USGS Investigations of Geothermal Systems in the Great Basin and Plans for Future Resource Assessmen

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USGS Investigations of Geothermal Systems in the
Great Basin and Plans for Future Resource
Assessment Studies

• Colin F. Williams
• USGS, Menlo Park, CA

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Outline

• The 1978 Resource Assessment and the Great Basin
• The Nature of Great Basin Geothermal Systems
• Developments and Unresolved Problems
• Heat sources
• Permeability
• Exploration
• Goals of USGS-DOE Collaboration

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Circular 790

• Potential for 23,000 MWe from identified systems
• 72,000 to 127,000 MWe from undiscovered systems
• Electric Power Production Inputs
• Temperatures gt150 oC and Depth lt3 km
• Chemical geothermometers for temperature
• High recovery factor
• Large reservoirs of unknown geometry
• Nevada
• 17 systems gt150 oC
• 24 systems 90 to 150 oC

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Goals for USGS-DOE Collaboration

• Assessing the Resource
• Models for Identified Systems
• Extent of Unidentified Systems
• Validating the Resource
• Scientific Drilling
• Surface Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry
• Expanding the Resource
• EGS, Advanced Exploration and Production
  Technologies