Green Pipelines - Is Sustainable Geothermal Development in Natural Forest Areas Just a Pipe Dream?

Abstract

By their nature, many geothermal resources are located in natural forest areas. Geothermal developers are often faced with a conundrum – how can they develop a resource in a way that strikes a sustainable balance between the competing social, economic and environmental pressures which are always at play in such situations? Careful planning, design and contractual incentives can help to construct geothermal pipelines in ways that minimise impacts on the environment during construction and operation. SKM has designed geothermal pipelines throughout the world including locations where these issues of sustainability have been successfully confronted. This paper discusses SKM’s recent experience in such methodologies and reviews similar experiences by others across different geographies.