Fenton hill hot dry rock project. Geothermal reservoir a breakthrough
This article describes how geothermal experts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have created the world's deepest, hottest, hot dry rock geothermal reservoir two miles deep on the flanks of a dormant volcano. The reservoir, in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos, lies 10,000 to 12,000 feet below the surface in hot granitic rock. Los Alamos pioneered the concept of extracting energy from hot dry rock in 1970, and its US DOE-funded program is now also supported in part by Japan and West Germany. The reservoir was created in a wellbore reaching a measured depth of 15,289 feet. Although basic drilling and fracturing techniques used to develop the reservoir are common to commercial oil and gas exploration, inclined drilling and fracturing at depth in such hard, hot rock demanded that the Laboratory's researchers, in collaboration with industry and geothermal consultants, design and fabricate much of the equipment and instrumentation needed to bring in the reservoir.
- OSTI ID:
- 6355490
- Journal Information:
- Geotherm. Energy Mag.; (United States), Vol. 12:7
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
HOT-DRY-ROCK SYSTEMS
ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
NEW MEXICO
EFFICIENCY
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
GEOTHERMAL FIELDS
GEOTHERMAL WELLS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
LASL
MOUNTAINS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
WELL RECOVERY EQUIPMENT
COOPERATION
ENERGY SYSTEMS
EQUIPMENT
FEDERAL REGION VI
FIELD PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
FINANCING
GEOTHERMAL SYSTEMS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NORTH AMERICA
US AEC
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
USA
WELLS
150900* - Geothermal Engineering