many other of the world's geothermal resources which depend on hot water fields. But, with a capacity of 2,050 MW, it is the world's largest geothermal development. In the past two years, operators have derated the field 25 percent because of the falling steam supply. Over the entire field plants are delivering only 50 percent of their capacity. Even with the decline, the Geysers will still lead second-ranked Philippines in production.

• OSTI ID: 5424813
• Journal Information: Independent Energy; (United States), Journal Name: Independent Energy; (United States) Vol. 20:2; ISSN XY987; ISSN 1043-7320
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150801* -- Geothermal Power Plants-- Design & Operation
CALIFORNIA
CAPACITY
CONTROL
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
ECONOMICS
FEDERAL REGION IX
FLUID INJECTION
FLUIDS
GAS YIELDS
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEOTHERMAL FLUIDS
GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANTS
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
GEYSERS GEOTHERMAL FIELD
LOAD MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT
NATURAL STEAM
NORTH AMERICA
PEAK LOAD
POWER PLANTS
PROCESS CONTROL
PRODUCTION
STEAM
STEAM INJECTION
THERMAL POWER PLANTS
USA
VENTS
WELLS
YIELDS