Unlocking the Potential of Geothermal Power

Renewable, baseload energy from geothermal heat

Geothermal energy is the only renewable energy capable of providing 24/7 base load capacity. The U.S. Department of Energy expects geothermal energy to increase 16-fold to GWe by 2050, supplying 20% of U.S. renewable energy generation.

To reach this goal, we need to develop enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), man-made reservoirs created where temperatures are high but provides insufficient permeability for power generation. Low permeability resources are available over a larger geographic area and have~100x more resource potential than conventional hydrothermal resources.

THE PROBLEM

Limited Scalability of Traditional Geothermal Resources

There are only a few places in the world known for easily accessible geothermal energy, such as California and Iceland.

Unfortunately, most of the easily accessible geothermal resources have been developed. The remaining 95% of geothermal resources exist within low-permeability reservoirs.

The Future of Geothermal Power Generation

Innovations in drilling and reservoir stimulation technology are required to deliver affordable geothermal energy to the rest of the world.
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Although hydraulic fracturing had tremendous success in the oil and gas industry, it has been mostly unsuccessful at creating sufficient permeability to sustain commercial-scale energy production from enhanced geothermal systems. Eden's Electrical Reservoir Stimulation technology can create evenly distributed permeability networks in the subsurface to maximize geothermal power generation.

The Future of Geothermal Power Generation

THE SOLUTION

How Electrical Reservoir Stimulation Increases Geothermal Energy Production

EGS struggles with short-circuiting, which occurs when a single fracture zone dominates the fluid flow and leaves most of the reservoir’s geothermal energy untouched.

Electrical Reservoir Stimulation enables greater directional control of the created fracture network, stimulating target areas and mitigating the issues caused by short-circuit fractures. This maximizes the stimulated reservoir volume and ensures maximum power generation from the resource.

Cost of Hydraulic Fracturing vs. Electrical Reservoir Stimulation

Relative cost comparison of the first stimulation operation (E-HF #1) and the second stimulation operation (ERS #2). Subsequent stimulations with ERS are cheaper than hydraulic stimulation

Revenue of a Geothermal Power Plant Using Hydraulic Fracturing vs. Electrical Reservoir Stimulation Over 30 Years

$Revenue of a geothermal power plant using hydraulic fracturing vs. electrical reservoir stimulation over 30 years$

Environmental Impact

Utilizing electricity to stimulate saves 7M gallons water per well compared to hydraulic fracturing alone

Electricity from existing power infrastructure allows the technology to run on 100% renewable energy

Directional permeability enhancement generates 95% of fractures in the targeted zone

Installed Power Generation Capacity by Geothermal Resource Type

EGS achieve notable deployment rates with technology innovation as a result of significant reductions in installation capital cost. EGS is predicted to supply 8.5% of total electricity generated by 2050 (vs. 0.4% today).

Figure Note: The technology improvement (TI) scenario incorporates the resulting cost reductions that enable additional deployment. At the end of the analyzed period (2050), total geothermal deployment in the TI scenario is more than 60 GWe, with the majority of growth supplied by deep-EGS resource development after 2030.

Source: Department of Energy, DOE, “GeoVision: Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet.” Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office, (2016).

Direct Use of Geothermal Heat Can Apply to a Wide Range of Industrial Applications

Figure Note: At geothermal temperatures not suitable for power production (less than 150°C), geothermal heat is still a valuable energy source.

Source: Department of Energy, DOE, “GeoVision: Harnessing the Heat Beneath Our Feet.” Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Office, (2016).