Geothermal district heating systems in the United States
There are 18 geothermal district heating systems in the Untied States. These systems use geothermal fluids from 138 F to 218 F (59 C to 103 C), with peak flow rates from 85 gpm to 4000 gpm (5 L/s to 250 L/s). Installed power varies from 0.2 MWt to 31 MWt, and annual energy use from 0.8 {times} 10{sup 9} Btu to 75 {times} 10{sup 9} Btu (0.6 GWh to 22 GWh). Thus, the total installed power is almost 100 MWt and the annual energy use is 572 {times} 10{sup 9} Btu (168 GWh). The oldest systems in operation are the Warm Springs Water District in Boise, Idaho that began operation in 1892, and the private system in Ketchum, Idaho starting in 1929, with the system on the Oregon Institute of Technology in operation since 1962, and Midland, South Dakota since 1964. The remaining systems have all been in operation for less than 20 years. Both open and closed distribution systems are used--the later type using a secondary fluid to supply the heat to the customers. Approximately half of the systems use a central mechanical plant containing heat exchangers, circulating pumps, expansion tanks and controls. Both volume and energy metering systems for customer billing are used. A variety of geothermal fluid disposal systems are used, including injection and disposal in a nearby river or stream. The energy and environmental savings, as compared to fossil fuel, amount to nearly 135,000 barrels of oil equivalent annually, and a reduction of 58,000 metric tons of carbon (coal) or 11,000 metric tons of carbon (natural gas) per year. Three systems are described.
- Research Organization:
- Geo-Heat Center, Klamath Falls, OR (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20000190
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 33rd Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Colorado Springs, CO (US), 08/02/1998--08/06/1998; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating system required: Windows 3.x; Windows 95/NT; Macintosh; UNIX. All systems need 2X CD-ROM drive., PBD: 1998; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 33. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, by Anghaie, S. [ed.], [2800] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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