Los Alamos hot dry rock geothermal project

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1977

OSTI ID:5452614

Brown, D W; Pettitt, R A

The greatest potential for geothermal energy is the almost unlimited energy contained in the vast regions of hot, but essentially impermeable, rock within the first six or seven km of the Earth's crust. For the past five years, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory has been investigating and developing a practical, economical and environmentally acceptable method of extracting this energy. By early 1978, a 10 MW (thermal) heat extraction experiment will be in operation. In the Los Alamos concept, a man-made geothermal reservoir is formed by drilling into a region of suitably hot rock, and then creating within the rock a very large surface for heat transfer by large-scale hydraulic-fracturing techniques. After a circulation loop is formed by drilling a second hole to intersect the fractured region, the heat contained in this reservoir is brought to the surface by the buoyant closed-loop circulation of water. The water is kept liquid throughout the loop by pressurization, thereby increasing the rate of heat transport up the withdrawal hole compared to that possible with steam.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., N.Mex. (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5452614
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-77-2028; CONF-771027-2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
150901 -- Geothermal Engineering-- Drilling Technology & Well Hardware
150906* -- Geothermal Engineering-- Reservoir Stimulation & Extraction Technology
DRILLING
ENERGY TRANSFER
FLUID FLOW
FLUID INJECTION
FLUID WITHDRAWAL
FRACTURING
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
Geothermal Legacy
HEAT EXTRACTION
HEAT TRANSFER
HOT-DRY-ROCK SYSTEMS
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
SITE SELECTION
USA
WELL DRILLING
WELLS