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    • Water Use in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): Geology of U.S. Stimulation Projects, Water Costs, and Alternative Water Use Policies

    Metadata Updated: June 25, 2021

    According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), geothermal energy generation in the United States is projected to more than triple by 2040 (EIA 2013). This addition, which translates to more than 5 GW of generation capacity, is anticipated because of technological advances and an increase in available sources through the continued development of enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs) and low-temperature resources (EIA 2013). Studies have shown that air emissions, water consumption, and land use for geothermal electricity generation have less of an impact than traditional fossil fuel-based electricity generation; however, the long-term sustainability of geothermal power plants can be affected by insufficient replacement of aboveground or belowground operational fluid losses resulting from normal operations (Schroeder et al. 2014). Thus, access to water is therefore critical for increased deployment of EGS technologies and, therefore, growth of the geothermal sector. This paper examines water issues relating to EGS development from a variety of perspectives. It starts by exploring the relationship between EGS site geology, stimulation protocols, and below ground water loss, which is one of the largest drivers of water consumption for EGS projects. It then examines the relative costs of different potential traditional and alternative water sources for EGS. Finally it summarizes specific state policies relevant to the use of alternative water sources for EGS, and finally explores the relationship between EGS site geology, stimulation protocols, and below ground water loss, which is one of the largest drivers of water consumption for EGS projects.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: Creative Commons Attribution

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    Dates

    Metadata Created Date June 24, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date June 25, 2021

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from OpenEI data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date June 24, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date June 25, 2021
    Publisher Argonne National Laboratory
    Maintainer
    Doi 10.15121/1170247
    Identifier https://data.openei.org/submissions/3279
    Data First Published 2014-12-16T07:00:00Z
    Data Last Modified 2017-06-27T19:44:00Z
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 019:20
    Metadata Context https://openei.org/data.json
    Metadata Catalog ID https://openei.org/data.json
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Data Quality True
    Harvest Object Id af594097-f52a-4b8d-a782-d031760d915c
    Harvest Source Id 7cbf9085-0290-4e9f-bec1-91653baeddfd
    Harvest Source Title OpenEI data.json
    Homepage URL https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/464
    License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
    Old Spatial {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":-77.01416015625,38.87713590673,-77.01416015625,38.87713590673,-77.01416015625,38.87713590673,-77.01416015625,38.87713590673,-77.01416015625,38.87713590673}
    Program Code 019:006
    Projectlead Arlene Anderson
    Projectnumber FY14 AOP 4.1.0.1
    Projecttitle Water Use in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS): Geology of U.S. Stimulation Projects, Water Costs, and Alternative Water Use Policies
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 681a5b0a4da57f42fe1b6c42bf704c467be42164
    Source Schema Version 1.1
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