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Category: Geothermal

Chile ends bidding for geothermal power – awards concessions for USD 106 million in investments

February 4th, 2010 | Posted in Geothermal

chile-fuming-geothermal-well Last week the Chilean government successfully closed the bidding process for geothermal energy development, awarding concessions for development totalling USD 106 million in investments. Both national and international companies were invited to participate in the bidding process for more than 700,000 hectares of land.

Geothermal exploration concessions were presented by the Chilean Minister of Mining, Santiago González, who pointed out geothermal development is a challenge for the government, involved in promoting this renewable energy resource.

The process involved nine companies, of which five are subsidiaries of foreigh companies, with significant experience in the development of geothermal energy projects around the world. The amount of USD 106 million has been pledged by the companies over the next two years.

In addition to the new concessions, Chile has already given the go ahead for two geothermal projects totalling in 125 MW and USD 452 million in investments to GGE Chile SpA and ENERCO Company.

[source: Chilean Ministry of Mines, via: Think GeoEnergy]

Sinopec turns further towards geothermal energy development

January 28th, 2010 | Posted in Geothermal

sinopec

Sinopec Group, or China Petrochemical Corporation, the leading oil refiner from China, is turning its attention towards geothermal energy development. According to this news piece, Sinopec has established a joint venture in 2006 through its subsidiary, Sinopec Star Petroleum, and Enex Kina (Iceland), called Shaanxi Green Energy Geothermal Development. The new JV is engaged in geothermal exploration and exploitation as well as the development of related wokrmanship and technologies.

The company is now planning to provide geothermal heating coverage for about 4 million square meters of housing area by the end of 2010, with plans to increase the area to 10 million square meters in the next five years, but also to add geothermal power generation and waste water treatment.
Many oil companies turn towards geothermal eventually, since the technology for getting to underground heat reservoirs is basically the same as the technology for drilling towards oil and gas deposits.

Sierra Geothermal drilling deeper at Silver Peak – targets multiple high interest zones

January 22nd, 2010 | Posted in Geothermal

Silver Peak, Nevada

Sierra Geothermal (SG) has announced it has begun drilling at its fully owned Silver Peak project site. The drilling is planned to reach 2133 meters (about 7000 feet) and is targetting multiple zones of geolofical interest. The Silver Peak project is located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, 240 km (150 miles) northwest from Las Vegas, and there are indications that deep reservoirs may be holding water at temperatures of around 227° C (441°F). It is estimated that the project, once developed fully, could supply as much as 15 MW of clean electricity.

For the drilling job, SG has contracted Major Drilling Group International. Core samples are being collected from the top of the competent bedrock to the bottom of the hole. Sample data will be used to determine subsurface rock types, faults and fractures.

Following this phase, the company is hoping to proceed onto drilling the first production assessment well. If assessments prove to be positive, SG will continue to drill production wells to feasibility, and enter a power purchase agreement, also securing plant permits.

[source: Sierra Geothermal]

Reykjavik Geothermal gets investment from Ambata Capital Partners

January 19th, 2010 | Posted in Geothermal

geothermal-plant-reykjavik-geothermal Reykjavik Geothermal, the geothermal development company from Iceland, regarded by many as the pioneer in geothermal power development, has received an investment from Ambata Capital Partners for the purpose of exploring, develping and operating utility scale geothermal projects focusing on emerging markets. Even though RG calls the investment strategic, no mention of the actual amount was made.

So far, Reykjavik Geothermal has developed more than 500 MW of geothermal power generating capacity, of which, maybe the most remarkable, is the Hellisheidi power plant. In addition to this bit of news, the company has also announced it is planning to set up its HQ in Masdar City, the first green city in the world, as touted by Masdar.

[source: Reykjavik Geothermal, image: Reykjavik Geothermal]

Basic Energy puts focus on geothermal and biofuel development

January 18th, 2010 | Posted in Biomass Geothermal

basic-energy-corporation

Basic Energy Corporation (BEC) is turning its focus on geothermal energy and biofuel development. The company is going to start conducting geothermal studies in Batangas (Philippines), as part of preparation for its planned drilling project. The Mabini site will soon host a lot of activity regarding geothermal exploration, with geothermal studies happening sometime in Q1 2010. Drilling will commence soon after, once the results of geophysical and geological studies for the area have been finalized.

BEC is planning to concentrate on this geothermal project in 2010, for the company's renewable energy efforts, but it's also planning to develop alternative fuels such as ethanol this year. The company is planning to build an ethanol plant on Mindanao, and will continue with its feedstock development program, which is to accompany the new bioethanol plant.

[source: BusinessMirror]

Reservoir Capital to develop a geothermal power plant in Serbia

January 6th, 2010 | Posted in Geothermal

Reservoir Capital Corporation's subsidiary, Southern European Exploration d.o.o. (SEE) has been granted an exploration permit for the Vranjska Banja location in Serbia. The company is the first ever private energy development company to get such a permit for geothermal development in Serbia. SEE has applied for another three permits for locations in the northern province of Vojvodina. The country has recently amended its feed-in tariffs and renewable energy legislation to be on par with the European Union's regulations, and is hoping to attract and stimulate renewable energy development on its territory. The new feed-in tariff guarantees 7.5 EURO cents per kWh for geothermal energy derived electricity.

GeothermalSerbia

The Vranjska Banja location is a 17.5 km2 area, which has an elevated geothermal gradient. Existing wells in the area, the VG-2 and VG-3 have confirmed the high temperature gradient. VG-2 has identified several hot water aquifiers, registering 126 degrees Celsius between the depths of 864-890 meters. VG-3 registered 124 degrees Celsius between 1500-1575 meters in depth.

The three additional permits are for targets in the Pannonian Basin in the countr's norther province of Vojvodina. This area has so far seen some 80 wells drilled in the past.

[source: Reservoir Capital Corporation, image: Energie-Atlas GmbH]

Philippines planning more than USD 600 million in geothermal investments

December 16th, 2009 | Posted in Geothermal

geothermal-facility-energy-dev-corp The Philippines are planning USD 627.5 million in investments in geothermal energy in the country, hoping to achieve 251 MW of new geothermal power generating capacity. The country's Department of Energy (DoE) is planning to award three private groups with exploration and development licenses for eight prospective geothermal areas.

So far, according to this article, Energy Development Corporation, PNOC-Renewables Corp and Primary Energy Corp have submitted unsolicited proposals for the "frontier" areas. These areas have not been explored and for which the government has no resource data. Seven of the contracts are expected to result in 251 MW of new geothermal power potential, with investments for these projects reaching up to USD 627.5 million.

The areas being considered are located in Mandalagan-Silay, Negros Occidental with about 20 MW of potential, Balingasag (20 MW), Mt. Ampiro (30 MW), Lakewood in Zamboanga del Sur (40 MW), and Mt. Zion in North Cotabato. PNOC-Renewables has applied for a total of 140 MW, while Primary Energy for only 1 MW.

The Philippines is the second geothermal energy producing country in the world, after United States of America, with 1987 MW of total capacity. The country's geothermal generation is currently about 17% of total power generation, or about one sixth of the total currently generated power in the country. The Philippines have sufficient resources to produce more than 1 GW of additional geothermal power generating capacity.

[source: Inquirer, via: Think Geoenergy, image: Energy Development Corporation]

Australian geothermal industry getting a AUD 35 million boost from the government

December 16th, 2009 | Posted in Geothermal

The Australian Ministry of Resources and Energy has set aside AUD 35 million for geothermal "proof of concept" projects in order to boost the geothermal sector in the country. The amount is part of round 2 of Geothermal Drilling Program which will introduce AUD 50 million as aid for the developing industry.

It is expected that the Geothermal Drilling Program will support almost AUD 180 million worth of investments in this sector of the energy industry, with estimates that just 1% of Australia geothermal potential could supply the continents total energy requirements for 26,000 years! (Geoscience Australia)

The trick is to find a way to harness this potential in an economical and technologically feasible way. This problem has been recognized by the Australian government, so it is actively pursuing a supportive effort aimed at pulling through geothermal energy.

Here's a list of the Second Round AUD 7 million each recipients:

Hot Rock – Koroit in the Otway Basin, Victoria
Geodynamics – near Bulga in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales
GRE Geothermal WA1 – Perth metro area, Western Australia
Greenearth Energy – near Geelong, Victoria
Torrens Energy – Parachilna, South Australia

One of the locations for future geothermal development.

The Australian government is trying to meet three major energy goals, for which geothermal energy development will play an important part. These are diversification of energy supplies, redicing Australia's CO2 emmissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2050, and finally to produce at least 20% of energy from renewable energy sources by 2020.

[source: Geodynamics, image: Geodynamics]

New report "drills" into the needs of the geothermal industry

December 15th, 2009 | Posted in Geothermal

GEA Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) released a new report that analyzes the needs of the geothermal energy industry when it comes to combatting the risk associated with development of this type of renewable energy.

Geothermal energy project developers tend to have a hard time finding investors for their exploration activities. Unlike wind or solar energy, the assessment of geothermal energy potential requires a lot more effort and money. Even after a positive assessment of a certain area is made, there are still plenty of rists associated with developing a geothermal power plant.

GEA's report called R&D Needs in Geothermal Exploration and Development, prepared by Dan Jannejohn of GEA, goes "deeper" in analyzing how current technologies, that work, can be further improved. Based on interviews with many experts in the field and from universities and national laboratories, the report gives an overview of the stages involved in exploration and drilling, and puts focus on areas where significant R&D opportunities exist. GEA's Executive Director, Karl Gawell, claims advances in exploration and drilling technologies are key to expanded geothermal production around the world.

The report is available for download here.

[source: GEA]

Enel Green Power opens Lagoni Rossi geothermal power plant

December 9th, 2009 | Posted in Geothermal

geothermal_power_enel Enel Green Power opened Lagoni Rossi geothermal power plant in the Lardarelo area, Italy. The power plant has 12 MW of installed power capacity, enough to supply about 40,000 average households with clean electricty. This represents hald the population of a city like Pisa.

So far, Enel Green Power has 32 geothermal power plants installed, with about 842 MW of capacity, which puts Tuscany at the top spot in terms of geothermal power generating installations. Enel has entered into further agreements with the Region of Tuscany to continue with the sustainable development of geothermal energy, but also with improvements in steam extraction technologies and enhancement of areas where geothermal fields are located, along with environmental protection.

Enel sees potential for an additional 200 MW of geothermal energy in Tuscany. The company is investing in research into new geothermal fields, and combined renewable energy sources, such as solar and biomass.

[source: Enel, image: Enel]