A Conversation on Enhanced Geothermal

Steven Chu, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dan Reicher of Google.org, and Don O'Shei of AltaRock Energy, discuss Enhanced Geothermal Systems, or EGS

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• energy
• geothermal

[eschersand]

but Obama and Steven Chu are fail. last address Obama's last address should of been "we are going to develop, build and completely power America on EGS Geothermal and other renewables by 2025" instead he invokes the space race and fond memories of when we use to build things. just enough to give the dems the blame. OMG i'm not 100.0% sure it will work so we won't go to the moon. which is made of cheese. just don't look at the US's Oil reserve sizes vs production rates. or money theory.

[eschersand]

In Maryland, were set to approve a 7.6 billion nuclear reactor addition. the same power would cost half as much for wind turbines. granted that many turbines would get more social objection then nuclear has.

[eschersand]

problem is it's energy without a work cycle. dinosaurs on this planet don't know how to handle that.

The New Energy Reform Act of 2008 apparently included 91-170 million in Nuclear Subsidies. I calculated it would cost about 134 billion to REPLACE Nuclear with Wind turbines, but we'd get it back in 2-3 years of operation. (Nuclear costs about 70 billion a year in operation costs for the process) .. so.. yea. Americans will think about saving themselves, but were not really going to do it.

[ry1788]

@lookatthewholething Surveying technology is extremely accurate nowadays, and the investment in putting one of these plants together is to say the least massive. No ones going to take the risk with that much money. You do have risks of induced earthquakes which has happened in Europe. However, these risks can easily be controlled, especially with the use of CO2 as an inducer to energy production.

[lookatthewholething]

Just a silly question. Is there any potential of inadvertently hitting Magma pockets with this and the well becoming unstable? I mean could it start an eruption of Magma along a newly created path that wasn't there before? I like this technology but with any new technology I also question the risks involved. Most wouldn't want a volcano in their back yard. Just being the devil's advocate.

[eschersand]

a well 3km deep running 2-3km below ground before intercepting another well.. surely could produce constant energy at a very cheap price.. ? I ask again .. why is snake well drilling tech not being used for EGS Geothermal? surely these three at least occasionally glance at their own video on youtube.

[eschersand]

of another note is Yellowstone. a Super Volcano set to go off. .. when you bake a cake what do you do? harvesting _vast_ amounts of energy from around the Magma bubble could serve to help thicken the crust and prevent a future disaster. This could easily be done from outside of the park.

PS. i'm looking for a job :D

[eschersand]

Why has Snake Well drilling technology not been applied to EGS? deep well closed loops? seems like problem solved to me?

[jburt56]

EGS could also be sited in cities if you drill deep enough and recycle the working fluid. That would mitigate the cost of transmission facilities.

[drewster11]

This has got to be the most exciting potential form of 24/7 energy out there. Not a burning fuel to create steam to turn turbines, but simply water itself, heated in the earth's crust. Part of the beauty is its simplicity, as well as its long-term reliability and emission free status. What's not to like?