Estimated Power Generation Costs for EGS

Abstract

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office has developed a model that provides representative cost and performance estimates for the generation of power from geothermal resources. This model, Geothermal Electricity Technology Evaluation Model (GETEM), was originally developed to evaluate the generation costs from hydrothermal resources and to provide a means of assessing how technology improvements could impact those costs. Recent modifications to the model have focused on incorporating the costs associated with developing geothermal resources that utilize EGS technologies for power production. This paper provides an overview of both those changes to GETEM, and the EGS resource scenarios that the DOE is using in its assessment of the impact of technology on future generation costs. The basis for the EGS specific scenarios is discussed along with a summary of the estimated costs and levelized-cost-of-electricity (LCOE) for the EGS scenarios being considered.