A puncture in a geothermal seal
More than fifteen years ago, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) was one of the first institutions in the Netherlands to come up with the idea to warm their premises…
Geothermal
Shallow geothermal energy production may soon be more important than deep geothermal energy production in the Netherlands
It is a development that is not often talked about or highlighted in the media, but data on subsurface energy production using water as a carrier clearly shows how important…
How to explain the low energy output of one of the UK’s flagship geothermal projects?
In September last year, the UK Government announced a list of renewable energy projects that qualify for a minimum price guarantee for the energy delivered to the grid. Geothermal projects…
Monitoring a geothermal motor
Following the drilling of successful exploration wells into the Kenyan Rift Valley in the 1970’s, the flagship Olkaria geothermal field has seen a steady development to a capacity of around…
Shallow geothermal energy is also thriving in the Munich area
The Munich area in the south of Germany is situated in a genuine hot spot when it comes to geothermal energy production. Karstified Upper Jurassic carbonates have already formed an…
After four years of production, what is the verdict?
Whilst drilling of Eavor’s landmark geothermal closed-loop drilling project in southern Germany has reached the deepest point this week, the company also released a report summarising the past four years…
Geothermal resources show their limits
Development of geothermal capacity in Turkey has seen a rapid increase over the past decades but has recently slowed down.
Heating a block of houses rather than a single one
Closed loop geothermal systems, with a heat pump superimposed, form a new and promising way of domestic heating systems. Hundreds of small rigs are actively drilling these loops across many…
Drilling twice as fast in basement rocks
John Gibb’s Aberdonian accent is noticeable even though he has spent many years in Houston. “I drilled many wells throughout my career”, he says, “including highly deviated development wells on…
Exploration drilling – for geothermal energy
Only a few days ago, a very interesting drilling campaign kicked off in the Netherlands, at a very prominent location close to the Ajax football stadium in Amsterdam. And while…
An order of magnitude more energy for drilling twice as deep
“What attracted me to geothermal is the fact that there are still a host of technical challenges to be addressed in order to unlock it as the ideal complement to…
The economics of geothermal pumped well power projects
Geothermal pumped well projects provide power to the grid at a contract price and terms negotiated with the power off-taker. This can vary significantly from country to country, but as…