Title: Geothermal Development in All 50 States TODAY
1Geothermal Development in All 50 States TODAY !
John D. Geyer John Geyer Associates, Inc. GRC
Annual Meeting Reno, NV October, 2007
2National Renewable Energy Laboratory Geothermal
Resources Workshop on May 16, 2006
- Geothermal resources could meet a substantial
portion of the Nations energy needs in the
twenty-first century. - In fact, when including geothermal heat pumps,
geothermal energy is used today in all 50
states.
3Earth-Coupled Heat Exchanger Loops
work like an Underground Boiler
Chiller
4Geothermal Ground-Coupled Heat Exchangers are
closed loops of HDPE Pipe in Vertical Bores
- The objective in Ground Heat Exchanger
drilling is to install a specific total length of
heat exchanger in a vertical configuration it is
not important to reach a given depth at a
particular site. - No temperature gradient is involved ambient
temperature works as a heat sink or source. - Soil and rock conditions will determine drill
rates and, consequently, an economical bore hole
depth. Most bores are 200 to 400 feet
deep, with 50 foot minimum.
5Geothermal Development Drilling
- A typical 2,200 SF Residence requires 800 feet of
drilled borehole - A typical Elementary School requires 25,000 feet
of drilled borehole - A typical High School requires 80,000 feet of
drilled borehole -
- U.S. geothermal loop drilling in 2007 will exceed
25 million feet and 400 million without
Production Tax Credits or other subsidies
6Typical Borehole
- 4.5 to 6 inch Diameter hole surface casing
optional - 150 to 400 feet deep
- 12 to 20 foot horizontal spacing
- Drilled with air or 6-8 Bentonite mud
- Insert HDPE loop, with tremie, to total depth
- Pressure grout from bottom with 20-25 Bentonite
- Loop-spreader Clips or Thermal Grout is optional
7What makes Geothermal Heat Pumpsso efficient?
- Heat Pumps collect heat from the ground and
concentrate it for delivery into the building. - For 1 unit of energy (1 kWe) taken from the grid,
2 to 3 equal units of thermal energy are taken
from the earth (via water in closed loops). - Grid-power runs the refrigerant compressor,
ground loop circulating pump and blower fan. - All other energy is Clean, Free and Renewable.
- When running backward, heat pumps cool by
collecting heat from the building and storing it
in the ground (for use in the next heating
season).
8US Market Today
- Average 20 annual growth
- More than 1,200,000 house-sized units now
installed - Annual savings of 8 billion kWh and 40 trillion
Btu of fossil fuels (2006) - Reduced electric demand by over 2.6 million kW
- Eliminated more than 5.8 million metric tons of
CO2
9(No Transcript)
10US Environmental Impact equivalent to
- Nearly 2,200,000 cars off the road
- More than 900 million trees planted
- Reduce reliance on imported fuels by 21.5 million
barrels of crude oil per year
11Geothermal Heat Pumps Today
Investment
Geography
Yield
Now more than 500 MWt annually with more than
7000 MWt to date
Now Over 1 Billion Annually
Now Available and Applicable in 50 States DC
12GHP as a Bridge Technology
GHPs enhance other renewables by multiplying
their savings effect.
Other Renew- ables
FuelCells
Solar
Wind
13Energy Cost Comparison One Million BTUs
Residential (4 or 5 days of
heavy usage)
- Propane 80 Eff. / 2.50 / Gal.
45.56 - Electric Furnace 100 Eff. / 7/kWh
28.13 - Natural Gas 80 Eff. /1.35 /Therm
22.86 - Elect. Baseboard 100 Eff. / No Duct Loss
21.09 - 2 Fuel Oil 80 Eff. /2.20 / Gal.
19.77 - Elec Heat Pump 150-250 Eff 17.74
- Geo Heat Pump 300500 Eff 8.05
14Energy Cost Comparison
2,000 SF Home 4 Seasons
- Monthly 9 Heating Ratio to GX
- Cost Months
- Propane 273 2,457
5.66 1 - Electric Furnace 169 1,521 3.50 1
- Natural Gas 137 1,233 2.84 1
- Elect. Baseboard 127 1,143 2.62 1
- 2 Fuel Oil 119 1,071 2.45 1
- Elec Heat Pump 106 958 2.21 1
- Geo Heat Pump 48 432 (576 for 12 Mo.)
15Geothermal Heat Pump Market Goals
- Part of national Climate Change Action Plan
- A collaborative effort
- US Department of Energy (DOE)
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Private sector
- Overall Goals (circa 1994 to Present)
- Make GeoExchange industry self-sustaining Attain
Geothermal Heat Pump sales of 400,000 annually - Build system sales, reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and decrease national energy
consumption - Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 million
metric tons of carbon equivalents annually
16U.S. Geothermal Growth ForecastGeothermal Heat
Pump portion of the Geothermal Energy Spectrum
(NREL/ DOE Poll, May 2006)
17At last, Geo-Politics Beyond Argument!
President George W. Bush installed a GeoExchange
System in his Texas Ranch
Naval Observatory, home for U.S. Vice President
Dick Cheney, has a GeoExchangeSystem in the
AdministrationBuilding
18And, last but not least, the Nashville, TN
residence of Mr. Al Gore, Jr.
- Geothermal Heat Pumps installed in August, 2007
19Thank You for your Attention.
- For more information, contact
- International Ground Source Heat Pump
Association at Oklahoma State
University - www.igshpa.okstate.edu
- Geothermal National International Initiative
(Geo-NII) - www.geo-nii.org
- Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium
- www.geoexchange.org
- John Geyer Associates, Inc.
- jgeyer_at_jgainc.com