NEG: GeothermalGeneric Block
1. Technical problems plague geothermal projects .National Geothermal Collaborative
, ENERGY ALTERNATIVES,
06
, 161-162.
There are
a variety of
technical and regulatory challenges preventing the morewidespread use of geothermal power. Leasing and sitting processes can takelong periods and be fraught with uncertainty.
Although the cost of generating power fromgeothermal resources has decreased by 25 percent during the last two decades,
exploration and drillingremain expensive and risky. Drilling costs alone can account for as much asone-third to one-half of the total cost of a project
and wells typically cost between $1 and $5million each.
Detecting potentially productive geothermal reservoirs is difficult, withonly about one in every five exploratory wells drilled confirming a valuableresource.
2. Geothermal wells only work for a short time. Christopher Simon, (Prof., Political Science, U. Nevada, Reno
),
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL FEASIBILITY,
07
, 130.
Despite attempts to monitor geothermal reservoir movement and water levels,
The Geyser geothermalelectrical generation projects illustrate the long term problem of heavy use of geothermal resources
. Lund (2003: 410) reports that
power generation is rapidly declining.Several power generation units in
The Geysers project
have been shut down due toreduced quality for dry and flash steam power generation. Despite injectionprojects, power generation for the remaining geothermal units is declining.
3. Expansion potential for geothermal is limited. Christopher Simon, (Prof., Political Science, U. Nevada, Reno)
,
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL FEASIBILITY,
07
, 132.
Technical feasibility is, however, ultimately a function of the continued quality and quantity of geothermal resources. Itis possible that
overuse of geothermal resources will reduce the quality of reservoirseither permanently or for significant periods of time.
In 2003, Ladislaus Rybach published
astudy relate d to geothermal sustainability .
Rybach
found that heat pump impact ongeothermal resources was reversible, but required significant recovery time.
Rybach found that
the quality of the geothermal resource declines over a thirty-year period. Recovery of the resource occurs over a sixty-year period.
4. The number of geothermal sites is limited.
1
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