Water Resource Assessment of Geothermal Resources and Water Use in Geopressured Geothermal Systems.

摘要

With a potential threefold increase in geothermal electricity generation by 2035, geothermal energy is increasingly recognized for its potential to reduce carbon emissions (EIA 2011a). Energy and environmental analyses are critical to developing a robust set of geothermal energy technologies that meet future demand. Previous work has summarized what is currently known about the life-cycle freshwater requirements of geothermal power-generating systems and the water quality of geothermal waters. This report builds upon that work, presenting an assessment of freshwater demand for future growth in utility-scale geothermal power generation and an analysis of freshwater use in low-temperature geopressured geothermal power generation systems. This is part of a larger effort to compare the life-cycle impacts of geothermal electricity generation with other power generation technologies. This report is organized with an introduction followed by two primary analysis sections. The introduction gives the background of the project and its purpose and summarizes the geothermal electricity generation technologies evaluated in this study. These technologies include conventional hydrothermal flash and binary systems, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and geopressured geothermal systems.