The European Commission deemed a ‘Smart Sector Integration’ plan essential to a successful European Green Deal.

The intention is to maximise technological and policy synergies in the decarbonisation of one sector with others to accelerate attainment of zero-carbon emission buildings, mobility and power generation before 2050. Geothermal energy provides the ‘smart’ element in this plan. Smart geothermal energy provides reliable quantities of renewable heating, cooling, baseload electricity and lucrative raw materials such as lithium, which is central to electro-mobility. Once installed, it has minimal running costs making it one of the most cost-effective solutions for smart sectoral integration.

The combination of baseload renewable energy and geothermal lithium is the only mitigation solution which provides a substantial new income stream making decarbonisation profitable as well as good for the climate. Therefore, the EU’s policy architecture needs to be upgraded to better integrate this potential.

On how this can be done is described in a position paper released by the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) last month.  Document can be downloaded here (pdf)

The EU’s heat, cooling, electricity and mobility sectors need to be redesigned around various geothermal applications. Geothermal is a mature technology. Like other renewable energy solutions, its largest cost centres on upfront investment. About 30-50% of the cost of geothermal electricity and heat grids arise from the cost of drilling.ii The challenge for policy makers is to bring down these costs through four measures: reducing demand for oil and gas extraction, aggregating risk insurance, mapping heat and lithium reservoirs, and standardising drilling licensing process.

In the case studies highlighted in the paper, EGEC provides examples in which smart geothermal heating, cooling, electricity and lithium are central to effective sectoral integration

Source: EGEC

Following a great discussion the other day I had with Alex Grant of Jade Cove Partners, he has now released a rather interesting report written in cooperation with David Deak of Marbex in Palo Alto/ U.S. and Robert Pell of Minviro in London/ UK.

In the article the authors describe how we all find ourselves in a complete transition on “how we extract, process, transport, and use energy.”

In this context, how we are deriving energy and how we convert it into electric potential, e.g. for transportation will be a key element in decarbonization efforts worldwide. Fossil fuels are thereby providing a feature that has been challenging for the renewable energy sector to provide, namely that fossil fuelds allow energy to be delivered, stored and handled in small volumes. So storing electricity is a key element going forward. For that batteries, and in particularly lithium-ion batteries will be most important.

“Lithium is a good choice for batteries because we can store an electron of electric potential on the lithium atom, while its location in the top left of the Periodic Table means that it carries along the fewest neutrons and protons. This means it carries more energy per unit mass or volume. LIBs can also be charged and discharged with high efficiency, so typically >99% of the energy put in comes back out. This is why LIBs are now used in electric vehicles.”, so the authors in the article.

The question where we get and can produce lithium for those batteries will therefore be important and in particularly how clean we can derive it. The authors describe how historically lithium was derived from either “spodumene (hard rock) and brines from high concentration, low basins in South America.” The latter with impact on habitat and freshwater, creating some controversy.

Deriving Lithium from geothermal brines has seen a lot of attention lately and the reasons seem to be relatively simple with exciting projects pushing ahead in California and in Germany. There the goal is to produce lithium chemicals and low CO2 intense electricity simultaneously.

This, so the article kills two birds with one stone – “producing low CO2 intensity lithium chemicals for LIB manufacturing and decarbonizing electricity grids simultaneously.” On how that is, is described in detail in the article. In essence it is about the energy density provided by geothermal and its efficiency. The consumption of energy in the process of deriving lithium from geothermal brine is much much less energy-intensive and co-producing power that can be used for the process itself is a pretty much unbeatable value proposition. Furthermore “geothermal lithium projects require 10,000x less physical footprint than evaporative projects to produce the same amount of lithium chemical.”

In looking at demand projections and estimates on production volume, it becomes clear that buyers of Lithium “should strongly consider favoring lithium chemicals which emit as little CO2 as possible in production.”

In essence, the authors are convinced that “Geothermal lithium projects are an exciting opportunity to accelerate the decarbonization of transportation. Geothermal lithium could be a way to reduce both the embodied emissions of manufacturing electric vehicles, and the emissions associated with charging EVs simultaneously.” … making these projects the “final frontier of decarbonization”.

For the full article, interesting charts and further insights, see link below.

Source: Alex Grant via Jade Cove Partners

This year the Ruggero Bertani European Geothermal Innovation Award 2020 was earned by the Icelandic Carbfix project and German company Eavor Technologies on equal merit, as announced in an online ceremony today.

The Carbfix process captures CO₂ and other sour gases from emission sources, transforming them into rocks underground in less than two years. This overturns the common view that mineral storage in Carbon Capture & Storage projects takes hundreds to thousands of years. Carbfix has global scaling potential in and beyond the geothermal industry for decarbonising the economy.

Eavor’s innovation is a novel and scalable closed-loop geothermal system of several deep horizontal wells connected to vertical wells. This overcomes the limitation of deep geothermal systems, which normally rely on vertical single wells only. By running on thermosiphon, it also enables the geothermal industry to offer both a baseload and dispatchable energy source.

Traditionally, the award is handed out at GEOTHERM Expo & Congress. This year the event has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak, so the winners have been announced during an online ceremony on 27 May 2020.

Miklos Antics, President of the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) and member of the jury, said “The choice has been so hard that for the first time we had to award two winners. These projects demonstrate that the geothermal community keeps innovating in so many different ways, from technical improvements that increase energy production, to climate change mitigation measures. We encourage companies to keep up with this standard and are sure to see as many excellent applications for next year as we did this year. The pace at which the geothermal industry is developing is unprecedented and so we believe this will be the ‘geothermal decade’.”

Edda Aradóttir, Chief Executive Officer at Carbifix, said “We are honored to receive this award and the recognition it entails. It reflects the increased interest and belief that the Carbfix process can be applied to significantly reduce the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and help our battle against climate change. Highlighting all the top-level research and innovation which is ongoing in the European geothermal sector and beyond is of great importance and supports the commercialization of new and improved technologies.”

Robert Winsloe, Executive Vice President at Eavor, added that “On behalf of my colleagues at Eavor and our partners around the world, I would like to thank the jury and the EGEC for this very prestigious award.  I would also like to congratulate Carbfix and the other finalists, all of whom would have been worthy winners. Despite the challenges in the current environment, the recognition that comes with this award encourages us to continue building on the excellent progress we’ve made to date with both our commercial projects and the development of our Eavor-Loop technology.

As every year, the competition was very high-level. The finalists included: BAKKER OILFIELD SUPPLY (Netherlands), for Degasser, which consists in a product to separate harmful gases and oils from water and steam; VULCAN ENERGIE RESSOURCEN GMBH (Germany), that aims to extract lithium from geothermal brine with a zero-carbon process; and ZAE BAYERN (Germany), for their test rig that emulates the thermal behaviour of a real borehole heat exchanger of different lengths and underground properties.

The jury for 2020 was composed of Miklos Antics (France, representing EGEC), Adele Manzella (Italy, research expert), Sandra Kircher (Germany, representing Messe Offenburg), Fausto Batini (Italy, representing ETIP-DG, industry expert), and Javier Urchueguia (Spain, representing RHC-ETIP geothermal panel).

The Ruggero Bertani European Geothermal Innovation Award is an initiative of EGEC, the European Geothermal Energy Council, in collaboration with Messe Offenburg, organisers of the GeoTHERM fair and congress. It is given to companies which have made an outstanding contribution towards the field of geothermal energy in the form of innovative products, scientific research and project initiatives.

Source: Award release by EGEC

The International Geothermal Association (IGA) invites you to #StayEngaged with #LoveGeothermal – IGA Geothermal Online Event, June 2-4, 2020.

The event provides three day full of interesting conversations! Join the IGA the first week of June to get updates on WGC2021 an WGC2023, find out how to publish your paper in geothermal journals, investigate the Lynx Project and hear the professionals talk about finance and insurance issues in geothermal and many more!

For agenda and registration click here

In an announcement today, GreenFire Energy Inc. and GeoTek Energy, LLC reported on an agreement whereby GreenFire Energy will acquire an exclusive license to GeoTek’s patents relating to closed-loop well technologies for the geothermal and oil and gas industries. Additionally, GeoTek will transfer ownership of its sophisticated closed-loop thermodynamic model called THYMO. The agreement expands GreenFire Energy’s expertise and intellectual property in closed-loop well technologies for power generation and high-value industrial applications.

GeoTek’s patented technologies exploit the thermosiphon effect to power downbore pumps, thereby avoiding the significant parasitic power loss associated with line shaft and submersible pumps. When combined with GreenFire Energy’s GreenLoop technology, GeoTek downbore pumps can improve the profitability of new retrofit oil and gas wells.

Since its inception, GreenFire Energy has focused on the development of advanced thermodynamic models for closed-loop wells and recently verified the accuracy of those models at its GreenLoop technology demonstration in Coso, California. The company believes that the addition of GeoTek’s THYMO modeling capabilities will further enhance techno-economic estimates of well performance and optimize the design of wells prior to project construction.

GeoTek Energy, LLC was founded by oil and gas industry experts in Frisco, Texas. The company had the foresight to leverage its expertise to develop and patent several types of thermosiphon-driven systems for use in both the geothermal and the oil and gas industries.”We were ahead of our time in seeing the benefits of geothermal energy and developing technology and processes to access the energy from the same environment as oil and gas,” says Craig Campbell, founder of GeoTek Energy, LLC. “Our technology is a unique addition to GreenFire Energy’s closed-loop technology portfolio as it is aimed at geothermal opportunities in the oil and gas sector. It has the capability to add green energy to the grid and to considerably reduce the cost of pumping appropriate oil and gas wells,” added John Wilkinson, GeoTek Energy, LLC chairman.

“We see the agreement with GeoTek Energy as significant to our strategy in two key respects: First, it broadens our capabilities in closed-loop wells, especially relating to oil and gas wells, and confirms GreenFire Energy as the premier source of closed-loop expertise for power generation and high-value industrial applications. Second, this deal further extends our leadership in the development, ownership and commercialization of intellectual property relating to closed-loop wells,” says Joseph Scherer, President and CEO of GreenFire Energy.

Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd announced this week it has entered into a binding agreement with KIC InnoEnergy SE (EIT InnoEnergy), as part of the Business Investment Platform (BIP) of the European Commission’s European Battery Alliance (EBA) initiative.

EIT InnoEnergy is the innovation engine for sustainable energy across the European Union, including accelerating innovation and commercialisation along the entire battery value chain. EIT InnoEnergy is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. The European Commission founded the EBA in October 2017.

The EBA includes the European Commission, European Investment Bank and key EU industry stakeholders such as automakers, battery and cathode producers. EIT InnoEnergy manages the industrial development programme of the European Battery Alliance, called “EBA250”. EBA250 is a project-driven community which brings together more than 250 industrial and innovation actors, from mining to recycling, with the common objective to build a strong and competitive European battery industry. Under the agreement, EIT InnoEnergy will marshal its ecosystem and significant resources to launch Vulcan’s Zero Carbon LithiumTM Project.

Compensation for all services are entirely success-based, with no upfront cost to Vulcan. Through the agreement, InnoEnergy will use its resources and network to assist Vulcan with securing project funding, including the use of applicable EU, national or regional grant schemes, project finance and development banks and driving relationships with European lithium off-takers, aimed at the entering into of binding off-take agreements. For securing project funding, or for introducing an off-take agreement and supporting through to the completion of an agreement which includes an investment by the off-taker, EIT InnoEnergy shall be entitled to a success fee payable in equity at 30 day VWAP of the market share price at time of issue. EIT InnoEnergy will also assist with obtaining necessary licenses for its operation in Germany and services with respect to societal/environmental acceptance of the project and recruiting key personnel. Pending successful project construction start and subject to Vulcan shareholder approval if required, EIT InnoEnergy will be entitled to a share-based success fee in Vulcan for the licensing and environmental approvals assistance.

EIT InnoEnergy CEO, Diego Pavia, noted: “With its Zero Carbon LithiumTM Project, Vulcan Energy
Resources will contribute substantially to securing the lithium supply for the rapidly growing European battery industry. Even more, due to the carbon neutral production of the lithium, the project will be fully aligned with Europe’s Green Deal objectives.”

Vulcan Managing Director, Dr. Francis Wedin, commented: “This marks a major milestone for Vulcan
and our Zero Carbon LithiumTM Project. This partnership – with a reputable EU body with considerable resources – will advance our Project by helping to unlock funding, including from EU and national grant schemes. This will also support our efforts in securing offtake agreements, further investments with banks, and working with local stakeholders to assist with successful permitting. We look forward to a productive and strong relationship with EIT InnoEnergy, who are looking to join the Vulcan journey and realise our joint goal of supplying the EU battery market with Zero Carbon LithiumTM products from 2023.”

Source: Company release

On May 24, 2020, Turkey recorded a new all-time daily high on local and renewable energy power generation, as announced by Turkey’s Minister for Energy and Natural Resources as reported by Daily Sabah.

“On May 24, we achieved a new record in daily production by generating 90% of our electricity from domestic and renewable resources,” Fatih Dönmez said on his Twitter account, while he didn’t specify the amount of the electricity generated in the day.

Hydro plants constituted the largest percentage of 43.7%, while local coal plants contributed 16.5% to electricity generation, according to the minister. But likely more importantly and interestingly, geothermal energy provided 5.3%, not a small percentage.

Wind plants powered 14.5% and solar plants constituted 7.2%. Geothermal and biomass plants added 5.3% and 2.6%.

According to official figures of Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIA?), total electricity production reached 457,921 MWh on Sunday, May 24, 2020.

Source: Daily Sabah

Singapore-based Valorous Asia Holdings Pte. Ltd. has offered to acquire up to 9 percent of outstanding common shares of First Gen Corp. for P7.286 billion (around USD 144 million), as reported by Manila Standard.

Valorous is making the tender offer to acquire by way of secondary sale from existing shareholders a minimum of issued and outstanding common shares representing 6 percent and issued and outstanding common shares representing a maximum of 9 percent of the total issued and outstanding common shares of the company at a price of P22.50 per share.

Valorous Asia Holdings is a wholly-owned subsidiary of KKR, a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, and credit with strategic partners that manage hedge funds.

“We greatly admire First Gen as a preeminent company in the Philippines and have great respect for the Lopez family for building this strong, well-established company. KKR has made this Tender Offer in good faith and would welcome the opportunity to be a minority investor available to positively engage with First Gen’s management team and the Lopez family as helpful in the future,” said David Luboff, partner and head of Asia Pacific Infrastructure at KKR.

First Gen is the mother company of Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the world’s largest vertically integrated geothermal company, primarily engaged in the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of geothermal steamfields and in power generation.

Source: Manila Standard

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $300 million loan to help PT Geo Dipa Energi (GDE), an Indonesian state-owned company, expand its geothermal power generation capacity by 110 MW in Java, the country’s largest electricity grid and a challenging market for the development of renewable energy. ADB will also manage a $35 million loan from the Clean Technology Fund for the project.

“ADB’s geothermal project will help Indonesia combat climate change and make its electricity system more sustainable, reliable, and efficient. It will also help businesses and consumers access affordable, reliable, and modern energy,” said ADB Country Director for Indonesia Winfried F. Wicklein. “Our support is aligned with Indonesia’s long-term goals for economic growth and energy, including maximizing the use of indigenous energy resources, diversifying the fuel mix, and ensuring environmental sustainability.”

Indonesia has the world’s largest geothermal potential, with an estimated 29 GW, and the world’s second-largest installed geothermal capacity of 2.1 GW. ADB, through its private sector finance operations, has had a long-standing interest in Indonesia’s geothermal sector, supporting projects at Muara Laboh, Rantau Dedap, and Sarulla. But the development of geothermal power remains slow, largely because the exploration phase is costly, lengthy, and high risk.

The Geothermal Power Generation Project will support the construction and commissioning of two geothermal plants at Dieng in Central Java and Patuha in West Java by GDE, a state-owned enterprise focused on geothermal exploration, development, and power generation. It will boost GDE’s capacity to plan and execute projects and undertake government-supported drilling, which aims to attract much-needed private sector investment to develop new geothermal areas. In addition, GDE will provide direct assistance to nearby communities, including women and other vulnerable groups, and help improve livelihoods.

“The project, recognized as a National Strategic Project by the government, will provide environmentally friendly base-load electricity to the Java–Bali electricity grid, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 700,000 tons per year,” said GDE President Director Riki Ibrahim. “The project will build critical geothermal experience in Indonesia and contribute to the government’s efforts to attract private-sector investment in the sector by reducing early-stage project development risk.”

The project, approved amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, will help ensure that Indonesia’s economic recovery will be green, sustainable, and resilient.

“ADB’s intervention will help make clean energy transition a key part of the country’s recovery from the pandemic. The project will create jobs for those supplying goods and services for drilling and construction, and will create livelihood opportunities in the local area,” said ADB Senior Energy Specialist for Southeast Asia Shannon Cowlin.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Source: ADB

The Heat Beat blog by Jamie Beard, Executive Director of the Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization (GEO) at the University of Texas at Austin shares a number of great and insightful interviews, as we have reported before.

The latest interview with Dr. Marit Brommer, Executive Director of the International Geothermal Association (IGA) is providing interesting insights on “a Social License for Geothermal & the Case of the Missing Lobbyists.”

As highlighted by Jamie, there are certain themes coming up again and again in discussions at the moment, last but not least with the “(glaring) historical disparity in levels of support, subsidies, incentives and funding between geothermal and other renewables like solar and wind.”

With her background in the oil sector and in her role now as Executive Director at IGA, Marit clearly has some points to make in that regard, which she does clearly in the interview with Jamie.

Highlighting the fact that the geothermal sector is fragmented and project-focused, she thinks that the overall collaboration, support and engagement on policy and subsidy conversation is not a collective priority. This, so Marit, is illustrated to the mostly small players of the sector focused on regional market not pushing on an international level on lobbying and influencing governing bodies and decision makers.

She then describes how geothermal energy can get to a better presence in governing bodies around the world, describing the need to form a “coalition of the willing”, that could set strategic initiatives on elements that could help remove obstacles and impact the industry at large.

Another point coming out strongly in the interview, is the take on a “social license to operate”, which Marit describes as an “informal license” or permission by all stakeholders that are either directly or indirectly affected by development. Geothermal energy in general enjoys a broad social license to operate, yet requires work to maintain it based on trust, respect and confidence in values.

How far oil and gas companies can benefit from the same social license by joining geothermal energy development is a question, something where Marit provides some great insight.

So read more in the full interview on the Heat Beat blog via the link below and learn more on why Marit believes that this is “THE DECADE” for geothermal.

Source: HeatBeat blog

Local news are picking up ongoing discussions on the geothermal project in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.

According to the government of the island state, the larger scale plans of geothermal power generation for the country are facing serious challenges.

In a statement today, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said “that the wells dug on the slopes of the La Soufriere volcano have produced the heat but not the permeability needed for electricity generation at the required level.”

“There has to be a testing to see how many megawatts you are going to get. Clearly, given a lack of sufficiency of the permeability, you are not going to get the predicted geothermal output, so the question would be at a much lower output whether it makes sense to go through with the project,” so Gonsalves.

Drilling is finished and further testing is now expected to see how the challenge of permeability of the rocks for economic production of geothermal power constitutes a real problem.

The heat of the wells measured represents a temperature of 250 degrees Celsius, which is more than sufficient to generate power, yet the water volume derived from the wells is not in line with expectations. How other technologies could be used is currently investigated.

For the financing partners involved, it is – according to the news – unclear how or if they would help finance changes to the approach of the project in form of grants. The financing partners are the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.

Source: iWitness News

Hungarian geothermal company Geothermal Green Energy Kft. reports successful drilling works for four geothermal wells in the depth between 1,600-2,300 meters in southeast Hungary near Tótkomlós.

Geothermal Green Energy Kft. is implementing a geothermal project which aims to produce electricity based on geothermal energy in southeast Hungary near Tótkomlós. The project currently ended its exploration phase, as the subsurface has been explored by four deep drilling and constructing with four geothermal wells. All four drillings positively revealed and proved the high permeability karstic zone of the carbonate reservoir. The drilling of the triassic layers in the new wells ended in total mud loss, the formation was identified by geophysical well logs and by analogy with off-site wells. According to drilling data and current knowledge of the reservoir it is possible to develop two geothermal power plant of 15-20 MW gross output each. Geothermal Green Energy Kft. holds the needed licenses and rights to use/exploit the reservoir for electricity production based on geothermal energy.

The well tests showed excellent hydrodynamic properties and very good yields (min. 668-756 m3/h per pair of geothermal wells) and temperatures over 150 degrees C at the bottom. The wells will operate with pumps to reach this constant yield. In addition to electricity producing the – based on the geothermal water composition analysis – significant volume of natural CO2 can be extracted from the geothermal flow. GGE Kft. plans to start operation late 2021, the ORC technology supplier has not been selected yet.

Based on the results of the drillings and the reservoir we aim to develop the largest geothermal project in the Central and Eastern Europe region with the estimated gross potential of 35-40 MW in producing electricity. – confirmed the management of GGE Kft.

Source: Press release by email

In a release this week, Swiss geothermal development company Geo-Energie Suisse announced that it remains committed to the development of its geothermal power project in in Haute-Sorne, Canton of Jura, Switzerland.

This follows the announcement in April 2020 by the government of the Canton of Jura that it would review the revocation of legally binding permits for the geothermal project in Haute-Sorne. In the statement now released, Geo Energie Suisse AG (GES) adheres to the project. In order to increase the acceptance of the project, GES plans the next step to provide factual information and a constructive and open dialogue with the population.

Switzerland has realigned its energy policy with the 2050 energy strategy. Within 30 years, it plans to phase out nuclear energy, increase energy efficiency, reduce CO2 emissions and increase the share of renewable energy. The Haute-Sorne geothermal project makes a key contribution to the implementation of these national and cantonal goals, which is why it is of great importance.

Geo-Energie Suisse is sticking to the project

Following the announcement of a possible cancellation of the building permits by the cantonal government at the beginning of April 2020, the project managers checked the facts again and in detail. GES concludes that there are no technical, scientific or legal reasons to end the project. Especially since the courts have already assessed the feasibility of the project at the last instance. Instead, GES sees the urgent need for a dialogue about the opportunities and risks of the project in order to discuss all aspects of the planned geothermal project in detail and to deal with the fundamental concerns about deep geothermal energy. Such a risk dialogue is expected to contribute significantly to clarifying the controversial issues.

However, in a statement sent to the cantonal government in mid-May, GES also reserves the right to take legal action should the legally binding approval actually be withdrawn. This would mean that courts would have to make a preliminary decision about the legality of a withdrawal and whether the project could still be carried out. In a second procedure, the courts would then have to determine the amount of the compensation payment. However, GES will only get to the courts if the licenses granted are actually withdrawn and the development of deep geochemistry in Switzerland, as a renewable energy source, is impeded.

Authorities granted the building permit in 2015

The Haute-Sorne geothermal project offers both the Canton of Jura and the municipality of Haute-Sorne the opportunity to support a pilot project of national importance with international appeal, in which safety is given top priority. For this reason, GES will involve all relevant national as well as international scientific institutions to review security issues of the project. In addition, a contractually agreed monitoring and information commission is to ensure dialogue with the public and maximum transparency throughout the project. The commission consists of representatives of the canton, the municipality, the population, associations and the project organization. In view of the great potential of geothermal energy, the extensive clarifications on environmental sustainability and the in-depth risk studies, the responsible authorities had approved the geothermal energy project Haute-Sorne in June 2015. Finally, it should also be pointed out that the investment project of around 100 million Swiss francs will generate substantial local added value.

Lengthy procedures delayed dialogue

In the past five years, various processes and political debates have led to considerable delays. The Federal Supreme Court ultimately rejected the pending appeals against the project in December 2018, thereby putting the special use plan into effect. In addition, an initiative to ban geothermal energy in the canton was declared inadmissible by the constitutional court of the canton of Jura.

After an induced earthquake in Pohang, South Korea, the Jurassic government asked Geo-Energie Suisse in 2017 and then the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) to assess the seismic risk of the Haute-Sorne geothermal energy project.

Both the analyzes by GES and the corresponding report by the SED have fully confirmed the stipulated conditions and the planned risk management of the project in Hau-Sorne. However, the Monitoring and Information Commission was unable to start its work during the ongoing investigations and proceedings. Since the procedures have now been completed and the relevant reports are available, the project managers believe that the foundations for an objective and constructive dialogue with the population are now in place.

For the federal government of Switzerland, this project is a beacon project for deep geothermal energy in Switzerland. It supports the project with an exploration contribution of CHF 64.1 million (around USD 67m). The power plant could one day produce electricity for around 6,000 households. So far, no kilowatt hour of geothermal electricity has flowed in Switzerland. According to the Energy Strategy 2050, the potential of this energy source should be so great that around 8 percent of Switzerland’s electricity consumption could be covered. The operator emphasizes that the investment project will generate “substantial” local added value.

Source: Company release, Tagesanzeiger

In a letter sent to the Dutch parliament (May 28, 2020), Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate, Mr. Eric Wiebes, shares his view on how the government is working on accelerating geothermal energy development.

In view of the goal of extracting 15 PJ from geothermal energy by 2030, efforts have been made in recent years to accelerate geothermal energy development. That worked out well, because in 2019 the sector doubled by 51%, good for 5.6 PJ. Now it is time to develop further, Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Eric Wiebes shares in a letter to parliament.

While in 2018, Wiebes also shared with the House at the time, the emphasis was on creating a solid basis for the safe and responsible extraction of geothermal energy (reinforcement), the emphasis in the follow-up phase will mainly be on accelerating development. geothermal energy, the further development of geothermal energy in greenhouse horticulture and the application of geothermal energy in the built environment.

More compact procedures, faster drilling

To facilitate further acceleration, it helps if the bureaucracy involved in projects can go faster, if it is also safe. Efforts are being made to adapt the permit system in the Mining Act.

“The proposed modifications will make the procedures for geothermal projects more compact and will make it possible to start extraction immediately after a short test period. If after this initial extraction it appears that the installation can win safely and responsibly, the application for a follow-up permit will be to make long-term production easier, “says Wiebes.

Until the law has been changed, a transitional regime applies. This framework applies to all projects that plan to drill for geothermal energy from mid-November 2019 and has been shared with all stakeholders.

All extraction plans discussed in early 2021.

There are currently around 20 geothermal projects in the Netherlands. These projects were created within a legal framework that does not focus on geothermal energy and have therefore had no assessment of their extraction plans in the past. Until March last year, these projects operated on the basis of a production license in combination with stricter supervision by State Supervision of Mines.

In March 2019, Wiebes started a process to receive a production plan for all projects, to assess and, where possible, to grant approval decisions. The extraction plans of all projects have been received since April 2019. I expect to have handled all projects in early 2021 and to be able to take approval decisions for almost all projects.

New techniques, different financial picture

With the development of the sector, new ways of extraction have also emerged. They deserve nuances in the ‘financial instruments’, says Wiebes. Categories have been added in the SDE ++ scheme and, for example, a separate basic amount for shallow geothermal energy, because, according to Wiebes, the costs of this technique are lower.

Source: Groenten Nieuws

In a release shared to Turkish media, EG Enerji announced that it has signed an agreement with GMK Enerji for a giant project with a budget of $ 65 million, which is planned to be established on the area of three different geothermal operating licenses in Karacasu district of Aydin, Turkey.

Within the scope of this project, engineering and project planning services of thermal hotels and SPA centers that will operate in the field of tourism with greenhouse and drying facilities for organic agriculture will be carried out by GMK Energy.

EG Energy General Manager Enis Günay, who gave information about the facilities to be established, said, “We have been in Karacasu for 6 years. We made research and development studies. We have started different product trials in the R&D greenhouses which was established by GMK Energy, Dedeler, Hacihidirlar and Camköy.

We will produce different and high added value products. Our company, which has licenses at three points in Karacasu, is very knowledgeable about the geology and geothermal activities of the region. The primary target of our company is preparing agricultural development projects in the region. For this purpose, we plan to establish integrated facilities for organic agriculture. We will produce organic vegetables to be produced with geothermal greenhouse activities, and fruits such as figs grown in the region, without using any chemical addition in fruit and vegetable drying plants, and we will obtain products with high added value. Project works have been initiated for the drying facility with a capacity.

Initially it is expected to help produce up to 2,500 tones of fresh fruit and vegetable processing annually with around 200,000 square meter greenhouse for organic agriculture.

It is aimed that the greenhouse, drying facility and thermal hotel investments, which will be established by keeping the environmental aspect in the foreground, will contribute to Aydin’s economy and the employment of the local people. It is predicted that the investments to be made will provide employment for 1,200 people, mostly women, in Karacasu and Kuyucak districts.

Source: EG Energy

A lot has been written about the possibility that the oil crash could create an unprecedented boom for the geothermal sector in recent weeks. Something not completely new, similar discussions were popping up during the financial crisis of 2008/ 2009.

Naturally the point of view from the geothermal side is quite different than that from the side of the oil sector, that so desperately needs to find jobs for the many unemployed oil workers.

In an opinion piece published in the Houston Chronicle, two former executives share their view on how they think that “drilling for geothermal [could be the] green new deal for both sides of the aisle”.

Describing the dire unemployment numbers of the oil sector, they see geothermal as a unique and compelling energy proposition for America. Drilling for geothermal resources, so the authors Vikaram Rao and Lance Cook, could provide work for an “army of drilling crews, skilled service workers, exploration and production expertise and the like.” “Free for new opportunities”, they see the work force ready to jump into geothermal drilling in the U.S.

If though the geothermal sector provides the “low hanging fruit” opportunity as described is more than questionable. As a commodity business the oil sector simply works differently, particularly as it comes to investment into “longer-term returns” provided by an industry selling electricity by the hour.

The story simply is more complex as not only would it require support by the government to invest into geothermal energy development, while at the same time either replace current fossil-fuel based power generation facilities or create demand for power generated by geothermal plants. So how far a stimulus for rig crews would really make a difference is maybe not as easy, particularly in the short term.

The authors though argue also long-term where clearly there is more substance, yet how far sighted politicians are in the current climate will have to be seen. Focusing on tax credits and zero percent interest loans for geothermal energy development and R&D investments for new technological approaches to geothermal energy utilization could provide a push towards a clean energy economy.

But – and the same applies to geothermal as well – with an idle industry for now, a lot of expertise, personnel and equipment can be lost, particularly dangerous in the context of strategically important energy security.

In an interview with REN21, IGA Executive Director Dr. Marit Brommer shares her view based on her experience in the oil sector. “The overlap between geothermal and oil and gas is in exploring, drilling and production. With this comes expert understanding of the earth’s sub-surface. It takes expert knowledge to find the right spots to drill, how to drill, what equipment is needed, and how to use it. During the current crisis, many skilled workers in oil and gas drilling companies are on standby. These workers could be re-deployed to the geothermal sector.”, so Marit Brommer.

And yes, she seems to agree to the concept of the overlapping know-how, expertise and services, yet also highlights the challenges oil and gas companies face in the shift to renewable energy and in particular geothermal energy.

The lengthy permitting procedures, discrimination in incentives and tax systems provide persistent barriers for geothermal development that clearly are not allowing any quick transfer of staff and drilling equipment from oil to geothermal projects.

Source: Houston Chronicle, REN21

An interesting program with experienced experts active in the Upper Rhine Graben since many years will introduce the actual development in the most interesting geothermal spot in Middle Europe at the IGC Online Meeting. The IGC Online Meeting Upper Rhine Graben on June 17, 2020 takes place virtually from 14.00 to 17.30 (CET) and is supported by TRION climate and EGEC.

In the trinational Upper Rhine Region utilities are the pioneers of geothermal energy utilization. In all of the three countries bordering to this region, Switzerland, Germany and France, utilities operate successfully geothermal plants. In the North West of Switzerland the Basel utility IWB is in a partnershipwith the community of Riehen, running the heat plant since more than 25 years without any disruptions. In France Electiricté Strasbourg (ES) is involved in cooperations with EnBW for the EGS pioneer project Soultz-sous-Forêts and with Roquette Frère in the industrial heat supply for drying ostarch. In Germany EnBW is operating the combined heat and power plant in Bruchsal and the Pfalzwerke the power plant in Insheim. All utilities are involved in their geothermal projects since the beginning of the project development and operate the plants successfully with no obvious interferences.

At the IGC Online Meeting about Geothermal Energy in the Upper Rhine Graben these projects will be presentedregarding the experiences of the operators and the further perspective of geothermal energy production. Besides this, high lithium contents are getting in the focus of the existing operating plants but also giving a new economic perspective for the development of new plants. A general overview about the extracting technologies and the state of art is given by Lena Kölbel from Hydrosion. Further topics of the IGC Online Meeting Upper Rhine Graben is the monitoring of seismicity illustrated with data from Insheim, which is introduced by Ludger Küpperkoch from the IGEM in Mainz. A general overview on the potential for geothermal of the Upper Rhine Graben is given by Dr. Wolfgang Bauer from 360 plus Consult as introduction to the IGC Online Meeting.The Kick off on June 17 will be an introduction of the registered particpants to facilitate the exchange between participants and speakers and giving the possibility to connect to each other.

More information about the program you find at igc.events. Here you can also register for 200 EUR. Every participant will get the chance to introduce himself and his company in 45 seconds with one slide and can contact every other particpant oft he IGC Online Meeting – for this reason the number of participants is limited to 20. More than half of the the free spaces are already occupied.

Lean more about the Upper Rhine Graben on igc.events and secure your place today!

In a release today, geothermal service provider Thermochem, Inc. announced that Kyuden International Corporation (KIC) and West Japan Engineering Consultants, Inc., (West JEC) both companies of the Kyushu Electric Power Company (Kyuden) Group, have executed a share purchase agreement for the 100% acquisition of Thermochem, Inc., and PT. Thermochem Indonesia (Thermochem).

Since its establishment 70 years ago, Kyushu Electric Power Company has developed world-class technological expertise in power generation projects through advanced-level technological development challenges. Kyushu Electric Power Company is the fourth largest electric utility in Japan and the largest geothermal developer and generator in Japan. KIC, as an international business arm of the Kyuden Group, inherits this expertise and experience, and uses it to assertively develop energy industries throughout Asia and around the world. KIC is able to support and adapt to the needs of each project, from initial planning, through construction and long-term operation and management.

West JEC is also part of the Kyuden Group. West JEC was founded in 1967 and offers engineering consulting services, specializing in integrated engineering for power generation and infrastructure development projects. West JEC is an established leader in geothermal resource assessment, geosciences, reservoir engineering and power plant engineering. In addition to geothermal energy integrated services in Japan and overseas, West JEC provides services for every aspect of electrical generation including nuclear power, plus transmission lines and other infrastructure projects in Japan.

The Thermochem companies, based in the United States of America and Indonesia, have provided technological expertise to the geothermal energy industry for over 30 years. Thermochem provides sophisticated technical services and products related to the geothermal industry, including research, development, and the manufacture of specialized equipment, in addition to laboratory and consulting services. Thermochem has gained a top reputation among geothermal developers and operators around the world because of their innovation and advanced technical capabilities. Thermochem has made significant contributions to the development and operation of the Sarulla geothermal IPP project in Indonesia (rated capacity 330 MW), one of the largest geothermal IPP projects in the world, of which the Kyuden Group is a major participant.

Thermochem will maintain independent management and will continue serving all clients around the world from their current facilities in the USA and Indonesia, with the same administrative, technical, engineering, field service and laboratory staff. This acquisition will serve the purpose of expanding the presence of the Kyuden Group in the international geothermal power generation business, and together through synergy, the companies will dramatically increase their individual impact and contributions to the geothermal energy industry.

Under the Kyuden Group Management Vision 2030, the Kyuden Group goal is to contribute to a sustainable world through equity ownership in 5,000 MW of overseas power generation projects by 2030.

Source: Company release by email

EAGE has issued a first announcement and Call for Abstracts for its 1st Workshop on Geothermal Energy & Hydro Power in Africa to take place 7-9 December 2020.

African governments are committed to the development of renewable energy sources to meet large percentage of their energy requirements as part of their strategy to achieve the intended Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Hydropower contributes the largest share of electricity consumed in many countries in Africa, however, with challenges of climate change, new focus areas needs to be put in place to ensure sustainable production and economic development of new hydropower projects.

On the other hand, geothermal energy is seeing new growth impetus as it is climate neutral, baseload, low cost, and abundant source of power for many countries located along the East African rift system. Despite the efforts to meet generation targets, transmission and distribution challenges have continued to hinder electricity access to millions of Africans.

The three-day workshop, therefore, will provide an opportunity to share knowledge, case studies, technologies, financing, O&M, and environmental and social issues for the development of hydropower and geothermal energy projects.

Key discussion points will include the contribution of geothermal energy in the continent’s energy mix and direct use. But the primary goal of the conference will be to promote the use of geothermal resources for power generation and direct use as a low-cost source of energy to address most of the SDGs. The conference will also propose new focus areas for hydropower generation to play a critical role in meeting energy requirements of the continent through new technologies.

The final technical program will be based on the themes of submitted abstracts, however we aim to include contributions related to the following topics linked to geothermal and hydro power:

1. Applied Geoscience in Geothermal exploration and development – to include geology, geophysics, geochemistry reservoir engineering, and field development, power plant development and operation.
2. Applied Geoscience in Hydropower Resource assessment and development – to include geology, hydrology geophysics, geochemistry, reservoir engineering, power plant development and operation.
3. Engineering and Finance – The State of Infrastructure, Storage, Trading, Transmission, Distribution and Retail.
4. Policy and Regulation – The State of Energy & Power Policies, Regulations, what’s working and what’s not, success case studies for policies that have been successful in attracting and catalyzing capital.
5. Financing – Renewable energy programmes and projects financing.
6. Technologies, and Capacity Building – Power utilities management case studies, what is really ailing African utility companies?
7. Technology the 4.0 Industrial Revolution – How data will shape the future energy industries.

Who should attend?

This conference brings together government officials, decision and policy makers, technical experts, academia, private sector, financiers, and renewable industry players.

Contributions are invited from geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, power plant engineers, electricity transmission and distribution engineers, geothermal steam-field engineers, geothermal direct use engineers, environmental and social scientists, hydrologists, meteorologists, energy economists, finance experts, project managers and decision-makers.

Call for Abstracts

The technical committee invites you to submit an abstract of 2-4 pages for the First EAGE Workshop on Geothermal and Hydro Power in Africa. Abstracts should be submitted via the EAGE website using the downloads template. Abstracts will be accepted for both oral and poster presentations.

*Abstracts that do not meet the submission guidelines and instructions will not be considered.

Important Dates

• Call for Abstracts Open 15 March 2020
• Call for Abstracts Close 20 June 2020
• Early Registration Opens 1 June 2020
• Regular/ Late Registration Opens 1 October 2020
• Online Registration Close 4 December 2020

For more information, please contact EAGE Africa / Middle East at middle_east@eage.org or +971 4 369 3897

In an announcement today, the Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency announced a new bid round for the exploration of geothermal waters for energy purposes.  Four exploration blocks are in geographical area of ??the Drava valley in which a significant geothermal potential has already been proven.

Investors were thus offered the exploration areas Ernestinovo, Lunjkovec-Kutnjak, Legrad-1 and Merhatovec with a total area of ??207 km2.It should be noted that the temperature at all locations exceeds 100 degrees C, which is the minimum temperature required for electricity generation, while the total potential of all locations is around 50 MW of electricity power.

The potential of exploration areas has been identified in earlier wells drilled for oil and gas exploration and production, which now greatly reduces the risk and costs to future investors.

In addition to electricity, geothermal energy has great potential in district heating, where future investors, in cooperation with the local community, have the opportunity to cascade production – from electricity, district heating to agriculture where geothermal water is used to heat greenhouses.

Commenting on the opening of new bid round, the President of Croatian Hydrocarbon Agency Marijan Krpan pointed out that geothermal energy is a symbolic transition from fossil to renewable energy sources because it uses the knowledge and experience gained in the exploitation of hydrocarbons.

Croatia has in house knowledge and experience, but also natural potentials that we must direct to renewable sources from which our economy and community will benefit the most. – said Krpan.

Croatia has a high geothermal gradient that is almost twice as large as the rest of the European continent.

The production of electricity from geothermal sources is clean and renewable, but also stable – weather conditions cannot affect power production, power plants operate 24/7 with a capacity factor of up to 95%. In addition to the production of electricity, the greatest potential of geothermal energy is in heating projects, for which Croatian cities and counties are also showing great interest.

Source: CHA