Enhanced Geothermal Systems Well Construction Technology Evaluation

The concept of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) has long been recognized by geothermal energy experts as being the necessary technology for substantially increasing the contribution of geothermal energy to the nation''s production of domestic electricity. This belief has been further bolstered recently by the 2006 DOE sponsored study led by MIT entitled “The Future of Geothermal Energy”, hereafter referred to as the MIT Report (Tester et al). Commercial demonstration of EGS has not been achieved to date, although there are at least three ongoing pilot projects with this aim. The MIT Report therefore largely represents a feasibility study based on historical data and the current technical understanding of the geological conditions, physical processes, operational steps and technologies believed to be required to realize EGS. An examination of the assumptions and conclusions of the MIT Report, as well as a broad survey of existing industry technology in the context of EGS, has also been recently published in the 2008 DOE Geothermal Technologies report “An Evaluation of Enhanced Geothermal Systems Technology” (Jelacic et al). Both reports represent significant synopses of the current status and direction of EGS research and development.