GeoSmart - Demonstrating technologies for geothermal to enhance competitiveness in smart and flexible operation

Abstract

Soaring energy prices, geopolitical issues and securing global net zero to avert the climate crisis presents exciting opportunities for the vast, yet largely untapped geothermal energy. As geothermal installations are foreseen to become significant energy resources with the evolution of the energy market, there is a growing impetus for a strategic move towards flexibility of geothermal facilities. The geothermal power plants are currently engineered as baseload producers due to techno-economic challenges associated with the limitations to regulate geothermal wells without challenging the integrity of the various plant components. The GeoSmart [1] project (funded by European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agreement 818576), proposes innovations that combine thermal energy storages with flexible Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) solutions to provide highly flexible operational capabilities for geothermal installations. The GeoSmart thermal energy storage system will enable the daily flexibility to provide buffered supply against stochastic and ‘duck curve’ peaks and ramping needs while the hybrid cooling system for the ORC for continued performance efficiency despite the seasonal variations. The project also addresses the challenges associated with silica scaling and deposition on the reinjection wells - a limiting constraint for geothermal plants to fully utilise the thermal energy of a well- by developing a scaling reduction system that will allow higher utilisation of energy from the fluid streams. These innovations will be demonstrated in working geothermal plants, meeting the different flexibility needs of low-enthalpy (Insheim, Germany) and high-enthalpy (Zorlu, Turkey) combined heat and power provision. This paper will summarise the innovations developed in GeoSmart project and provide insight into the possibility of adoption of these innovations in geothermal power plants around the world.


REFERENCES
1. https://www.geosmartproject.eu/