U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Scientific and Technical Information
Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Produced Geothermal Power
Abstract
Despite having a large geothermal power potential in the United States, only a small fraction has been developed for power generation. Various barriers, including technical, financial, and regulatory permit delays, are attributed to lower contribution of geothermal energy in the national grid. Unpredictable environmental reviews and permitting timelines are some of the non-technical barriers that can cause delays in geothermal exploration and utilization plans. This study shows that the geothermal permitting timelines can vary from six months to several years, depending on the presence or absence of biological resources, cultural resources, and sensitive environmental issues at the project site. The potential impacts of these permit barriers can range from investors abandoning geothermal development to making the product (i.e., electricity) more expensive and uncompetitive.
- Publication Date:
- Other Number(s):
- 1369
- DOE Contract Number:
- FY21 AOP 4.6.4.1
- Research Org.:
- USDOE Geothermal Data Repository (United States); Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Geothermal Technologies Program (EE-4G)
- Collaborations:
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Subject:
- 15 Geothermal Energy
- Keywords:
- geothermal; energy; permitting; NEPA; CEQA; Salton Sea geothermal; Salt Wells geothermal; Truckhaven geothermal; Cove Fort geothermal; permitting timelines; timelines; permit; non-technical; barriers; report
- Geolocation:
- 49.2637,-66.5318|24.5873,-66.5318|24.5873,-125.4514|49.2637,-125.4514|49.2637,-66.5318
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1845285
- DOI:
- https://doi.org/10.15121/1845285
- Project Location:
-
Citation Formats
Neupane, Ghanashyam, and Adhikari, Birendra. Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Produced Geothermal Power. United States: N. p., 2022.
Web. doi:10.15121/1845285.
Neupane, Ghanashyam, & Adhikari, Birendra. Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Produced Geothermal Power. United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.15121/1845285
Neupane, Ghanashyam, and Adhikari, Birendra. 2022.
"Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Produced Geothermal Power". United States. doi:https://doi.org/10.15121/1845285. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1845285. Pub date:Tue Feb 15 00:00:00 EST 2022
@article{osti_1845285,
title = {Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Produced Geothermal Power},
author = {Neupane, Ghanashyam and Adhikari, Birendra},
abstractNote = {Despite having a large geothermal power potential in the United States, only a small fraction has been developed for power generation. Various barriers, including technical, financial, and regulatory permit delays, are attributed to lower contribution of geothermal energy in the national grid. Unpredictable environmental reviews and permitting timelines are some of the non-technical barriers that can cause delays in geothermal exploration and utilization plans. This study shows that the geothermal permitting timelines can vary from six months to several years, depending on the presence or absence of biological resources, cultural resources, and sensitive environmental issues at the project site. The potential impacts of these permit barriers can range from investors abandoning geothermal development to making the product (i.e., electricity) more expensive and uncompetitive.},
doi = {10.15121/1845285},
journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {2022},
month = {2}
}