Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects

Schroeder, Jenna N.

doi:10.15121/1148815

Title: Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects

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Abstract

This report is the third in a series of reports sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program in which a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production are evaluated. The first report made an initial attempt at quantifying the life cycle fresh water requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids. The initial analysis of life cycle fresh water consumption of geothermal power-generating systems identified that operational water requirements consumed the vast majority of water across the life cycle. However, it relied upon limited operational water consumption data and did not account for belowground operational losses for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). A second report presented an initial assessment of fresh water demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation. The current analysis builds upon this work to improve life cycle fresh water consumption estimates and incorporates regional water availability into the resource assessment to improve the identification of areas where future growth in geothermal electricity generation may encounter water challenges.

Authors:: Schroeder, Jenna N.

Publication Date:: Sat Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2013

Other Number(s):: 244

DOE Contract Number:: ANL FY12 AOP 2

Research Org.:: USDOE Geothermal Data Repository (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Geothermal Technologies Office

Collaborations:: Argonne National Laboratory

Subject:: 15 Geothermal Energy

Keywords:: geothermal; EGS; water; life cycle; water consumption; power; regional water resource assessment; stimulation; international; domestic; geology; permit; Nevada; production; injection; California; Oregon; operational; aboveground; make-up; cooling; well; observation well; NEPA; drilling; production well; injection well; chemical; flow test; circulation test; exploration well; loss; reservoir loss; belowground loss; operational loss; loss rate; life cycle assessment; water resource

OSTI Identifier:: 1148815

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.15121/1148815

Citation Formats


                    Schroeder, Jenna N. Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects.  United States: N. p., 2013. 
        Web.  doi:10.15121/1148815.

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                    Schroeder, Jenna N. Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects.  United States.  doi:https://doi.org/10.15121/1148815

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                    Schroeder, Jenna N. 2013.  
"Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects".  United States.  doi:https://doi.org/10.15121/1148815.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1148815. Pub date:Sat Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2013

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@article{osti_1148815,

  title        = {Life Cycle Water Consumption and Water Resource Assessment for Utility-Scale Geothermal Systems: An In-Depth Analysis of Historical and Forthcoming EGS Projects},

  author       = {Schroeder, Jenna N.},

  abstractNote = {This report is the third in a series of reports sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Program in which a range of water-related issues surrounding geothermal power production are evaluated. The first report made an initial attempt at quantifying the life cycle fresh water requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and explored operational and environmental concerns related to the geochemical composition of geothermal fluids. The initial analysis of life cycle fresh water consumption of geothermal power-generating systems identified that operational water requirements consumed the vast majority of water across the life cycle. However, it relied upon limited operational water consumption data and did not account for belowground operational losses for enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs). A second report presented an initial assessment of fresh water demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation. The current analysis builds upon this work to improve life cycle fresh water consumption estimates and incorporates regional water availability into the resource assessment to improve the identification of areas where future growth in geothermal electricity generation may encounter water challenges.},

  doi          = {10.15121/1148815},

  journal      = {},

  number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Sat Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2013},

  month        = {Sat Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2013}

}

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15121/1148815

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