Geothermal Power

In the United States, geothermal energy has been used to generate electricity on a large-scale since 1960. Through research and development, geothermal power is becoming more cost effective and competitive with fossil fuels.
Heat from the Earth—geothermal energy—heats water that has seeped into underground reservoirs. These reservoirs can be tapped for a variety of uses, depending on the temperature of the water. The energy from high temperature reservoirs (225º–600ºF) can be used to produce electricity. There are currently three types of geothermal power plants:

• Dry steam

  Dry steam plants use steam from underground wells to rotate a turbine, which activates a generator to produce electricity. There are only two known underground resources of steam in the United States: The Geysers in northern California and Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. Since Yellowstone is protected from development, the power plants at The Geysers are the only dry steam plants in the country.

• Flash steam

  

  Geothermal energy originates from deep within the Earth and produces minimal emissions.
  Photo credit: Pacific Gas & Electric
  The most common type of geothermal power plant, flash steam plants use waters at temperatures greater than 360ºF. As this hot water flows up through wells in the ground, the decrease in pressure causes some of the water to boil into steam. The steam is then used to power a generator, and any leftover water and condensed steam is returned to the reservoir.

• Binary cycle

  Binary cycle plants use the heat from lower-temperature reservoirs (225º–360ºF) to boil a working fluid, which is then vaporized in a heat exchanger and used to power a generator. The water, which never comes into direct contact with the working fluid, is then injected back into the ground to be reheated.

Biomass Energy or Biopower

Biomass electrical generation or biopower is second only to hydropower as a renewable energy source.
Most electricity generated using biomass today is by direct combustion using conventional boilers. These boilers burn primarily waste wood products generated by the agriculture and wood-processing industries. When burned, the wood waste produces steam, which is used to spin a turbine. The spinning turbine activates a generator that produces electricity. Many coal-fired power plants also add biomass to their coal-burning process (i.e., co-firing) to reduce the emissions produced by burning the coal.

Gasifiers convert biomass directly into gas, which can be burned to generate electricity.
Photo credit: Warren Gretz

Biomass can also be gasified prior to combustion. Gases generally burn cleaner and more efficiently than solids, which allows removal of toxic materials. Gasification also makes it possible to use biomass in combined-cycle gas turbines, such as used in the latest natural gas power plants. Using gasification, these natural gas power plants can achieve much higher efficiencies. Small modular biomass gasification systems are well suited for providing isolated communities with electricity.
In addition, the decay of biomass in landfills produces gas (primarily methane) naturally, which can be harvested and burned in a boiler to produce steam for generating electricity.

Where It's Available

Producing electricity from biomass is most cost effective if biomass power or biopower plants are located near biomass feedstocks. Biomass resources are abundant across the eastern half of the United States, and thus, the majority of operating biomass power plants are located there. The future use of dedicated feedstock crops can broaden the resource availability to all regions with agricultural production activity.

Welcome to International Geothermal Association

The International Geothermal Association (IGA), founded in 1988, is a scientific, educational and cultural organization established to operate worldwide. It has more than 5,200 members in over 65 countries.

The IGA is a non-political, non-profit, non-governmental organization. The objectives of the IGA are to encourage research, the development and utilization of geothermal resources worldwide through the publication of scientific and technical information among the geothermal specialists, the business community, governmental representatives, UN organisations, civil society and the general public.
The IGA headquarters is located in Bochum, Germany at the International Geothermal Centre of the Bochum University of Applied Sciences.

IGA is a founding partner of the International Renewable Energy Alliance (REN Alliance). The REN Alliance is a close partnership of five globally operating renewable energy associations with the aim of promoting renewable energy sources worldwide. The work includes political dialogue and advisory on potentials and scenarios for renewables, sustainability assessments, carbon funds, policies and other related fields.
The other REN Alliance partners are the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), the World Bioenergy Association (WBA) and the World Wind Energy Association (WWEA).

How Geothermal Energy Works

Contents
1. The Geothermal Resource
2. How Geothermal Energy Is Captured
3. The Future of Geothermal Energy

IntroductionHeat from the earth can be used as an energy source in many ways, from large and complex power stations to small and relatively simple pumping systems. This heat energy, known as geothermal energy, can be found almost anywhere—as far away as remote deep wells in Indonesia and as close as the dirt in our backyards. Many regions of the world are already tapping geothermal energy as an affordable and sustainable solution to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and the global warming and public health risks that result from their use. For example, more than 8,900 megawatts (MW) of large, utility-scale geothermal capacity in 24 countries now produce enough electricity to meet the annual needs of nearly 12 million typical U.S. households (GEA 2008a). Geothermal plants produce 25 percent or more of electricity in the Philippines, Iceland, and El Salvador. The United States has more geothermal capacity than any other country, with more than 3,000 megawatts in eight states. Eighty percent of this capacity is in California, where more than 40 geothermal plants provide nearly 5 percent of the state’s electricity.1  In thousands of homes and buildings across the United States, geothermal heat pumps also use the steady temperatures just underground to heat and cool buildings, cleanly and inexpensively.

The Geothermal Resource

Below the Earth's crust, there is a layer of hot and molten rock called magma. Heat is continually produced there, mostly from the decay of naturally radioactive materials such as uranium and potassium. The amount of heat within 10,000 meters (about 33,000 feet) of Earth's surface contains 50,000 times more energy than all the oil and natural gas resources in the world. 

 

U.S. geothermal potential. Source: NREL
The areas with the highest underground temperatures are in regions with active or geologically young volcanoes. These "hot spots" occur at plate boundaries or at places where the crust is thin enough to let the heat through. The Pacific Rim, often called the Ring of Fire for its many volcanoes, has many hot spots, including some in Alaska, California, and Oregon. Nevada has hundreds of hot spots, covering much of the northern part of the state.

These regions are also seismically active. Earthquakes and magma movement break up the rock covering, allowing water to circulate. As the water rises to the surface, natural hot springs and geysers occur, such as Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. The water in these systems can be more than 200°C (430°F).

Seismically active hotspots are not the only places where geothermal energy can be found.  There is a steady supply of milder heat—useful for direct heating purposes—at depths of anywhere from 10 to a few hundred feet below the surface virtually in any location on Earth.  Even the ground below your own backyard or local school has enough heat to control the climate in your home or other buildings in the community.  In addition, there is a vast amount of heat energy available from dry rock formations very deep below the surface (4–10 km). Using a set of emerging technologies known as Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), we may be able to capture this heat for electricity production on a much larger scale than conventional technologies allow.

If these resources can be tapped, they offer enormous potential for electricity production capacity. In its first comprehensive assessment in more than 30 years, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that conventional geothermal sources on private and accessible public lands across 13 western states have the potential capacity to produce 8,000–73,000 MW, with a mean estimate of 33,000 MW.2  State and federal policies are likely to spur developers to tap some of this potential in the next few years. The Geothermal Energy Association estimates that 132 projects now under development around the country could provide up to 6,400 megawatts of new capacity.3  As EGS technologies improve and become competitive, even more of the largely untapped geothermal resource could be developed. The USGS study found that hot dry rock resources could provide another 345,100–727,900 MW of capacity, with a mean estimate of 517,800 MW. That means that this resource could one day supply nearly all of today’s U.S. electricity needs.4 

Not only do geothermal resources in the United States offer great potential, they can also provide continuous baseload electricity. According to the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the capacity factors of geothermal plants—a measure of the ratio of the actual electricity generated over time compared to what would be produced if the plant was running nonstop for that period—are comparable with those of coal and nuclear power.5  With the combination of both the size of the resource base and its consistency, geothermal can play an indispensable role in a cleaner, more sustainable power system.

How Geothermal Energy Is Captured
Geothermal springs for power plants. The most common current way of capturing the energy from geothermal sources is to tap into naturally occurring "hydrothermal convection" systems where cooler water seeps into Earth's crust, is heated up, and then rises to the surface. When heated water is forced to the surface, it is a relatively simple matter to capture that steam and use it to drive electric generators. Geothermal power plants drill their own holes into the rock to more effectively capture the steam.

There are three designs for geothermal power plants, all of which pull hot water and steam from the ground, use it, and then return it as warm water to prolong the life of the heat source. In the simplest design, the steam goes directly through the turbine, then into a condenser where the steam is condensed into water. In a second approach, very hot water is depressurized or "flashed" into steam which can then be used to drive the turbine.

In the third approach, called a binary system, the hot water is passed through a heat exchanger, where it heats a second liquid—such as isobutane—in a closed loop. The isobutane boils at a lower temperature than water, so it is more easily converted into steam to run the turbine. The three systems are shown in the diagrams below.
     

Dry steam	Flash steam	Binary cycle

 Click any of the images to see a larger version. Source: NREL
The choice of which design to use is determined by the resource. If the water comes out of the well as steam, it can be used directly, as in the first design. If it is hot water of a high enough temperature, a flash system can be used, otherwise it must go through a heat exchanger. Since there are more hot water resources than pure steam or high-temperature water sources, there is more growth potential in the heat exchanger design.

The largest geothermal system now in operation is a steam-driven plant in an area called the Geysers, north of San Francisco, California. Despite the name, there are actually no geysers there, and the heat that is used for energy is all steam, not hot water. Although the area was known for its hot springs as far back as the mid-1800s, the first well for power production was drilled in 1924. Deeper wells were drilled in the 1950s, but real development didn't occur until the 1970s and 1980s. By 1990, 26 power plants had been built, for a capacity of more than 2,000 MW.

 

The Geysers (Source: NREL)
Because of the rapid development of the area in the 1980s, and the technology used, the steam resource has been declining since 1988. Today, owned primarily by California- utility Calpine and with a net operating capacity of 725 MW, the Geysers facilities still meets nearly 60 percent of the average electrical demand for California's North Coast region (from the Golden Gate Bridge north to the Oregon border).6  The plants at the Geysers use an evaporative water-cooling process to create a vacuum that pulls the steam through the turbine, producing power more efficiently. But this process loses 60 to 80 percent of the steam to the air, without re-injecting it underground. While the steam pressure may be declining, the rocks underground are still hot. To remedy the situation, various stakeholders partnered to create the Santa Rosa Geysers Recharge Project, which involves transporting 11 million gallons per day of treated wastewater from neighboring communities through a 40-mile pipeline and injecting it into the ground to provide more steam. The project came online in 2003, and in 2008 provided enough additional electricity for approximately 100,000 homes.  The city of Santa Rosa plans to further expand this program by increasing the amount of wastewater sent to the Geysers to nearly 20 million gallons per day.7  

One concern with open systems like the Geysers is that they emit some air pollutants. Hydrogen sulfide—a toxic gas with a highly recognizable "rotten egg" odor—along with trace amounts of arsenic and minerals, is released in the steam. In addition, at a power plant at the Salton Sea reservoir in Southern California, a significant amount of salt builds up in the pipes and must be removed. While the plant initially started to put the salts into a landfill, they now re-inject the salt back into a different well. With closed-loop systems, such as the binary system, there are no emissions; everything brought to the surface is returned underground.

Direct use of geothermal heat. Geothermal springs can also be used directly for heating purposes. Hot spring water is used to heat greenhouses, to dry out fish and de-ice roads, for improving oil recovery, and to heat fish farms and spas. In Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho, geothermal water has been used to heat homes and buildings for more than a century. On the east coast, the town of Warm Springs, Virginia obtains heat directly from spring water as well, using springs to heat one of the local resorts.8  

In Iceland, virtually every building in the country is heated with hot spring water. In fact, Iceland gets more than 50 percent of its energy from geothermal sources.9  In Reykjavik, for example (population 115,000), hot water is piped in from 25 kilometers away, and residents use it for heating and for hot tap water. 
Ground-source heat pumps. A much more conventional way to tap geothermal energy is by using geothermal heat pumps to provide heat and cooling to buildings. Also called ground-source heat pumps, they take advantage of the constant year-round temperature of about 50°F that is just a few feet below the ground’s surface. Either air or antifreeze liquid is pumped through pipes that are buried underground, and re-circulated into the building. In the summer, the liquid moves heat from the building into the ground. In the winter, it does the opposite, providing pre-warmed air and water to the heating system of the building.

Ground-source heat pump (Source: NREL)

In the simplest use of ground-source heating and cooling, a tube runs from the outside air, under the ground, and into a house's ventilation system. More complicated, but more effective systems use compressors and pumps—as in electric air conditioning systems—to maximize the heat transfer.

In regions with temperature extremes, such as the northern United States in the winter and the southern United States in the summer, ground-source heat pumps are the most energy-efficient and environmentally clean heating and cooling system available.  Far more efficient than electric heating and cooling, these systems can move as much as 3 to 5 times the energy they use in the process. The U.S. Department of Energy found that heat pumps can save a typical home hundreds of dollars in energy costs each year, with the system typically paying for itself in 8 to 12 years. Tax credits and other incentives can reduce the payback period to 5 years or less.10                                                 
More than 600,000 ground-source heat pumps supply climate control in U.S. homes and other buildings, with new installations occurring at a rate of about 60,000 per year.11   While this is significant, it is still only a small fraction of the U.S. heating and cooling market, and several barriers to greater penetration into the market remain. For example, despite their long-term savings, geothermal heat pumps have higher up-front costs. In addition, installing them in existing homes and businesses can be difficult, since it involves digging up areas around a building’s structure. Finally, many heating and cooling installers are just not familiar with the technology.

However, ground-source heat pumps are catching on in some areas. In rural areas without access to natural gas pipelines, homes must use propane or electricity for heating and cooling. Heat pumps are much less expensive to operate, and since buildings are widely spread out, installing underground loops is not an issue. Underground loops can be easily installed during construction of new buildings as well, resulting in savings for the life of the building.  Furthermore, recent policy developments are offering strong incentives for homeowners to install these systems.  The 2008 economic stimulus bill, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, includes an eight year extension (through 2016) of the 30 percent investment tax credit, with no upper limit, to all home installations of EnergyStar certified geothermal heat pumps.12  

The Future of Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy has the potential to play a significant role in moving the United States (and other regions of the world) toward a cleaner, more sustainable energy system. It is one of the few renewable energy technologies that—like fossil fuels—can supply continuous, baseload power. The costs for electricity from geothermal facilities are also declining. Some geothermal facilities have realized at least 50 percent reductions in the price of electricity since 1980. A considerable portion of potential geothermal resources will be able produce electricity for as little as 8 cents per kilowatt-hour (including a production tax credit), a cost level competitive with new conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants.13  There is also a bright future for the direct use of geothermal resources as a heating source for homes and businesses in any location. However, in order to tap into the full potential of geothermal energy, two emerging technologies require further development: Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and co-production of geothermal electricity in oil and gas wells.  
Enhanced Geothermal Systems. Geothermal heat occurs everywhere under the surface of the earth, but the conditions that make water circulate to the surface are found only in less than 10 percent of Earth's land area. An approach to capturing the heat in dry areas is known as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) or "hot dry rock". The hot rock reservoirs, typically at greater depths below the earth’s surface than conventional sources, are first broken up by pumping high-pressure water through them. The plants then pump more water through the broken hot rocks, where it heats up, returns to the surface as steam, and powers turbines to generate electricity. Finally, the water is returned to the reservoir through injection wells to complete the circulation loop. Plants that use a closed-loop binary cycle release no fluids or heat-trapping emissions other than water vapor, which may be used for cooling.14 

The Department of Energy, several universities, the geothermal industry, and venture capital firms (including Google) are collaborating on research and demonstration projects to harness the potential of hot dry rock. Australia, France, Germany, and Japan also have R&D programs to make EGS commercially viable. The DOE hopes to have EGS ready for commercial development by 2015 and is currently funding several demonstration projects.


Source: EERE

One cause for careful consideration with EGS is the possibility of induced seismic activity that might occur from hot dry rock drilling and development.  This risk is similar to that associated with hydraulic fracturing, an increasingly used method of oil and gas drilling, and with carbon dioxide capture and storage in deep saline aquifers. Though a potentially serious concern, the risk of an induced EGS-related seismic event that can be felt by the surrounding population or that might cause significant damage currently appears very low when projects are located an appropriate distance away from major fault lines and properly monitored. Appropriate site selection, assessment and monitoring of rock fracturing and seismic activity during and after construction, and open and transparent communication with local communities are also critical.
Co-production of Geothermal Electricity in Oil and Gas Wells. Oil and gas fields already under production represent another large potential source of geothermal energy.  In many existing oil and gas reservoirs, a significant amount of high-temperature water or suitable high-pressure conditions are present, which could allow for the production of electricity and oil or gas at the same time. In some cases, exploiting these resources could even enhance the extraction of the oil and gas itself.  An MIT study estimated that the United States has the potential to develop 44,000 MWs of geothermal capacity by 2050 by co-producing electricity, oil, and natural gas at oil and gas fields—primarily in the Southeast and southern Plains states. The study projects that such advanced geothermal systems could supply 10 percent of U.S. baseload electricity by that year, given R&D and deployment over the next 10 years.15
These exciting new developments in geothermal will be supported by unprecedented levels of federal R&D funding. Under, the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, $400 million of new funding was allocated to the DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Program. Of this $90 million is expected to go towards a series of up to 10 demonstration projects to prove the feasibility of EGS technology. Another $50 million will fund up to 20 demonstration projects for other new technologies, including co-production with oil and gas and low temperature geothermal. The remaining funds will go exploration technologies, expanding the deployment of geothermal heat pumps, and other uses. These investments will very likely produce great net benefits in the future.16
 

---

Endnotes:

1. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) 2009. U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update.
2.  Williams, C.F., M.J. Reed, R.H. Mariner, J. DeAngelo, and S.P.Galanis Jr. 2008. Assessment of moderate- and high-temperature geothermal resources of the United States. U.S. Geological Survey fact sheet 2008-3082, 4. Washington, DC:   U.S. Department of the Interior
3. See Note 1.
4. See Note 2.
5. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Energy Technology Cost and Performance Data.
6. Calpine. The Geysers.
7. City of Santa Rosa, CA. Geysers Expansion. 
8. Virginia Tech. Hot Springs in the Southeastern United States.
9. National Energy Authority and Iceland Ministry of Industries and Commerce. 2004. Energy In Iceland: Historical Perspective, Present Status, Future Outlook.
10. Department of Energy – Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). 2008. Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps: Market Status, Barriers to Adoption, and Actions to Overcome Barriers.  Report ORNL/TM-2008/232.
11. Ibid
12. Energy Star. Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency. 
13. California Energy Commission ( CEC) (June 2003). Comparative Cost of California Central Station Electricity Generation Technologies, Final Staff Report.
14. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). 2008a. An evaluation of enhanced geothermal systems technology. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy.
15. Tester, J. et al. 2006. The Future of Geothermal Energy: Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century. Massachussetts Institute of Technology and Idaho National Laboratory. 
16. See Note 1.

Wanted: Chinese Cleantech Capital and Connections

With the emergence of China as the globe’s cleantech powerhouse (see Why China has already overtaken the U.S. in cleantech), it’s become fashionable for cleantech companies seeking large purchase orders to target China.
What’s not been so popular is to go to China seeking investment capital.
We and a handful of companies did both last week. And we learned a bit about the current state of cleantech in China in the process.
The latest installment of the Northern Cleantech Showcase, Kachan’s event series that matches leading cleantech companies with investors and large enterprises around the world, presented seven of the most interesting Canadian cleantech companies seeking linkages with China to teeming invitation-only rooms in Beijing and Shanghai. But more on that in a moment.
Venture Is Alive and Well in China
Why go to China for capital? Selling into China makes sense, but equity investment? While not yet a genuine nexus of VC like North America or Europe, there’s been a potentially important upswing in cleantech venture capital deals in China in recent months.
Industry observers take note: At $176 million, as tracked by cleantech data provider the Cleantech Group, more cleantech venture capital was invested in China in the second quarter of 2011 (the latest quarter for which numbers were published as of this writing) than any other country except the U.S. This is potentially significant, as China has historically trailed as one of the least active jurisdictions for cleantech investment since the category's inception in 2002.
That said, quarterly analyses should always be taken with grains of salt — as one or two quarters do not always meaningful trends make — but China, in this latest quarter, dramatically pulled ahead of Canada and the U.K., traditionally strong countries after the U.S. So it was timely that we were in China asking for money.

Source: Cleantech Group

The rise of Chinese corporate capital
Venture capital aside, in the two years since I last visited mainland China, another dramatic change seemed to be the level of interest from state-owned and other businesses in clean technologies. It’s indicative of China’s new green order: the country’s latest five year plan places a strategic emphasis on clean and green technologies as a cornerstone of China’s economic growth and improvement in standard of living. And what its five year plan articulates, the country implements. Fast.
For instance, China’s ENN — the largest private clean energy solution provider in China, which sent someone to meet our Northern Cleantech Showcase companies — just announced that it intends to invest $8 billion in clean energy overseas in the next decade. That’s one company earmarking eight times the amount the Canadian government (through its arms-length cleantech investor SDTC) has committed for venture-style investment into cleantech innovation. Other state-owned enterprises sent people to meet with our companies. Corporate China has been told to get into cleantech, so expect it to do so in a very big way, very quickly.
It’s easiest to appreciate just how fast China can react to central government decrees by comparing before-and-after pictures of places like Shanghai.

In only twenty years, Shanghai transformed into a decidedly vertical city. Consider the investment of power, petroleum, materials, capital and human effort required.

Cleantech companies featured in China
I was in China last week presenting seven companies selected by a jury of partners and venture capitalists. In some cases, the companies were seeking investment. In others, they sought joint ventures and partnerships. Having done cleantech business in China for many years, we invited appropriate investors, state-owned enterprises, multinationals, potential joint venture partners and others most likely to propel our delegate companies. And like our last event to the Bay Area (see Seven cleantech companies Silicon Valley just learned about), the formula worked; the presenting companies got quality leads.

Attendees in Beijing listen to pitches from 7 innovative cleantech companies at the Northern Cleantech Showcase at Ernst & Young’s offices. More photos from the event on Kachan’s Facebook page. Like our page and follow us.

In alphabetical order, companies that presented at Northern Cleantech Showcase China 2011 included:

• Delaware Power Systems: Technology for EV and PHEV battery systems - Electric vehicles require advanced battery systems to provide reliable power. Delaware is focused on developing scalable smart battery modules for EVs. Its technology promises to make EV battery systems safer, more reliable and last longer while reducing cost.
• EnerMotion: Waste heat recovery from vehicle engines - EnerMotion improves energy efficiency in current and future vehicle technology, provides environmental benefits, maximizes existing transportation infrastructure and offers a fast payback for customers.
• Enovex: Carbon capture with lower capital cost and energy requirement - Today, the best carbon capture solutions impose 30-35% energy penalties on power plants. Enovex has developed a system only requiring half that, and has attracted interest from large energy companies.
• Eve Innovations: Coal-like fuel replacement from waste - By converting almost all organic waste to a commercial fuel product for industrial or retail markets, Eve Innovations removes the need to dispose of the waste, thereby reducing costs and logistics involved with waste disposal.
• exchangenergy: Geoexchange expertise - exchangenergy designs and installs high efficiency and site specific geoexchange and geothermal systems. The company is seeking international expansion into China, offering project and international best practice expertise for residential developments.
• Remco Solid State Lighting: Power & thermal breakthrough for high power LED lighting - Key barriers have held back the use LED lighting for high power lighting applications. Remco has developed and patented technologies aimed at power control and thermal management. The company's LED street light tests suggest it can reduce street light electrical energy consumption by up to 70%.
• Vizimax: Automation systems for power grid modernization - Vizimax's products help the electric grid reduce network outages by automating substations and the interconnection of renewable energy to the grid. Customers include Siemens, Alstom Grid, Schneider Electric, National Grid, NYPA, PowerGrid of India and others.

Leading Chinese VCs attended the Northern Cleantech Showcase presentations, and presenting companies were well received. “The presentations were informative and we made connections to interesting new companies,” said Qiyong Cao, director of research for leading Chinese cleantech venture investor Tsing Capital.

Delegate companies were awed by the scale, speed and commitment in China for embracing clean and green products and services. “Where North America has subdivisions of single family homes, Beijing and Shanghai have built subdivisions of high-rises,” noted Jeremy Jacob, CEO of Vancouver-based exchangenergy, seeking to share his company’s experience at the Showcase in building high end geoexchange systems.

Attendees network with presenting companies at Northern Cleantech Showcase presentations in Shanghai. More photos from the event on Kachan’s Facebook page. Like our page and follow us.

The Northern Cleantech Showcase China 2011 events were produced with the support of Ernst & Young, the Greentech Exchange and Jiaxing Xiuzhou New Area—the business development arm of a new business park in Jiaxing, a city just southwest of Shanghai.
Jiaxing officials took Northern Cleantech Showcase delegates on a tour of the area, impressing them with logistical prowess and commitment to manufacturing scale. Large companies like ProLogis and Wal-Mart chose the Jiaxing area for distribution centers because of rail, highways and deep sea port connections.
Cleantech companies like Silicon Valley’s Sunpreme are choosing the area because of significant labor, tax, rent and facility incentives aimed at cleantech companies. And, of course, then there’s what’s increasingly referred to as “Chinaspeed”: Northern Cleantech Showcase delegates toured a Sunpreme factory in Jiaxing that had been assembled from scratch less than 5 months from when the company’s contract had been signed in April. Delegates couldn’t believe that the factory, with its spotless, polished floor and freshly painted offices, had just been built.
More information on Jiaxing’s Xiuzhou business park can be found here.
We’ve posted more photos from the Northern Cleantech Showcase China 2011 on Kachan’s Facebook page. Like our page and follow us. Or you can follow us a number of other ways here.
Originally published here. Reproduced by permission.
A former managing director of the Cleantech Group, Dallas Kachan is now managing partner of Kachan & Co., a cleantech research and advisory firm that does business worldwide from San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. Kachan & Co. staff have been covering, publishing about and helping propel clean technology since 2006. Kachan & Co. offers cleantech research reports, consulting and other services that help accelerate its clients’ success in clean technology. Details at www.kachan.com.

 

Transforming Natural Gas Into Superclean Fuels

Transforming Natural Gas Into Superclean FuelsTransforming Natural Gas Into Superclean Fuels

Gas-to-liquids (GTL) is a technology that enables the production of clean-burning diesel fuel, liquid petroleum gas and naphtha from natural gas.

Chevron has partnered with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Sasol to build a new gas-to-liquids plant at Escravos. It is expected to begin production in 2013.

What Are the Benefits?

Natural gas is one of Earth's cleanest and most abundant natural resources. Natural gas has a far wider market if converted to a liquid form because it is easier to transport. The GTL process enables us to transform natural gas into superclean diesel fuel.
With the expected rise in demand for diesel, GTL technology provides an option to make a fuel with qualities that can enable significant reductions in emissions.

What Chevron Is Doing

Chevron operates in some of the world's leading natural gas basins and is using technology, including GTL, to develop the full spectrum of natural gas resources.
We have partnered with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Sasol to build a GTL plant expected to convert 325 million cubic feet of natural gas per day into 33,000 barrels of liquids—principally synthetic diesel. When completed, the plant is expected to supply diesel fuel for cars and trucks in Europe and elsewhere. The plant is expected to begin production in 2013.

Harnessing the Sun's Energy

Harnessing the Sun's Energy

Solar energy is power from the sun's rays that reach the earth. Using photovoltaic cells made from silicon alloys, sunlight can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity. Steam generators using thermal collectors to heat a fluid, such as water, sometimes convert even higher amounts of solar energy into electricity.

Producing More Oil with Solar Power

Chevron is demonstrating how solar energy can increase production from mature oil fields. The project uses more than 7,600 mirrors to focus the sun’s rays onto a solar boiler. This generates steam that is injected into reservoirs to recover more oil.

Volatile oil prices have fueled interest in alternatives such as solar energy. Solar power can help alleviate capacity problems on local utility systems, especially during peak electricity demand periods. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing the use of electricity generated by fossil-fueled power plants.

What Chevron Is Doing

Chevron Energy Solutions (CES), a Chevron subsidiary, is one of the nation's largest installers of solar energy systems for education institutions. Over the past decade, the company has developed hundreds of projects involving energy efficiency and renewable power for education, government and business customers in the United States.

• San Jose Unified School District – CES installed one of the largest K–12 solar and energy efficiency projects in the United States. CES designed, built and operates the 5.5-megawatt system at 14 San Jose Unified School District sites. Completed in 2009, the project is expected to save the district more than $25 million and to lower carbon dioxide emissions by more than 100,000 metric tons over the 25-year life of the project—equivalent to planting more than 1,400 acres (5.7 sq km) of trees.
• Contra Costa Community College District – CES installed one of the largest solar installations at an institution of higher learning in North America, at the Contra Costa Community College District in California. Completed in 2008, the 3.2-megawatt system comprises photovoltaic panels mounted on 34 parking canopies at three campuses. The project, which also includes several energy efficiency measures, is expected to save the district more than $70 million over 25 years.
• Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – CES completed one of the nation's largest energy-efficiency and solar electric systems at a transit facility for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). The 1.2-megawatt solar project consists of 6,720 solar panels at Metro's central bus maintenance facility. Along with other energy-efficient improvements, the project is expected to cut the facility's annual $1.1 million energy bill in half and reduce its purchase of utility power, which is anticipated to reduce carbon emissions by more than 3,700 metric tons.
• U.S. Postal Service – CES completed the U.S. Postal Service's largest solar power and energy-efficiency project, at its mail-processing center in Oakland, California, in 2006. The project, which included the installation of energy-efficient equipment, is expected to reduce the facility's power purchases by more than a third. The 910-kilowatt solar power system spans a rooftop area nearly the size of two football fields and will help meet electric demand during peak periods.

As solar technology advances, we are studying the latest methods that aim to harness the sun's energy.
In early 2011 we began operations at a 1-megawatt concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) solar facility at our molybdenum mine in Questa, N.M.. Approximately 175 solar panels are installed on 20 acres (.08 sq km), making it one of the largest CPV installations in the United States.
At our worldwide headquarters in San Ramon, California, CES installed a solar demonstration project designed to test current and emerging solar technologies for facility project planning and potential future use at Chevron facilities. And at the site of one of our former refineries in Bakersfield, California, we started Project Brightfield to test the performance of seven new thin-film technologies and a new crystalline-silicon photovoltaic technology.

Powering Industry Into the Future

Powering Industry Into the Future

Coal makes up about 27 percent of the world's total energy use. And in the United States, coal produces 45 percent of the nation's electricity.

A worker takes a GPS survey of Chevron's Kemmerer Mine in Wyoming.

What Are the Benefits?

In addition to generating electricity, coal is used in steel production, cement manufacturing and other industrial processes.
From 2008 to 2035, world coal consumption is expected to increase roughly 60 percent. The most significant increase in the use of coal will come from developing countries, primarily China and India.
With a 300-year supply in the United States alone, coal's growth potential is promising. We anticipate many new applications for its use. In addition, new "clean coal" technologies will continue to enhance our ability to tap coal reserves while minimizing the effects of its extraction on the environment.

What Chevron Is Doing

As part of its diverse portfolio of energy resources, Chevron owns three U.S.-based coal mines.
Chevron Mining Inc. is one of the oldest continuously operating mining companies in the United States and currently operates the North River Mine in Alabama, the Kemmerer Mine in Wyoming and the McKinley Mine in New Mexico. The company's coal sales in 2010 reached 7.8 million tons.
In the United States, coal is used primarily to generate electricity, but it also is a valuable resource for various industries that use its ingredients to make plastics, tar, synthetic fibers and other products.

Restoring the Landscape

Chevron employees are committed to operating in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. After suspending production at the McKinley Mine at the end of 2009, we focused in 2010 on restoring the area to its pre-mining landscape.
The McKinley Mine drew top honors in 2008 from the New Mexico Mining & Minerals Division of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department for using innovative reclamation techniques.

Unlocking Untapped Energy

Oil sands contain a mixture of sand, water, clay and bitumen, an extra-heavy oil that is too thick to be pumped without first being diluted or heated.

Massive trucks haul bitumen-bearing ore for processing at the Muskeg River Mine, part of Chevron's Athabasca Oil Sands Project in Alberta, Canada.

What Chevron Is Doing

Effectively retrieving oil from sand is a tough challenge. Chevron is using its vast resources of technology and expertise to bring this energy source to market.
At the Athabasca Oil Sands Project's Muskeg River Mine in Alberta, Canada, giant shovels capable of scooping nearly 100 tons of bitumen-bearing oil sands in one bite make the job easier. Workers at mine sites need to extract more than two tons of oil sands to produce one barrel—42 gallons—of usable crude. Chevron holds a 20 percent interest in the project.
In order to extract the bitumen from the oil sands, the ore is mixed with warm water to create a slurry. This slurry is fed into a processing unit where the bitumen is separated from the water and sand mixture. The extracted bitumen is diluted with a special solvent and then sent via pipeline to an upgrading facility near Edmonton. There, it is transformed into a wide range of premium low-sulfur and low-viscosity synthetic crude oils.

Providing an Efficient, Economical Energy Source

Dismissed as a useless byproduct of crude oil production until the second half of the 20th century, natural gas now accounts for 23 percent of the world's energy consumption. And the demand is growing.

Chevron's offshore Platong II natural gas project is among the company's leading investments globally.

An environmentally friendly and efficient energy source, natural gas is the cleanest-burning conventional fuel, producing lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than heavier hydrocarbon fuels such as coal and oil. Historically, natural gas also has been one of the most economical energy sources. Natural gas fuels electric power generators, heats buildings and is used as a raw material in many consumer products, such as those made of traditional plastics.
The International Energy Agency predicts that the demand for natural gas will grow by approximately 44 percent through 2035. Chevron is well positioned to meet this escalating demand.

What Chevron Is Doing

Natural gas is a growing segment of Chevron's energy portfolio. Our natural gas resources span six continents, with significant holdings in Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, the Caspian region, Latin America and North America. Chevron has a net production of more than 5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, including equity shares in affiliates, and we expect to substantially increase this volume over the next decade.
Although world gas resources are plentiful, the regions with natural gas surpluses are often oceans away from the greatest demand. Chevron has the capabilities to meet the challenges of developing resources and delivering natural gas to markets where its use is growing.
Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the natural gas business—production, liquefaction, shipping, regasification, pipelines, marketing and trading, power generation, and gas-to-liquids (GTL).
We hold the largest natural gas resource position in Australia through the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects, the Browse Basin, and the North West Shelf Venture. We also have significant natural gas holdings in western Africa, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, North America, the Philippines, South America, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Australia

North West Shelf Venture – We are a longtime participant in  Australia's North West Shelf Venture, which operates offshore producing fields and extensive onshore facilities that include five liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing units, or trains, and a domestic gas plant. Approximately 70 percent of the natural gas is sold in the form of LNG to major utilities in Japan, South Korea and China, primarily under long-term contracts.
Gorgon Project – Chevron is leading the development of Australia's largest single-resource project. The Gorgon Project includes a three-train, 15.0 million-metric-ton-per-year LNG facility on Barrow Island, a domestic natural gas plant and a carbon dioxide injection project. Construction and other activities for the Gorgon Project progressed during 2010 with the awarding of more than $25 billion of contracts and purchase orders, clearing of the plant site, completion of the first stage of the construction village, commencement of module fabrication, and progression of studies on the possible expansion of the project.
Wheatstone Project – The Chevron-operated Wheatstone Project includes a two-train, 8.9 million-metric-ton-per-year LNG facility and a separate domestic gas plant, both at Ashburton North, on the West Pilbara coast of Australia. The facilities will be fed by natural gas from the Wheatstone and Iago fields, as well as third-party gas. The final investment decision was announced in September 2011.
Browse LNG Development – The three gas fields that make up the  Browse development—Brecknock, Calliance and Torosa—are in the Browse Basin, about 155 miles (250 km) off the far northwest coast of Western Australia. In 2010, Chevron and the other Browse LNG development participants began design evaluation for the fields.

Africa

Angola LNG Project – Chevron has a 36.4 percent interest in Angola LNG Limited, which will operate the country's first LNG plant. Construction continued throughout 2010 on the 5.2 million-metric-ton LNG plant in Soyo, Angola. Facility startup is expected in 2012.
Olokola LNG Project, Nigeria – Chevron has a 19.5 percent interest in the OKLNG Free Zone Enterprise in Nigeria. Plans have been developed to build a multitrain LNG facility and marine terminal located northwest of Escravos.
Escravos, Nigeria – Chevron is partnering with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to construct a GTL plant in Escravos, Nigeria. It will convert gas from Chevron's Escravos Gas Plant to GTL diesel fuels, GTL naphtha and liquefied petroleum gas. At the end of 2010, site construction was 53 percent complete.
Niger Delta, Nigeria – Chevron is developing several gas projects in the Niger Delta to increase gas supplies for national and regional power generation and reduce routine natural gas flaring.

Asia

Thailand – The Platong Gas II project in the Gulf of Thailand is expected to boost Thailand's domestic gas production by 10 percent. Construction on the project continued through 2010 and is scheduled to come on line in 2011.
Vietnam – The Vietnam Block B Gas Development will supply gas to utilities in southern Vietnam. A final investment decision for this offshore development is expected in 2011.
China – The Chuandongbei project is under way in China's Sichuan Basin. Upon completion, the full development will include two new sour gas processing plants and five natural gas fields with gathering systems and tie-ins to the plants.

Latin America

Delta Caribe Project, Venezuela – Chevron has been invited to participate in Venezuela's first LNG train. We hold interests in the offshore Plataforma Deltana region, which would provide the initial natural gas supply to this project.

North America and Europe

The company is adding more shale gas acreage to its portfolio, including recent acquisitions in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, western Canada and Eastern Europe. Shale gas refers to natural gas found in fine-grained sedimentary rock. Locked in very small spaces within the reservoir rock, the gas is extracted using advanced technologies that allow it to flow to production wells.
Chevron will continue to find, develop and deliver natural gas to meet the rising demand for energy.

Providing Energy for Progress

Providing Energy for Progress

The world has produced about 1 trillion barrels of oil to date. Over the next century or so, approximately 2 trillion barrels more are expected to be produced from conventional proved reserves and undiscovered conventional oil. Additional supplies will be produced by Chevron and others from unconventional oil resources, such as extra-heavy oil in Venezuela, oil sands in Alberta and shale oil in the United States.

Producing Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

With subsea wells in 7,000 feet of water, the Blind Faith Platform is Chevron's deepest offshore production facility.

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Oil has powered the world in the form of transportation fuels for more than a century, and demand is expected to grow over the long term. Global energy demand is projected to increase more than 40 percent over the next 25 years, with oil, natural gas and coal continuing to meet most of that demand.

What Chevron Is Doing

For more than 130 years, Chevron has developed some of the world's most complex crude oil fields. We have a strong position in nearly all of the world's key basins, and our extensive project portfolio provides the foundation for future growth.
We are the largest private producer of oil in Kazakhstan, the top oil and natural gas producer in Thailand, the largest oil producer in Indonesia and the top leaseholder in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
In 2010, Chevron produced 2.763 million net oil-equivalent barrels per day from operations around the world.

Developing Energy Sources Around the Globe

We have numerous major capital projects under way to bring significant new resources to global markets. Our technological capabilities play a pivotal role in making these projects successful and in producing more oil from mature fields.

Africa

In Africa, the company is exploring for and producing oil in Angola, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Republic of the Congo. Chevron is involved in several projects in different stages of development, including:
Angola – A major development program is under way to significantly increase production from the Block 0 concession, located offshore adjacent to the Cabinda coastline. This includes Mafumeira Sul, the second stage of the Mafumeira field development.
Nigeria – In 2009, the second phase of the Agbami deepwater field development offshore Nigeria was initiated. When completed, the 10-well development program is expected to sustain a maximum production rate of 250,000 barrels per day.

Asia

Chevron is exploring for or producing oil throughout Asia, including Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the Partitioned Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and Thailand. Major projects include:
Tengiz Sour Gas Injection and Second Generation Plant, Kazakhstan – This significant expansion project increased Tengizchevroil (TCO) production capacity by approximately 80 percent. Options are being evaluated for an expansion project similar in scale to this one.
Duri Field Expansion, Indonesia – Already one of the world's largest steamflood developments, the Duri Field continues to expand as projects are implemented to sustain production and increase oil recovery. The North Duri Development Area 12 expansion was completed in December 2010, and a final investment decision for Area 13 was reached in May 2010.
Wafra Field Steamflood Project, Partitioned Zone – In 2009, the second phase of a steamflood pilot project was commissioned at the Wafra Field in the Partitioned Zone. The project is designed to determine the technical and economic viability of thermal-recovery projects in the carbonate reservoir and, if successful, could significantly increase recoverability of the heavy oil.

South America

In South America, Chevron produces oil in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela.
Chevron is investing in the sustained development of the Frade and Papa-Terra deepwater fields offshore Brazil. Frade, which started producing oil in 2009, is among the larger deepwater heavy oil projects in the world. The Papa-Terra Project, now under construction, is expected to be Chevron's largest investment in Brazil.
Chevron is one of the leading private oil companies in Venezuela. In February 2010, a Chevron-led consortium was selected to participate in a heavy oil project composed of three blocks in the Orinoco Belt.

North America

Chevron's U.S. portfolio is anchored by producing assets concentrated in California, the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains and Alaska. The company was the third-largest hydrocarbon producer in the United States during 2010. Net oil-equivalent production in the United States during 2010 represented approximately one-fourth of the companywide total.
U.S. Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Projects – Chevron is one of the leading producers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Key producing assets include Tahiti and Blind Faith, the company's deepest operated offshore production facility. Two major capital projects—Jack/St. Malo and Big Foot—reached final investment decision in 2010.
California, U.S. – Chevron is No. 1 in net daily oil-equivalent production in California, with heavy oil making up about 84 percent of production. The company uses steam to increase oil recovery. Heat management is a major operational focus in the recovery of these reserves, with emphasis on improved energy efficiency.
In Canada, Chevron has interests in the Athabasca oil sands projects in Alberta, exploration and development projects offshore in the Atlantic region, and exploration and discovered resource interests in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea region of Canada's western Arctic.
Athabasca Oil Sands Expansion Project, Canada – This project achieved first production in 2010 and is expected to increase daily production capacity from oil sands to more than 255,000 barrels in early 2011.

Europe

Chevron has interests in 10 offshore producing fields in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. The company's operations in the North Sea have a track record of technological innovation, including horizontal drilling at the Captain Field, one of the first North Sea fields to use this technology.
In the United Kingdom, development activities include the Alder high-temperature, high-pressure oil and gas discovery, which is being evaluated as a potential subsea development, and the Clair Ridge project, which comprises the second phase of the nonoperated Clair Field development. A final investment decision is planned for late 2011.

Harnessing Renewable Energy for Power Generation

Harnessing Renewable Energy for Power Generation

Geothermal energy is created by the heat of the earth. It generates reliable power and emits almost no greenhouse gases.

Chevron's geothermal operations at the Salak Field in Indonesia produce steam to generate reliable power and almost no greenhouse emissions.

This is how it works: When groundwater seeps below the earth's surface near a dormant volcano, the water is heated by reservoirs of molten rock, usually at depths of up to 9,800 feet (3,000 m). Wells similar to those used to produce crude oil and natural gas are drilled to recover the water. Once captured, steam and hot water are separated. The steam is cleaned and sent to the power plant. The separated water is returned to the reservoir, helping to regenerate the steam source.
Only a small group of places around the globe provide the special conditions needed to generate geothermal energy. At these locations, deep fractures in the earth's crust allow the molten rock to surge close enough to the earth's surface to heat water underground.

What Are the Benefits?

In addition to providing clean, renewable power, geothermal energy has significant environmental advantages. Geothermal emissions contain few chemical pollutants and little waste—they consist mostly of water, which is reinjected into the earth.
Geothermal energy is a reliable source of power that can reduce the need for imported fuels for power generation. It's also renewable because it is based on a practically limitless resource—natural heat within the earth.
The electricity produced by our geothermal power operations is sold to local power grids, providing clean energy to fuel the growth of some of the most rapidly expanding economies in the world.

What Chevron Is Doing

Chevron is the world's largest producer of geothermal energy.
Chevron began geothermal operations during the 1960s in the western United States by pioneering the development of The Geysers, north of San Francisco, California. In the 1970s, two discoveries in the Philippines led to the development of the Tiwi and Makiling-Banahaw (Mak-Ban) geothermal projects on Luzon. We discovered the Salak and Darajat fields on Java in Indonesia during the 1980s and began commercial production in the 1990s.
Chevron's geothermal operations from the four projects in Indonesia and the Philippines currently have the capacity to produce 1,273 megawatts of renewable geothermal energy, enough to meet the needs of millions of people in those countries. In 2010, we began assessing prospects in both countries that could lead to more geothermal energy production.
Geothermal resources represent significant untapped energy. As Chevron continues to pursue geothermal opportunities, it is at the forefront of bringing this clean, renewable energy to our communities.