Financing Power Plant Projects
The reservoir companies are risk takers. They will explore. They will test and measure. They will conduct reservoir engineering. They will conduct reservoir modeling. Their managements will commit funds to develop. Reservoir companies tend to be advocates of their product. They should be more candid. We have heard at this conference of hydrogen sulfide gas problems at The Geysers, injection system and injection well plugging at the SDG&E/DOE Geothermal Loop Experimental Facility, inadequate well production at the East Mesa Reservoir, high injection pressures at the Brawley Reservoir and other real reservoir difficulties. These must be addressed factually and solutions sought. The utilities and/or plant constructors and operators are not risk takers. Under current regulatory structure, they have no incentive to take any risk. They are troubled by perceived risks which may be real or imagined. To put these perceived risks into perspective, the utilities or plant constructors and operators should be involved in exploration and development at an early date. They need a better understanding of the downhole environment. Before they make significant investments on any reservoir, they want to see the reservoir work. To accomplish this, as we have heard at this conference, they are building 10 MW facilities and no one is taking the commercial size step without outside help. The utilities on the panel indicated they would buy geothermal heat if the reservoir operator would guarantee the reservoir for the life of the power plant. Some reservoir operators do not want to do this and those who will want the plant's operation guaranteed via fixed payments for heat or a long-term take-or-pay contract.
- Research Organization:
- San Diego Gas & Electric Company, San Diego, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 892112
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-TC-80-907-27; TRN: US200622%%714
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Geothermal Conference and Workshop, Conference Proceedings, December 1980
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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