DOE Real-Time Seismic Monitoring at Enhanced Geothermal System Sites

Abstract

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) at the direction of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies EGS Program is installing, operating, and/or interfacing seismic arrays at multiple Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) sites. The overall goal is to gather high resolution seismicity data before, during and after stimulation activities at the EGS projects. This will include both surface and borehole deployments (as necessary in available boreholes) to provide high quality seismic data for improved processing and interpretation methodologies. This will allow the development and testing of seismic methods for understanding the performance of the EGS systems, as well as aid in developing induced seismicity mitigation techniques that can be used for a variety of EGS systems in the future. Current sites include Desert Peak and Brady’s Hot Springs, Nevada, the NW Geysers project, as well as the entire Geysers area, Raft River, Idaho, Brady’s Hot Springs, Nevada, New York Canyon, Nevada and Newberry Caldera in Oregon. Additional sites will be instrumented as DOE adds projects. Reported are the current status and results from the initial injections and how the public can access the data.