Best in Show Booth Prize Winners

Wednesday morning, GEA presented prizes for the best Expo booths.

The winners...

TNG Energy Services for Best in Show Creative Giveaway at Booth:

"geothermal sauce"


STORK H&E Turbo Blading for Best in Show Small Booth:


Geysir Green Energy/ENEX, for Best in Show Large Booth:


ThermaSource, for Best in Show Audience Choice:


Congratulations to everyone.

On the Second Day of the GEA Expo

On the second full day of exhibition, the Expo Hall was open from 8am-6pm, a long day but well worth it for everyone I've talked to. I visited many of the booths, watching as deals were made, technologies were discussed, and geothermal energy was the center of it all. I even got a chance to squeeze in conversations with some of the exhibitors - when they weren't already deep in discussion. I was pleased to find that there were very few people who weren't completely happy with the contacts they were able to make, and even those few were still getting a lot out of the Expo in general and had good things to say.

Walk-in registration has kept busy. We haven't tallied the totals, but at a rough estimate, we've had about 1,600 people go through the Expo Hall - an over 60% increase from last year. And we still have another day to go!

Scenes from the floor...

Visit to the Steamboat Complex - a photographic tour

Holding this geothermal program in Reno has sparked conversations with the locals because Nevada is one of the top states in renewable energy, and the Reno area is the Nevada gold mine for geothermal energy. Just 15 minutes from the Peppermill Hotel is the Steamboat Complex, where several geothermal power plants are operated in a system that together produces over 80 MW of power.

A highlight for me was taking the short trip to see Steamboat. My tour guide was Dan Fleischmann, pictured at right, of Ormat Technologies (the company that runs the complex). He was informative and insightful, providing an insider's look into several of the separate setups. He explained that Steamboat is really an ideal situation. From the surface, the hills provide an uneven surface, making it easy to envision the fractured rock beneath - essential for geothermal production. Because there are many plants in one location, they intertwine and work together. Dan took me to the Galena 3, which came online this year, and the Richard Burdett - both binary plants.

Since this was my first visit to a geothermal plant, I was excited to see first-hand how it works, as hot water and fractured rock, the key elements of geothermal production, are transformed into electricity with no emissions and only a dull hum from cooling towers - a far cry from smoky, noisy plants I've seen in the past.

Water is taken from the production well, and the brine water is separated and returned to the ground:

The hot water flows through separate pipes:

And is cooled to produce steam:

Steam from the production well runs the turbine:

The turbine powers the generator:

And the electricity is transmitted to the grid:


...and taken across the desert to provide clean and efficient electricity to utilities.

Thanks for the tour, Dan!

Seen and Heard at the Geothermal Conference

"Geothermal has long been the sleeping giant of renewable energy. The giant is stirring. The time is now! This is a great time to be in the industry."

- Dan Reicher, Director for Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org, speaking to the Geothermal Opening Session audience

Reicher also unveiled "Google Clean Energy 2030," Google's energy plan officially launched last week, which he compared to plans from T. Boone Pickens and Vice President Al Gore.

DOE Announces EGS Awards Recipients at Conference Opening Session

At the Conference Opening Session this morning, several high-profile speakers addressed a room filled beyond seating capacity. Among them was Steve Chalk of the Department of Energy. He expressed his appreciation of the optimism in the room despite the crisis facing America in energy and finance.

Chalk went on to announce the recipients of funding awards provided by DOE to support Enhanced Geothermal Systems development.

The official release, hot off the press:

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Jennifer Scoggins, (202) 586-4940
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, October 6, 2008

DOE Funds 21 Research, Development and Demonstration Projects for up to $78 Million to Promote Enhanced Geothermal Systems

RENO, Nev. – Today at the National Geothermal Conference in Reno, Nev., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy Steve Chalk announced the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) awards under a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for research, development and demonstration of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) for next-generation geothermal energy technologies. Subject to annual appropriations, the Department will provide up to $43.1 million over four years to 21 awardees, including a record 13 awards to first-time recipients. With cost-share by the recipients, the public-private investments will be up to $78 million. Increasing the use of geothermal resources supports President Bush’s goals diversifying the nation’s energy sources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen national energy security.

“Our office is proud to expand our public-private partnerships with first-time applicants and award recipients. We consider this excellent proof of the growing opportunities and interest in geothermal technology research and project development,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable Energy Steve Chalk said. “With these awards, we are growing our geothermal community to include the technical expertise of our valued national laboratories, innovative industry partners and the very best of academia. This robust team will help us meet our aggressive departmental goal to prove the technical feasibility of Enhanced Geothermal Systems by 2015.”

Combined with the minimum industry cost-share of 20 percent, and subject to annual appropriations, up to $78 million is slated for public-private investment in these 21 projects over the next four years. Geographic diversity makes these projects appealing as DOE looks to expand the perception of EGS potential, new site locations may reveal new opportunities. Additionally, these partnerships with universities will encourage innovation, while the added value of our national laboratories will lend expertise to project development.

The FOA solicited applications in two topic areas: component technologies research and development, and system demonstrations. DOE announced 17 awards in research and development that will address aspects of engineered reservoir creation, management and utilization at high temperatures up to 300°C and depths as great as 10,000 meters, including 12 awards to first-time recipients. The four recipients selected under systems demonstration, including one award to a first-time recipient, will allow testing and validation of stimulation techniques for improving productivity of wells or increasing inter-well connectivity at existing geothermal fields.

A list of award recipients by topic areas follows:

Component Technologies R&D: DOE awarded $8.7 million to fund these projects for a total of up to $19.1 million over four years, subject to annual appropriations. Award recipients will contribute up to $11.2 million for a total of up to $30.3 million in public-private research and development activities.
• Baker-Hughes, Inc (Houston, Texas): to develop an ultrasonic borehole televiewer that can operate at a temperature of 300˚C and at a depth of 10,000 meters. The proposed tool will provide a means to detect fractures in the subsurface and is critical for the commercialization of EGS (up to $3,139,364)

• Colorado School of Mines, Boise State University, Flint LLC, Mt. Princeton Geothermal LLC (Golden, Colo.): to conduct a geophysical characterization of a geothermal system taking advantage of the latest developments in Self Potential Method and Seismic Interferometry (up to $867,564)

• Composite Technology with Wood Group ESP and New England Wire Technology (Lafayette, Colo.): to develop and demonstrate Electric Submersible Pump (ESP) motor coil designs that utilize proprietary inorganic insulation materials. These materials can be applied to motor coil winding conductors using conventional motor fabrication processes and provide superior electrical performance at elevated temperatures (up to $987,739)

• Foulger Consulting and U.S. Geological Survey, Geosystem with WesternGeco, US Navy, Magma Energy US Corporation, and DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Menlo Park, Calif.): to develop high-resolution micro-earthquake tools and methods suited to monitoring EGS-induced geothermal micro-earthquakes. The ultimate goal is to develop an industrial tool to obtain detailed seismic structure of geothermal areas without the need for major active-source seismic surveys (up to $561,729)

• GE Global Research with Auburn University and GE Energy (Niskayuna, N.Y.): to develop a platform of electronics technologies that can operate at 300 °C and 10 km depth enabling the measurement of temperature, flow, pressure and seismicity in an EGS reservoir (up to $1,599,934)

• Hattenburg, Dilley, and Linnell, LLC with University of Utah/Energy and Geoscience Institute (EGI) (Anchorage, Alaska): to identify open fracture systems by their Fluid Inclusion Stratigraphy (FIS) chemical signature; differences based on the mineral assemblages and geology of the system; and chemical precursors in the wall rock above open, large fractures (up to $313,858)

• Hi-Q Geophysical Inc., Ormat Technologies, Inc. and Stephen Muir with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Ponca City, Okla.): to develop surface and borehole seismic methodologies using both compression and shear waves for characterizing fractures in EGS. Both VSP and surface multi-component acquisition geometries will be evaluated (up to $817,757)

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chevron and DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (Cambridge, Mass.): to combine detailed high-resolution analysis of microseismicity accompanying the stimulation of an EGS reservoir with a state-of-the-art geomechanical model of the reservoir to investigate the relationship between the seismicity and flow characteristics (up to $508,633)

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New England Research with ENEL North America (Cambridge, Mass.): to combine the use of geophysical methods for reservoir and fracture characterization with a rock physics model calibrated via advanced laboratory measurements made on reservoir rocks under in situ conditions of temperature (up to 300˚C) and pressure (up to $1,019,769)

• Perma Works and Frequency Management International, ElectroChemical Systems Inc, Draka Cableteq, Pacific Process Systems Inc, Tiger Wireline Inc, Viking Engineering, Kuster Company, Electronic Workmanship Standards Inc, Eclipse NanoMed, Honeywell SSEC (Albuquerque, N.M.): to commercialize the Sandia/DOE HT SOI chipset by addressing the most troubling issues found when designing for long-term exposure to the geothermal well environments such as inter-metallic growth, printed circuit board delamination, ceramic capacitors shorting, and the lack of a safe HT battery (up to $2,200,000)

• Schlumberger (Sugar Land, Texas): to extend the internal operating range of Electrically Submersible Pump (ESP’s) to 338°C for application in both geothermal and the increasingly hotter Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) wells and to develop a heat transfer model that will adequately predict the ESP’s internal operating temperature (up to $1,245,751)

• Schlumberger (Sugar Land, Texas): to develop a downhole monitoring system to be used in wells with bottom hole temperatures up to 300˚C for measuring parameters of an Electrically Submersible Pump (ESP) and well conditions (pressure and temperature) and develop a heat transfer model for the motor that will adequately predict ESP internal operating temperature (up to $1,253,959)

• Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.): to develop wellbore tools including a downhole enthalpy meter and reservoir engineering approaches including nanotechnology, Resistivity Computer Tomography (RCT) method, and nonparametric regression for fracture characterization in both near well and interwell regions (up to $967,541)

• Texas A&M University with AltaRock, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of Mississippi (College Station, Texas): to develop an improved seismicity-based reservoir characterization (SBRC) technology by combining rock mechanics, finite element modeling, geo-statistical concepts, and state-of-the-art stochastic inversion techniques to establish relationships between micro-seismicity, reservoir flow and geomechanical characteristics (up to $820,198)

• Texas A&M University with AltaRock, DOE’s Sandia National Laboratory and University of Mississippi (College Station, Texas): to develop a 3-D numerical model for simulating tensile, shear, and out-of-plane propagation of multiple fractures and fracture clusters to accurately predict geothermal reservoir stimulation using the novel approach of Virtual Multi-dimensional Internal Bond (VMIB) (up to $690,953)

• University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah): Demonstrate absorbing tracers, measure near-well fracture surface area via tracer modeling, and develop a tool that measures fluid flow via tracers. (up to $1,091,039)

• University of Utah (Salt Lake City, Utah): to investigate the effect of proppants on fracture stability and their interactions with injected fluids at geothermal temperatures in environments that simulate stresses within the reservoir. The use of proppants to both maintain open fractures, as well as their potential to divert fluids from fracture pathways detrimental to long term sustainability (e.g. fast paths), will be assessed (up to $978,180)

System Demonstrations: DOE awarded $3.7 million to fund these projects, for a total of up to approximately $24 million over four years, subject to annual appropriations. Industry alone will contribute an additional $23.7 million, an almost 50 percent cost-share. This total of up to $47.7 million shows tremendous cooperative effort in EGS development. The success of these projects could result in over 400 MWe in new grid capacity within the next five years.

• AltaRock Energy Inc. and Northern California Power Agency, University of Utah, Texas A&M University, Science Applications International Corporation, Temple University (Seattle, WA): to use an innovative stimulation process to create an EGS reservoir that will drill below the permeable zone, stimulate in the contained zone with infrastructure in place, and increase power production (up to $6,014,351)

• Geysers Power Co., LLC and DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Middletown, Calif.): to deepen wells into a high temperature zone and thermally stimulate with cold water to increase power production (up to $5,697,700)

• ORMAT Nevada, Inc. and GeothermEx, DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of Utah, Pinnacle Technologies, GeoMechanics International, University of Nevada - Reno, TerraTek/Schlumberger (Reno, Nev.): to stimulate multiple wells at Brady Field to access existing fracture system (up to $3,374,430)

• University of Utah and U.S. Geothermal, APEX Petroleum Engineering Services, HiPoint Reservoir Imaging, Chevron (Salt Lake City, Utah): To perform a monitored hydraulic stimulation of an existing injection well at Raft River (Selected for negotiation of award in FY09) (up to $8,928,999)

DOE's geothermal technologies program works in partnership with U.S. industry to establish geothermal energy as an economically competitive contributor to the U.S. energy supply. Learn more information about these awards on the Geothermal Technologies Program website.

-DOE-

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Glitnir Bank Releases U.S. Geothermal Energy Market Report

This morning Glitnir Bank (based in Iceland) released a new U.S. Geothermal Energy Market Report. I got a chance to sit down with Alex Richter, pictured at left, Director of Sustainable Energy for Glitnir and geothermal analyst. We looked through the report, noting the drastic spikes in production that have taken place over the last year. Richter's analysis includes several easy-to-read charts that compare data taken from GEA's own August 2008 Update on U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development against the Western Governors' Association market predictions from 2006 and the USGS September 2008 geothermal report.

From Glitnir's Web site:

It is our pleasure to present our second annual U.S. Geothermal Energy Market Report. The overall development of geothermal energy is very positive in the US. The installed geothermal power generation capacity has increased by 4% to 2,958 MW. The overall number of projects has increased and projects currently underway would expand installed capacity in the U.S. by a 100-130% in the years to come.

Compared to last year the industry is better positioned and availability of drilling rigs has improved. The joint efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forestry Service to speed up the process for leasing geothermal resources on lands they manage will also have a significant impact on the industry.

Recent lease auctions by the BLM have shown the increasing interest in geothermal development and in developers' confidence in the sector. On August 5, 2008 the BLM auctioned 35 parcels over leases on 105,312 acres for a total sales price of USD 28 million which is up from last year's record of USD 12 million for 122,850 acres. This should increase the geothermal project pipeline in the U.S. even further.

Increased renewable energy portfolio standards on state level play a positive role, as is the fact that both campaigns for the 2009 U.S. presidential elections are now including "geothermal energy" when discussing renewable energy and energy security.

The availability of financing will have an impact how quickly current projects will be developed. In the near-term financing cost are set to increase, impacting owners anticipated return. Overall, the outlook is positive and the geothermal energy industry should enjoy continuous growth in the years to come.

We are proud to be a member of this exciting industry and take part in the development in the United States. More information on our activities in the sector and our Global Geothermal Energy Team can be found on our website at www.glitnirusa.com/energy.

Main findings

The overall outlook for geothermal energy development in the United States has improved greatly with now more projects under way than ever. In short these are the key developments in the U.S.:

• Overall installed capacity has grown from 2,851 MW to 2,958 MW, or about 4%.
• California represents 86% or 2,555 MW of overall installed geothermal power generation capacity in the U.S. followed by Nevada with 11% or 318 MW.
• There are now 7 states generating electricity with geothermal energy. Idaho and New Mexico have joined the pool of geothermal power generation states, with Oregon and Wyoming to follow shortly.
• The number of projects currently in development in the U.S. has increased by 40%, from 69 projects to 97 projects today, (103 with unconfirmed projects).
• Geothermal projects in development represent a maximum capacity of 3,950 MW or an increase of 54% to last year.
• The State with the most number of projects remains Nevada with now 42 projects, followed by California with 20 and Oregon with 11 projects.
• The state with most of the geothermal power generation capacity in development is Nevada with 1,100-1,900 MW, followed by California with 900-1,020 MW.
• Current projects under way require investments of 14-16 billion USD, with more than half of that amount needed in 2011 and 2012.

Expo Hall Opening Reception - a photographic tour

Events in Reno have been underway with Workshops, field trips to geothermal sites through the Geothermal Resources Council, and a frenzy of exhibition setup in the Expo Hall, but the official kick-off was Sunday evening at a beautiful reception sponsored by Ormat. Exhibitors showed off their booths while we heard a few words of welcome and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Lucien Bronicki, founder of Ormat, welcomes attendees.

The spread:


Exhibitors and attendees enjoy the meal and ambiance while discussing geothermal energy opportunities.




The Expo Hall looks beautiful! We're off to a great start!

BLM Announces Geothermal Lease Sale - Utah, Dec. 16

Another highlight at yesterday's Geothermal Issues and Outlook Workshop was the Bureau of Land Management's announcement of a December 16 lease sale to be held through their Utah office.

Forms for nominations can be found on the BLM Utah Web site and the official posting will be available on October 31. 55 parcels will be offered, including 15-16 in Oregon and 6 in Idaho. There will be a total of 260,000 acres available.

The most recent geothermal lease sale was held in Nevada in July 2008.

Geothermal Issues and Outlook Workshop

Saturday's Geothermal Issues and Outlook Workshop saw a successful discussion of current topics in the industry. Nearly 100 participants and attendees were there - thanks to everyone, especially for coming out on a Saturday!

Workshop discussion topics included transmission, tax incentives, climate change, RPS initiatives, resource assessment and research, and leasing/permitting. I was in and out while attending to other aspects of the workshop and conference as well, but was able to get a lot out of the remarks from presenters.

The discussion about tax incentives of course revolved much around the extensions that were passed just the day before. But one thing that was brought up was whether or not these extensions are effective - Although a definite victory for the industry, it's unpredictable what will happen after the next expiration date comes up in two years.

"The need for long-term investment certainty is one of the key challenges facing the geothermal industry today. With the need for longer planning and construction, the industry must either obtain a long-term production tax credit or else look to create other tools and financial incentives to create a long-term steady demand for this resource," said Jonathan Weisgall from MidAmerican Energy.

State and federal RPS initiatives' purpose was stated in a fact sheet prepared by AWEA that was included with the Workshop: "The RPS provides a predictable, competitive market, within which renewable generators will compete with each other to lower prices."

"Texas leaders appear prepared to adopt a non-wind renewable energy portfolio standard. The PUC is evaluating a new rule to implement a 500 MW standard now, and the legislature will consider expanding this when it meets in January. Good Company Associates is organizing an industry coalition to help assure these opportunities are not missed." said Bob King of Good Company Associates.

The AWEA fact sheet shows which states currently specifically include geothermal electric or heat pumps: Colorado, Hawai'i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

One thing that was really stressed about resource assessment and research was that communication information sharing is key. I enjoyed comments from Allan Jelacic from the DOE. The DOE is putting out FOAs (funding opportunity announcement) including one for an information-sharing database and another for EGS (enhanced geothermal systems) technologies.

Jelacic said that while EGS is definitely a focus right now, there shouldn't be reference to the "EGS capacity potential." "The term is geothermal potential," he said, and added that the exciting technologies that are being developed are still under the umbrella of basic reliable geothermal energy - the only renewable with baseload capacity.

Many thanks to all who participated as speakers and as attendees!

Two-Year Extention on Geothermal Tax Credits

On Saturday morning, the geothermal community - gathered in Reno to kick off two workshops, the GEA Geothermal Issues and Outlook Workshop and the GRC Introduction to Geothermal Energy Workshop - was abuzz with the news that yesterday the House extended renewable energy tax credits in a 263-171 vote as part of HR 1424, the $700 billion bailout bill. President George W. Bush signed the bill into law. The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 extends production tax credits for geothermal power plants for another two years. There is also a 10% credit for geothermal heat pumps.

Project delays? Layoffs? It seems these threats are past, and that the next administration will push security for renewables even more. Geothermal development companies plan to heighten output over the next couple years, so we should see a surge of new plants go on-line.

Introducing the 2008 Geothermal Conference and Expo

Every year, the Geothermal Energy Conference and Expo (formerly GEA Trade Show and GRC Annual Meeting) host a wide range of companies from all facets of the geothermal community. GEA's expo is held in cooperation with the annual meetings and technical sessions of the Geothermal Resources Council. This year's conference and expo, to be held at the Peppermill hotel and casino in Reno, Nevada, October 5-8, has already broken preregistration records and is sure to be the largest international geothermal conference ever held. This blog will provide on-site updates for those who are unable to attend.

The Conference and Expo officially begin on Monday, October 6. But before the main events start, there will be a number of workshops open to the public. On Saturday, October 4, GEA is hosting a "Geothermal Issues and Outlook Workshop." The day-long event features expert presentations and panel discussions examining federal and state policy initiatives - from tax vredits to federal and state leasing - and their potential impact on geothermal energy. Visit GEA's Web site for more information, a draft agenda, and registration for the workshop.

Also on Saturday, GRC will sponsor an "Introduction to Geothermal Energy" workshop, presented by the Geothermal Education Office. This free and fun event will take place at the Peppermill Resort in Reno from 10am-1pm. Sign-in begins at 9:30am. The workshop is designed for K-12 classroom teachers and other educators, but is open to anyone interested in learning about geothermal energy. Preregistration is required, so please email geo@marin.org in advance to participate or download the registration form.

Starting Monday, October 6, the Geothermal Energy Conference and Expo begin in full force. Speakers for the Opening Session on Monday include Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, Dan Reicher, Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives at Google.org, Barry Andrews, President of Chevron Geothermal, and Yoram Bronicki, President of Ormat. Visit GRC's Web site for more information about their agenda and events.

At noon on Monday, the GEA Expo opens, featuring nearly 100 exhibits from companies ranging from Glitnir Bank to Vulcan Power. Regular events and speakers are scheduled for the Expo Hall from Monday through noon on Wednesday. Admission to the Expo is only $35/day. Links to exhibitors' Web sites are available on the side bar. For more information, visit the Trade Show link on GEA's Web site.