A New Method For Extracting Energy From Dry Geothermal Reservoirs
D.W. Brown, M.C. Smith , & R.M. Potter, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California
In the recent National Petroleum Council (NPC) report to the Secretary of the Interior on the U.S. Energy Outlook", it is noted that naturally- occurring geothermal steam and hot-water reservoirs in California and Nevada, while potentially contributing up to only two percent of the total U.S. electrical generating capacity by the year 1985, could supply over one-third of the projected electrical power requirements for those two states (16,000 MW out of a total estimated requirement of 52,000 MW). The NPC projection, while close to a recent estimate by Dr. Carel Otte*** of a potential 20,000 MW of neglect any significant contribution from other western states. However, other estimates of the U.S. geothermal potential are considerably greater than those given above. A very recent state-by-state geothermal resource evaluation gives a total U. S. geothermal potential several hundred times greater than the NPC projection. However, this quite realistic evaluation is based on one additional premise not considered in the NPC projection: that a method can be developed for economically recovering the thermal energy contained in the much more numerous reservoirs of hot rock that are nearly impermeable to circulating ground water. One such method is the subject of this paper.