Publications
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PROCEEDINGS REFEREED
1.
Rangel Jurado, N., S. Kucuk, M. Brehme, R. Lathion, F. Games, and M.O. Saar, Comparative analysis on the techno-economic performance of different geothermal system types for heat generation, European Geothermal Congress, 2022. [View Abstract]Geothermal energy can play a major role in renewable energy transition efforts worldwide by replacing fossil fuels since it provides baseload, firm, and carbon-free energy. Nonetheless, in contrast to its renewable alternatives, which are harnessed on the Earth’s surface, geothermal energy resources exist underground, inherently posing challenges, risks, uncertainties, and opportunities regarding energy exploration and utilization. As a result, multiple concepts to exploit geothermal energy have been proposed over the last century with varying degrees of complexity, technological maturity, and commercial success. This paper presents a first-order comparison of the technoeconomic performance of different types of deep geothermal systems for direct heat production. The system types are Conventional Hydrothermal Systems (CHS), CO2 Plume Geothermal (CPG) systems, and Advanced [or Closed-Loop] Geothermal Systems (AGS and CO2-AGS). In this study, we consider a medium sized, standard geothermal field of intermediate depth (i.e., average continental crust geothermal gradient and
petrophysical properties), for which all naturally occurring reservoir conditions remain fixed. Our results show that water-based and open-loop configurations are
more favorable in the context of heat production for the reservoir conditions investigated here. However, the value of CO2-based and closed-loop designs is overlooked in direct-use applications. Our work highlights how important the interplay between thermal performance and hydraulic performance is to predict and regulate the techno-economic viability of deep geothermal projects over multiple decades.