Southern New Mexico low-temperature geothermal resource economic analysis. Technical report (Final)

Technical Report · Wed Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990

OSTI ID:6159309

Fischer, C L; Whittier, J; Witcher, J C; Schoenmackers, R

An economic evaluation of three low-temperature geothermal sites in New Mexico has been performed. A hypothetical geothermal system was designed to supply sufficient energy to satisfy thermal loads for one, four, ten, and fifteen acre commercial greenhouses. Geothermal sites were evaluated to identify the important infrastructure requirements. Capital and operating costs were estimated. Annual levelized costs were calculated for the provision of hot water and fresh water for each site. Geothermal costs were compared with annual levelized costs for a natural gas system to supply the equivalent thermal load. Calculated results indicate that geothermal systems may be competitive with natural gas for larger installations. It is not economically attractive to develop a small geothermal system because the initial capital costs are not recovered with reduced operating costs, relative to natural gas.

• Research Organization: New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (USA). Southwest Technology Development Inst.
• OSTI ID: 6159309
• Report Number(s): PB-91-105353/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
151000* -- Geothermal Energy-- Direct Energy Utilization
BUILDINGS
CAPACITY
CAPITALIZED COST
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COST
COST ESTIMATION
DESIGN
DOCUMENT TYPES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
FEDERAL REGION VI
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL GAS
FUELS
GAS FUELS
GASES
GEOTHERMAL HEATING
GEOTHERMAL PROCESS HEAT
GEOTHERMAL WATER HEATING
GREENHOUSES
HEAT
HEATING
NATURAL GAS
NEW MEXICO
NORTH AMERICA
OPERATING COST
OXIDATION
PROCESS HEAT
PROGRESS REPORT
SIZE
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
WATER HEATING