Geothermal Energy has long been regarded as Green Energy's silver bullet. And rightly so because of its potential as a stable, secure, environmentally friendly and a cheap Energy resource. But there are some obstacles.
Firstly, Not everyone lives on top of a Volcano! Unlike wind and solar installations which can be built more or less anywhere, Geothermal Power Plants can only be built on geological hotspots that exists less than 10 % of our planet. Secondly, even in hot spots like Iceland, Engineers must deal with the most daunting technical challenge facing geothermal. Drilling! That's because all successful Geothermal ventures require three vital elements. Hot Rock, Water and close proximity to the resource. Thirdly, money and potential exploration risks are additional issues to be dealt with.
Remote Sensing techniques have been aiding in identification of Geothermal Hot spots with thermal anomaly, geological and mineral mapping studies. Geophysical techniques such as resistivity, gravity, seismic and geodetic measurements are valuable in the exploration phase. Next, Geochemical sampling and analysis takes over. RS & GIS are also applicable in Environment Impact Assessments after a Geothermal Power Plant is set up. Recent developments have seen the arrival of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) for geothermal exploration.
What are the challenges faced by the Geothermal Explorers in different locations such as Indonesia, Kenya, US, Philippines, Japan, Iceland, NZ, Aus., EU and elsewhere. Are there any potential hazards due to their proximity to Volcanic systems.
Requesting all subject-matter experts to enlighten with their relevant answers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nASpvGghrqA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0303243414001275#
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032114010788
Dear James,
my answer is more related to geothermal exploitation than exploration, i.e. the step forward and it is mainly cultural rather than technical. Anyway, I guess it is important to keep it in mind in the development of a geothermal project. I refer to the opposition of the people, if any, living in the area of the geothermal field. I mean not only the environmentalists but also the population. Their opposition is based on 3 items:
- Concerns about the gas emissions, with the low % of H2S, associated to steam, enhanced by the smell.
- Environmental impact of the pipelines and power plants.
- Fear about the possibility to induce seismic activity during the production, especially if an Enhanced Geothermal Systems will be in place, or because in proximity of a volcanic system.
About the last point, I remind the case of the Basel site forced to close by authorities as seimicity developed during the water injection phase, with some earthquakes greater than Magnitude 3. Also consider that in US the Department Of Energy issued a protocol for Addressing Induced Seismicity Associated with EGS.
Hope it can help. Regards,
Lorenzo
Thanks Lorenzo for your answer. Indeed, societal concerns are of paramount importance before planning any project. Geothermal Power Plants should be no exception. After all it is done for the people and by the people. I'll keep this mind while I commence my own work. I found an insightful comment by Francesco Pacchiani in this context. I quote, "...It is a societal decision, therefore the population needs to know, to be part of the project and process and to be convinced of the benefits of geothermal power. If so, it will also accept the risks."
Socio-economic issues are noteworthy, per se but I would be curious to learn about any technical challenges in this regard.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_strongly_induced_seismicity_as_well_as_environmental_issues_are_likely_to_severely_restrict_the_development_of_geothermal_energy
Thanks Dr. Shukla for your comment. Actually, I never thought about it before. Do you have any case studies to share? I've been also keeping a tab on the Indian Geothermal Initiative. So far I've only been hearing of promises of upcoming power plants. Other than Tattapani Geothermal field in Chhattisgarh I do not know of any other which has possibilities for exploitation. I wonder how they come up with the potential figure of 10,000 MW? Are you aware of any other probable geothermal sites?
http://www.renewable-energy-technology.net/geothermal-bioenergy-news/india-establish-first-geothermal-energy-plants
In my two cents, geothermal survey does not need huge temperature change. If you some temperature gradient in the ground, you can still use it. But it might be a small geothermal plant for individual purposes.
I do not know challenges in exploration point of view, but scientifically, we did not fully understand mechanisms happening in the ground when we are running geothermal exploration. For example, we do not know where and how we lose considerable amount of heat. Recognizing where and why it happens, and prevent at somehow is one of the big challenge I guess.
Mr. Varghese, i did tried to use WV2 image to demarcate the potential zones, but precision mapping needs validation too. my area was tawang, arunachal pradesh, india. yet to prepare a detailed map. we could work on this area if you are interested. as per "geothermal province" india's map shows potential areas in arunachal himalayas. check my paper which is easily downloadable in this research gate profile. paper is lineament extraction...., submitted as WV2 challenge paper in 2010.
regards
Mr. Varghese, the image was given to the contestant free of cost as a part of 8band challenge. till date i havent got any work on geothermal in this arunachal himalayan belt though it has potential areas. one more area is the mikir hills.
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