Fueling Innovation and Adoption by Sharing Data on the DOE Geothermal Data Repository Node on the National Geothermal Data System

Abstract

Data and information collaboration within the geothermal community is greatly needed. The lack of data sharing between the geosciences disciplines presents barriers to geothermal development. Geothermal market analysts describe the need for data as a main geothermal development obstacle. “The rate-limiting step for all geothermal development is proving the resource – ie, having sufficient geoscientific and exploration drilling data to be certain of a certain level of output.” (Bloomberg New Energy Finance, Q3 2012 Geothermal Market Outlook) In their Geothermal Risk Mitigation Strategies Report from 2008, Deloitte LLP identified the need for a national geothermal database to “provide developers and investors with a much-needed framework for investment evaluation,” and the need for visualization tools that would rely on that data to “reduce the inherent risk in early stages of development and encourage an independent investment market.” In order to help solve this problem, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office (DOE GTO) has developed a plan, secured funds, and is supporting the development of the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS). The NGDS is being designed as a system of distributed nodes, all in communication with one another. Each node will collect data and provide access to the collected data to the other nodes. Data generated by DOE Geothermal Technologies Office project teams is located in the DOE Geothermal Data Repository (DOE-GDR). DOE-GDR data will be registerd in the NGDS catalog enabling the DOE-GDR to become a node on the NGDS. This paper describes the motivation behind the development of the DOE-GDR, its role in the greater NGDS, the potential benefits of using the DOE-GDR to share geothermal data of all types, and DOE’s data submission process.