IGA NEWS
Newsletter of the International Geothermal Association
Quarterly No. 105

IGA ACTIVITIES
Message from the President
Dear IGA members,

I finish the term of my Presidency at the end of
October this year, so this is my last newsletter as
IGA President.
I have greatly enjoyed having input to guiding the
IGA forward over the last three years, working
with the Secretariat, and with the Board. I reallyappreciate the support I have received and thelessons I have learned from so many people.
Working with the Executive Director, Marietta
Sander and her assistant Karolina Andersson has
been particularly positive. Marietta has lead the
IGA on the international stage and establishedhigh-level connections necessary to ensure that thegeothermal industry has the notice of decisionmakers worldwide. Thus it is with great regret that
the IGA announces that Marietta is resigning her
post as Executive Director. The IGA is grateful toMarietta for all her hard work in the last six years,
and hope that she will maintain a connection withthe geothermal industry.
I want to thank Contact Energy Ltd and the New
Zealand Geothermal Association for their supportof my participation in the IGA.
The partners of Board members deserve special
mention for tolerating the demands the IGA has
made on their lives. I especially thank Maria de losAngeles Bernal Davila, for her friendship; Maria,
let’s ensure it continues.
Finally, words cannot express how much I
appreciate the support of IGA Past President
Roland Horne, who provided me thoughtful
insights and advice. Thank you Roland.
In November I will be taking up an appointment as
the Director of the Iceland School of Energy,
Reykjavik University. I am proud and privileged tohave had the opportunity to work with friends andcolleagues at Wairakei for the past five years. I canhonestly say that it is hard to leave.
www.geothermal-energy.org

1

CONTENTS
IGA ACTIVITIES
Message from the President... 1
New IGA Board of Directors 2013-2016… 3
Latin American Symposium at GeoTHERM… 4
IGA Executive Director Vacancy for 2017… 4
New Geothermal Specifications Approved… 4
The IGA in the European Geothermal Congress… 6

AFRICA
Ethiopia… 6
Kenya & Uganda… 8

AMERICAS
Canada & Caribbean… 9Central America & Costa Rica… 11
El Salvador & Honduras… 12
Mexico… 13
Nicaragua… 14
United States… 15

ASIA / PACIFIC RIM
China & Djobouti… 18
United Arab Emirates & Indonesia… 19
Japan… 22
Malaysia & Philippines… 24
Taiwan... 25

EUROPEThe Projects of Horizon 2020… 25
Highlights of the EGC 216… 31
Germany… 32
Iceland & Italy… 33
The Netherlands… 34
Poland & Sweden… 35
Turkey… 36

OCEANIA
Australia… 37
Fiji & New Zealand… 38

OTHER
Climate Change: The Paris Agreement… 39
Climate Change: The Ozone Layer… 40
Technology: New Zeolitic Cement… 40
Technology: Downhole Hammer… 41
Science: Earthquakes in San Andreas and India… 42
Science: Mantle Heat Convection… 43
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

2

I have just returned from the recent European
Geothermal Congress in Strasbourg. I and two othermembers of the WING Global Team were supported
by Nalco Water, to attend the Congress to promote
gender equality in the European geothermal industry.
Using the IGA booth at the Exhibition as a base, we
continued the WING membership drive, surveyed
congress attendees about gender equality in thegeothermal industry, spoke about the history of womenin the New Zealand geothermal industry, and about the‘WING
RoadmaptoIceland2020.’(www.womeningeothermal.com). It is heartening to seethat the IGA membership are open to promoting
diversity, demonstrated by their strong support of

Women in Geothermal (WING). We thank all those
who people who gave us their time and attention.
The new IGA Board for 2016 to 2019 will meet for the
first time in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Board has
seven women members (which includes myself as Past
President) which is the highest number ever for an IGA
Board. This prompted me to investigate the numbers of
women directors on IGA Board since 1988 (the start of
the IGA). The results presented in Figure 1 show thatthe number of women on the IGA Board increased to
six in 2004, but has then been variable between four andfive, and now is back up to seven. From 2010 to the endof this year, the IGA has also had a women Executive
Director, who participates in Board meetings, which I

Figure 1. Number of women on the IGA Board, 1988 to 2016.

Figure 2. 2013 – 2016 IGA Board at the Harpa Conference Centre, Reykjavik, Iceland, April 2016.
www.geothermal-energy.org

October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
have included as a separate dataset. I thank Arni
Ragnarsson for providing the data.
It would be encouraging to see this data for Boards ofnational geothermal associations presented in a World
Geothermal Congress session on women in thegeothermal industry. This is a relevant topic, with anincreasing number of organisations are acknowledging
that greater board diversity (including gender diversity)
has a positive effect on performance. My message towomen in the geothermal industry is – represent yourindustry on the Board of your national geothermal
association.
Finally, I want to congratulate Professor Ruggero
Bertani on his election to President of the European
Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC). We look forward
to an era of continued co-operation between the IGA
and EGEC.
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa (Best wishes to you all),and Sjáumst fljótlega (See you soon).

Juliet Newson, PresidentInternational Geothermal Association

New IGA Board of Directors
2013-2016
Marietta Sander, IGA Executive
Director, & Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín,
Chair of the Information Committee
The new IGA Board of Directors (BoD) for the period
2016-2019 has been elected. In May 2016, the IGA
Secretariat sent out personal e-mails to all members withvoting rights informing them about the election
procedures and individual voting passwords for the
IGA online voting platform.
The election was also announced in the last IGA NewsNo. 103 in early April 2016 and on the IGA website.
The voting platform was open from 20 May until 19
July 2016. All votes were processed by the IGA IT
administrator at the Secretariat. The number of eligible
voters was 4,650 IGA members, out of which 1,394
valid votes were received. That represents aparticipation of 30%, which is still low but higher thanthe participation in the previous election in 2013, when
only 880 members cast their votes—out of a total of
5212 members (17%).
Geographically, most votes came from the national
associations in the U.S. (159 votes or 11% of the total),Indonesia (146, or 10.5%), Philippines (140, or 10%),New Zealand (139, or 10%) and Iceland (96, or 6.9%).
www.geothermal-energy.org

3
Members from these five countries cast almost a half
(48.7%) of the total. Not all of them participated themost, however, when we consider what percentage of
their total membership participated in the election.
From this viewpoint, the most involved in the election
were the national associations of Hungary (Hungarian
Geothermal Association) with 76%, Iran (70%), Japanand Poland (58% each), Iceland (53%), Romania andRussia (50% each) and Italy (49%).
The IGA President approved the results and thecandidates were notified. The following table shows thenames and countries of the members of the new Boardfor 2013-2016.
Bjarnason, Bjarni*
IcelandBlair, Andy*
New Zealand
Bracke, Rolf
Germany
Brophy, PaulUSA
Brotheridge, Jane*
New Zealand
Capuano, Jr, Louis*
USA
Darma, Surya*
Indonesia
Della Vedova, Bruno
Italy
Fronda, Ariel D.*
Philippines
Genter, Albert
FranceGeorgsson, Ludvik S.
IcelandHarvey, Colin*
New ZealandIzquierdo-Montalvo, Georgina* Mexico
Kepinska, Beata
PolandMatthíasdóttir, Kristín Vala*
Iceland
Meier, Peter*
Switzerland
Morata, Diego*
Chile
Moya, Paul*
Costa Rica
Newson, Juliet**
New Zealand
Omenda, Peter*
Kenya
Poernomo, Abadi
Indonesia
Richter, Alexander
Iceland
Rueter, Horst*
Germany
Sabin, Andrew*
USA
Salonga, Noel*Philippines
Svalova, Valentina*
RussiaSzita, Gábor*Hungary
Uchida, Toshihiro
Japan
Verdoya, Massimo*
Italy
Yamada, Shigeto
Japan
Zarrouk, Sadiq
New Zealand*First term. **President 2013-2016, Member exoficio.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
After the election of the new board, an internal election
took place among its members to define the President,
Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. By the time ofclosing this edition, Alexander Richter, from Iceland,has been elected as the new President for the term
2016-2019, being in process the election of the otherofficers. Our best wishes to Alex and all the new
officers.

Latin America Symposium by
IGA and IEA Geothermal at
the Next GeoTHERM
On 14-15 February 2017, the IGA partners with theInternational Energy Agency - Geothermal Technology
Collaboration Programme (IEA Geothermal TCP) andthe Exhibition Centre Offenburg to offer a Latin
America Symposium with distinguished Latin Americanand international experts. The Symposium is to be held
one day prior to the GeoTHERM 2017 – Expo &Congress, which officially opens in the morning ofWednesday, 15 February 2017.
Insights into the Latin American geothermal market,
resources, research activities, risk mitigation
mechanisms and technology transfer opportunities will
be provided at the Symposium. The dialogue on

4
Tuesday, 14 February will lead to a late afternoon gettogether at the fair where guests are invited to meet
Latin American and other German/international
colleagues. Registration for both events is very
affordable and managed by the Exhibition Centre
Offenburg:
www.geotherm-germany.com/en/registration.
The IGA also plans to offer a matchmaking event
during the GeoTHERM - Expo & Congress where
Latin American representatives can meet with German
companies who provide geothermal services andproducts.
Under the auspices of the International Energy Agency,
the IEA Geothermal TCP provides an excellent
framework for international cooperation, sharing thelatest technical and policy developments. IEA
Geothermal promotes the sustainable use of geothermalenergy worldwide through its website, country andstatistical reports, workshops, seminars, publications
and by personal networking. Through high quality
information, widely communicated, IEA Geothermal
contributes to the mitigation of climate change and thedevelopment of geothermal technology worldwide.
Participants in IEA Geothermal benefit by integratinginternational developments in the market,research, andpolicy strategies. IEA Geothermal was established in
1997 and includes 13 countries, the EU commission,
one geothermal association and one enterprise. It is
open to new members.

IGA Executive Director –Vacancy from 2017
The International Geothermal Association is seeking for
a new IGA - Executive Director from beginning of
2017. The position is based at the IGA Secretariat in
Bochum, Germany. A vacancy announcement for thismultifaceted task for a well experienced networking
professional from the geothermal community will be
published shortly by the Bochum University of Applied
Sciences and the GZB – International Geothermal
Centre, on the IGA Website.
For further information please contact GZB-Director
Rolf Bracke: rolf.bracke@hs-bochum.de.

New Geothermal
Specifications Approved by
the UNECE
In late September, the UNECE (United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe) Committee on
Sustainable Energy approved the document
ECE/ENERGY/2016/5 – Specifications for the applicationof United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Energy
www.geothermal-energy.org

October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
and Mineral Resources and Reserves (UNFC-2009) togeothermal energy resources. The UNFC-2009 is applicable toall extractive activities worldwide and now also
renewable energy and injection projects. It is developedby the UNECE Expert Group on Resource
Classification. The IGA is represented in the Expert
Group and its Bureau. The Expert Group provides aforum for stakeholders, including governments,
industry, the financial reporting sector, internationalorganizations and professional societies andassociations, to assist in defining the needs to be met by
the classification, its definitions, specifications andguidelines, and a vehicle for recommending theirapplication. The work on application of UNFC torenewable energy resources is undertaken by a dedicatedTask Force of the Expert Group. The Task Force hasdeveloped generic specifications for applying UNFC torenewables and is now focusing on the development of
renewable commodity-specific specifications, including
for bioenergy, hydropower, solar and wind.
Following is the press release produced by IGA andUNECE.

UNFC is now applicable to geothermal energy
resources
Geothermal energy could play a significant role inensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable andmodern energy for all, but production today is only at
7% of the estimated global potential. Geothermalenergy exists in almost 90 countries, but only 24 ofthem produce electricity from geothermal sources. In
2011 the International Energy Agency (IEA) produced aTechnology Roadmap for Geothermal Heat and Power
that showed that the world could increase production ofheat and electricity from geothermal energy at least 10fold by 2050. Geothermal energy’s potential as a viableenergy option with global scale has been constrained todate by a lack of clear global assessment guidelines andstandards.
Now, however, a globally-applicable, harmonized
standard for reporting geothermal resources has become
operational. At its 25th session on 30 September 2016,
the UNECE Committee on Sustainable Energy
approved the Specifications for Application of theUnited Nations Framework for Fossil Energy andMineral Reserves and Resources 2009 (UNFC) to
Geothermal Energy Resources.
The Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of
UNECE, Scott Foster, noted “The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development has just celebrated its firstanniversary. Application of UNFC to renewable energy
resources is a priority for our member States, andinclusion of geothermal energy in UNFC will help toattain Sustainable Development Goal #7 by improving
www.geothermal-energy.org

5

UPCOMING EVENTS
5th Polish Geothermal Congress
11-14 October 2016, Mszczonow, Poland
Held by the Polish Geothermal Society (Mainly
in Polish)
40th GRC Annual Meeting & GEA Geothermal
Energy Expo
23-26 Oct 2016, Sacramento, California, U.S.
6th African Rift Geothermal Conference(ARGeo-C6)
2-4 Nov 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
38th New Zealand Geothermal Workshop
23-25 Nov 2016, Auckland, New ZealandGerman Geothermal Congress (DGK 2016)29 Nov-1 Dec 2016, Essen, Germany
42nd Stanford Geothermal Workshop
13-14 Feb 2017, Stanford, California, U.S.
GeoTHERM 2017 Expo & Congress
15-16 February 2017, Offenburg, Germany
8th European Geothermal PhD Days
1-3 March 2016, Bochum, Germany
Note: Please check the IGA website for more
events.
the positioning of geothermal within the policy andinvestment communities.”
Having an international system and a standardized
terminology for reporting geothermal resources willbuild trust and understanding of the geothermal
industry with investors, regulators and the general publicalike. The work to develop the UNFC geothermal
specifications was carried out under UNECE’s
Memorandum of Understanding with the International
Geothermal Association (IGA). UNFC is applicable toall extractive activities, renewable energy and injection
projects.
The President of IGA, Juliet Newson, stated “The IGA
aims to encourage, facilitate and, when appropriate,
promote the coordination of activities related toworldwide research, development and application ofgeothermal resources. In a manner consistent with theaim of the IGA, and led by Professor Gioia Falcone, theUNFC Geothermal Working Group of the IGA
Resources and Reserves Committee has now produced aset of Specifications for classifying, comparing andreporting estimates of geothermal potential, resources
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
and reserves. The Specifications will now be maintained
through regular review, through a transparent
governance structure, and process, that allows input
from all stakeholders. On behalf of the IGA, I thankProfessor Falcone, and all stakeholders andcollaborators involved in the development of theSpecifications. In particular, I want to extend our thanks
to the Chair of the IGA Resources and Reserves
Committee, Dr. Graeme Beardsmore, for his dedicationand hard work.”
Achieving a successful sustainable development agenda
requires partnerships between governments, the private
sector and civil society, as called for in SDG17“Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable
development”. Professor Gioia Falcone underlined“This work has only been possible due to productive
partnerships with all stakeholders. In particular, thecollaboration with IGA as the international geothermalumbrella has proven to be of strategic relevance,
allowing for a high degree of interaction andengagement with the World Bank-ESMAP, IRENA,
IEA-GIA, US DOE, GEA, GRC, EGEC, UGI, andmore. After only 20 months from the appointment of a
12-person Working Group of volunteers to draft thegeothermal specifications from scratch, we are pleased
to see them becoming operational.”
For further information about UNECE, UNFC and
IGA, please consult the respective websites:
http://www.unece.org,
http://www.unece.org/ie/se/reserves.html
andhttp://www.geothermal-energy.org.
Source. Press Release

6

The IGA in the European
Geothermal Congress 2016
The European Geothermal Congress 2016 (EGC2106)
was held in Strasbourg, France, on September 19-23 (seeseparate note in the Europe section). The IGA offered aseries of international coffee break talks at the IGA
booth in this congress. Topics covered:
1. Roadmap to Iceland, 2020: WING (Women in
Geothermal) Five Year Targets, by Abbie Dean.
2. Her-story: Women in the New Zealand Geothermal
Industry, by Juliet Newson.
3. The Rittershofen Geothermal Success Story in theUpper Rhine Valley, by Albert Genter.
4. Waste not, Want not: Cascade Systems, Every Degree
Used, by Helen Robinson.
Also in the frame of this congress, on 22 September the
IGA launched the new book Geothermal Exploration- Global Strategies and Applications. It introduces
the subject of geothermal energy and its development
around the world and was written by Colin Harvey,
Graeme Beardsmore, Inga Moeck and Horst Rüter (seeIGA News 104, pp. 5-6).
The book defines a series of 'geothermal play types'
based on geological setting and presents strategies andmethodologies appropriate for each play type to move ageothermal exploration program to the stage ofcommitting to exploration drilling. The methodologies
includepermitting,environmental,
geology,geochemistry, geophysics and remote sensing
techniques used throughout the world for specific playtypes. The book covers a large
numberofgeoscientifictechniques and focuses on theirapplications to both convective
and conductive geothermal
systems,
withextensivereference to the international
literature. It can be purchased
online at a price of €55.64(including tax and shipping),
via: https://www.geothermalenergy.org/iga-shop/.

AFRICA

Abbie Dean talks about the WING targets for 2020 at the IGA booth in the EGC
2016. Photo by Juliet Newson.
www.geothermal-energy.org

Ethiopia: New
Bill, Exploration
Activities,
Agreement with
Toshiba
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
New Bill on Geothermal Resources - In late July, theEthiopian Parliament approved a bill on geothermal
resources that exempts royalty payments for companies
engaged in geothermal exploration and development in
the country. The Parliament, which was dissolved on 8 thJuly 2016, was summoned for an urgent session andunanimously approved a number of bills, including the‘Geothermal Resources Development Proclamation 2016’.
Before the new bill, geothermal resources wereconsidered as any other extractable mineral resource,with no consideration to the peculiar characteristics ofthis energy source. It was governed by legislation
designed for other minerals. Investment in geothermal
resource development was subjected to Mining
Proclamation No. 52/1993 and administered by thethen Ministry of Mines and Energy (MoME).
Under the new bill, geothermal resources are classified
under the renewable-energy resources category that also
includes solar, wind and water resources, and falls under
the administration of the Ministry of Water, Irrigationand Energy (MoWIE).

7
physical infrastructure or buffer areas for thetransmission of electricity or other infrastructure—among other uses.
The government plans to raise the country’s electric
power to 17,000 MW from the existing 4,000 MW by2020 –when the second Growth and Transformation
Plan (GTP-II) is concluded. Ethiopia, with thepotential to produce 50 GW from hydropower, 1300
GW from wind farms and 10 GW from geothermal
power, has ambitions to be an East African power hub.
And though it started the exploration of geothermal
power in 1969, the country lags way behind neighboring
Kenya and other African countries in developing its
geothermal resources.
Source:http://allafrica.com/stories/201608030493.html

The resource is abundant throughout the country’s Rift
Valley region. Though Ethiopia can generate as much as
10,000 MW of electricity from geothermal resources, it
has thus far utilized just 7 MW from the Aluto-Langano
plant.
Ethiopia has made plans to develop geothermal
resources along the Rift Valley. However most remainof them remain unrealized with the exception of theCorbetti geothermal development project. The
Ethiopian government signed a deal in 2015, during thehistoric visit of U.S. President Barak Obama, topurchase electricity generated from Corbetti,
approximately 240 km south of Addis Ababa, with the
US-Icelandic firm, Reykjavik Geothermal, which wasgoing to invest a total of four billion US dollars todevelop the site.
The risky nature of developing geothermal resources has
also been taken into consideration in exempting it fromroyalty payments. Moreover, the market limitation forenergy generated from geothermal plants gave impetus
to the government to create a tailored legislative
framework for geothermal energy generation. This
policy shift from the government to utilize geothermal
resources as a secondary focal point, followinghydropower generationin the coming years, has also led
to creating a legal environment conducive toencouraging private companies to actively participate.
The government will issue licenses for reconnaissance,
exploration, development and use of geothermal
resources to companies that fulfil the requirements
according to the proclamation. The areas excluded arereserved for cemeteries, religious sites, nationalmonuments or archaeological remains, national parks,
www.geothermal-energy.org

Fumarole in a ravine within the Corbetti Caldera. Photo
credit: Nena Terrell, USAID Ethiopia.
Exploration Drilling to Start in Three Geothermal
Areas - In other news, by late August it was unveiled
that preparations are underway to begin drilling 12
geothermal wells at Airobera, Alelobeda and Dubti in
the Afar Regional State, according to the Geological
Survey of Ethiopia (GSE). Tamiru Mersha,
Communication Director at GSE, said well drilling foran expected development up to 325 MW will begin thisEthiopian budget year. According to him, six wells will
be drilled at Airobera and Alelobeda with the financial
and technical assistance of Geothermal Risk
Management Fund (GRMF) and the government ofJapan. Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) and the
Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) will jointly drill
the remaining six wells at Dubti using €16.4 million
obtained from the African Development Bank (AfDB),
he added.
Source:http://www.fanabc.com/english/index.php/news/item
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105/6775-preparations-underway-to-drill-12-geothermalwells
EEP & Toshiba Partnership on Geothermal
Development - Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) has
signed a deal with the Japanese Toshiba Corporation for
a comprehensive partnership in geothermal power thatwill see the parties collaborate in power generation
projects and personnel development. EEP is a publicly
owned utility, engaged in the development ofgeothermal resources and the construction of power
plants. Through the partnership, Toshiba will draw on
its long-standing experience and expertise in geothermal
systems to contribute to projects in Ethiopia. The
company will, more specifically, develop andmanufacture major equipment, create operation andmanagement guidelines, co-operate in personnel
development and start a waste-heat utilization business.
Source: http://www.4-traders.com/TOSHIBA-CORP6493713/news/Toshiba-signs-geothermal-powergeneration-deal-in-Ethiopia-23055286/

Kenya: Development in
Suswa, Funds for Drilling Rigs
Imminent Development of Suswa - Thegovernmental Geothermal Development Company(GDC) soon will start developing geothermal fields in
Suswa. In a new business model, GDC will explore anddevelop the steam fields, while private companies willcompete for licenses to build the power plants. GDC
managing director Johnson ole Nchoe said they expect
to get requisite funding and the necessary approvals in
the coming months. “We have already finalized on the
exploration side. Our scientist tells us the site could
inject between 600-1,000 MW to the national grid,” hesaid. Nchoe said the Italian government has pledged tofund the project. GDC has already received Sh51 billion(US$443 million) in loans and grants. The Suswa
Geothermal Project is situated at the intersection of
Narok, Kajiado and Nakuru counties. The project has
an estimated potential of 750 MW. GDC has alreadyobtained an EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment)
license for the project and community engagement hascommenced. Phase I will develop 150MW.
Sources: http://www.thestar.co.ke/news/2016/08/12/gdc-to-developgeothermal-fields-in-suswa_c1402183,
http://www.gdc.co.ke/suswa.html
Funds from the ADB for GDC to Buy Drilling Rigs
- The African Development Bank will lend US$60
million to finance a geothermal power project in Kenya.
The funds will go to state-owned Geothermal
Development Co. (GDC) to buy three drilling rigs,
according to Gabriel Negatu, regional director at the
Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based financial institution.
www.geothermal-energy.org

8
Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-0922/kenyan-geothermal-gets-60-million-from-africandevelopment-bank

Uganda: Company and a New
Agreement to Boost
Geothermal Development
Sustenersol - Sustenersol Uganda Limited is a ‘specificproject vehicle’ (SPV) and an independent producerlimited liability company, registered in Uganda on April
2015. It is in charge of developing small and minihydropower and geothermal power resources. Ralph
K.B. Nyakabwa-Atwoki is its Technical Director. In a
recent interview with ESI Africa, he stated important
opinions. Some of them follow.
- Sustenersol is currently carrying out a prefeasibility
study for developing a mini-hydropower station on the
Aringa River and a geothermal power plant in the Nebbi
District, both in northern Uganda.
- Successful stories for East Africa developers to copy inorder to develop their geothermal resources, include theso-called ‘Kenyan Model’ of development using the
National Resources (Government) for a complete cycle,
i.e. from exploration to construction, commissioning tooperation and any modifications. Another successfulmodel is simply granting the geothermal site
concessions to interested local or international
developers, which has worked miracles for many
countries, especially those with good polices andregulatory framework regimes. Ormat’s geothermal
plants in Kenya and elsewhere are good examples.
- Geothermal energy will be a real game changer if all
the regional members include geothermal energy in therespective energy mixes while implementing ‘Power
Visions 2030, 2040’ targets. Using today’s technologies,
Eastern Africa has the potential to generate about
2,500-6,500 MW of energy from geothermal power.
- “I am a believer of regionally integrated, geothermal
development as a means of addressing energy resource
development imbalances across Africa, overcoming
national financial and associated risks, investors’
reluctances to invest in capital intensive exploration
projects, optimizing regional and international facilities
in addition to triggering private investments andprotection; and curing chronic poverty, environmental
destruction and responses to the impacts of climatechange that greatly affect African economies andattendant climate risk management and adaptation.”
Source: https://www.esi-africa.com/features/exclusiveinterview-ralph-k-b-nyakabwa-atwoki-technical-directorsustnersol-uganda/
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
MEMD-Toshiba Agreeement - For its part, Toshiba
Corporation has signed a MOU with Uganda’s Ministryof Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) creating
a comprehensive partnership in geothermal power. The
agreement will see the parties collaborate in power
generation projects, including personnel development.
Toshiba will collaborate in the development and supplyof major equipment for a geothermal power plant,
create operation and management guidelines andcooperate in personnel development, the statement said.
“We are very confident that the Government of Uganda
and Toshiba will create a strong Public-PrivatePartnership to develop geothermal energy resources”,
said Fred Kabagambe-Kaliisa, Permanent Secretary at
the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, at thesigning ceremony.
Toyoaki Fujita, Business Development Executive ofToshiba’s Energy Systems & Solutions Company, said,“We hope to build a strong partnership with Uganda
and to contribute to the development of sustainable
power supply there. Toshiba’s Energy Systems &Solutions Company is a world leader in geothermal
power generation, and I believe that our establishedexpertise can contribute to the geothermal power supply
in Uganda.”
Uganda, lying west of the Great Rift Valley, has a richgeothermal potential, equivalent to 500 megawatts.
Currently, about 60% of power generation capacity isfrom hydroelectric power, and the country has longpromoted construction of hydro power plants.
Source:http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/14338
56/toshiba-corporation-invest-uganda-geothermalpower#sthash.AieyGHdY.dpuf

AMERICAS
Canada: Carbon-Converting
Technology that Uses
Geothermal HeatTeam CleanCarbon Energy is a Canadian company
based in Calgary, Alberta, that announced recently its
participation in the US$20 million NRG COSIA Carbon
XPRIZE, a contest challenging teams to develop
breakthrough technologies that convert the most CO2
into products with the highest net value. The company
has developed carbon-converting technologies using
geothermal energy with a laboratory team at Alberta’s
Olds College Centre for Innovation.
“Our team has substantial experience in energy
production, drilling and completions, petrochemicals
and carbon conversion with two patents pending thatwww.geothermal-energy.org

9can enable the large scale conversion of greenhouse gas
emissions to value-added products,” said Jane Bouey,
theteamprojectmanager.
The
twopatents arethe
Downhole
Flexfuel
Gasifier andthe
DualCycle
Geobioreactor,
and bothconvertcarbondioxide into
Jane Bouey (Source: CleanCarbon
biomass
Energy).
usedtoproducesustainable fuels, power and chemicals.
“Recent explorations into deep-sea environments haveuncovered natural processes of carbon dioxide fixation
without the need for sunlight. Team CleanCarbon
Energy’s technology combines these natural processes
with geothermal energy available within the Earth’s
subsurface to convert carbon dioxide to a high volume
of biomass,” added team leader Craig Pichach. “Thecomplete process occurs without the need for fresh
water or a substantial surface footprint,” said Pichach.
CleanCarbon Energy is an Alberta company formed in2016 to commercialize the mentioned patented
processes. Its mission is to enable the profitableproduction of sustainable fuels, power and chemicals
from underutilized biomass and carbon dioxide by using
our advanced proprietary technologies.
Forty-seven teams from seven countries have entered
the Carbon X Prize contest and the road to winning the
top prize is a long one. Judging is currently in the firstround with semi-finalists to be announced by 15
October 2016. The final demonstrations and testinground will begin in 2017, with the winners announced at
an awards ceremony in March 2020.
Sources:
http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/07/31/calgary-teamguns-for-carbon-x-prize,
http://www.cleancarbon.energy/?p=5612

Caribbean: Exploration in
Antigua and Barbuda,
Agreement in Dominica
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
The government of Antigua and Barbuda is partneringwith the Texas-based private company, Thermal Energy
Partners (TEP), to prospect for geothermal energy inthe southwestern part of the country. The Prime
Minister, Gaston Browne, has been authorized to sign a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with thecompany, which would drill wells up to two miles deep
(3200 m). TEP said that a geothermal power plant in the
country could produce 10 megawatts of electricity,which would be cheaper than solar power. The
company has received funding from U.S. Governmental
agencies to undertake the mapping needed to determine
where the hot rocks can be found in a place like Antiguathat has no steam vents or other surface manifestations.
According to the Prime Minister, “This project will see
the investment of about US$55 million…” In his
remarks, Daniel Pfeffer, President of TEP, said thefounding of the project “…is not coming from thegovernment of Antigua & Barbuda; we will bring thefinancing for the entire project including the
exploration.” Browne added that the government wasworking on “innovative” strategies to come up with the
US$50 million to fund the project if they choose to or if
it becomes necessary.
Almost immediately after the announcement, a regional
environmentalist urged the public to push forconsultation before embracing the technology. The
former attorney general of Dominica, Bernard Wiltshire,
said the project implies the risk of taking production ofenergy out of the public’s control. “It is extremely
expensive, and its puts your electricity firmly in thehands of foreign multinational companies. There areother forms of renewable energy that we can use that
put the power directly in the hands of the people,” he
said.

10
implementation timeframe of 2016 to 2019. It will
include:• Technical advice for the front end engineering anddesign;• Project management support to help progress the
Project through tendering and award of contracts sothat construction can commence;• An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment,
Management Plan and Management System; and• A project manager, to be seconded into the Dominica
Geothermal Company to coordinate all activities to
execute the Project for a period of up to 24 months
once the EPC contract has been signed, commencing in2017 and concluding in 2019.
The assistance from the Government of New Zealand
will provide the Government of Dominica with thetechnical expertise required to realize the constructionof the 7MW geothermal power plant to becommissioned in 2019.
Source:http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/economy-development/new-zealand-invests-indominicas-exploration-of-geothermal-energy/

Sources: http://antiguaobserver.com/geothermalenergy-exploration-on-antigua/,
http://antiguaobserver.com/govts-plan-for-geothermalenergy-draws-concerns/
Geothermal Agreement Dominica-New Zealand The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica
and the Government of New Zealand expanded theircooperation in geothermal energy development with thesigning of a NZ$ 2.05 million (US$ 1.5 million)
Partnership Agreement to support the construction of a
7MW geothermal power plant in Dominica. The
agreement was signed in September between the
Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Francine Baron of
Dominica and Murray McCully of New Zealand.
Since 2014, the Government of New Zealand has been
providing the Government of Dominica with Technical
Assistance for the development of Dominica’s
geothermal resources. The new Partnership will expand
the technical assistance and be based on an
www.geothermal-energy.org

Foreign Minister Baron with New Zealand’s Murray
McCully (Photo by Dominica News Online).

Previously, the Dominica’s Prime Minister stated in late
July that the government will establish a company (SPV:Special Purpose Vehicle) to build a 7MW geothermal
plant in two stages of 3.5 MW each. Over US$ 46
million will be allocated to cover the project costs
during a two year period. The Minister for Energy, Ian
Douglas, stated that “We have tremendous technicalassistance from consultants around the world. The New
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
Zealand Government continues to work with us and(…) the Clinton Climate Initiative who worked with us
in the past provided legal consultants…” He added thatthe power will be sold to the power utility DOMLEC ata reasonable price, “because if the price of electricity
from geothermal energy is more than the consumer canafford then you have defeated the purpose ofgeothermal development.”
The Prime Minister also explained that that once theplant is operational the services of a qualified operationand maintenance contractor will be secured.
The geothermal development bill will establish the legal
framework for the development of geothermal energy in
Dominica and will be submitted to parliament at its firstsitting after the budget.
Source: http://news.gov.dm/index.php/news/3835government-to-construct-domestic-geothermal-plant

Central America: Insights in a
Recent ECLAC Report
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean (ECLAC; CEPAL, Spanish for Comisión
Económica para América Latina y el Caribe), released inAugust the report entitled ‘Statistics of Electricity
Production by Countries in the Central American
Integration System (SICA)’. This document contains
statistical data on the electrical industry –mainly on the
production of electricity within the Central American
Integration System (SICA, its Spanish acronym). The
SICA sub-region is comprised of eight countries: Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama, Belize and the Dominican Republic. The firstsix countries have been grouped under SIEPAC(Electrical Interconnection System for Central American
Countries), the first regional electricity market
established in the Americas.

11
produced in Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador andNicaragua represented 11%. The other renewablesources were: hydropower (68%), cogeneration in sugar
mills (11%), wind (9%), and wind and biogas (1%). The
full document (in Spanish) can be accessed from:http://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/4
0325/1/S1600761_es.pdf.

Costa Rica: Agreement withJapan, 100% Renewable
EnergyAgreement of Understanding with Japan - In lateAugust, the governments of Costa Rica and Japansigned an agreement of understanding regarding thefinancing for three geothermal power projects. The
agreement includes the construction program, theinvestment scheme and the procurement plan, among
other technical, legal, environmental and financial issues.
According to local press, “The sectorial loan forgeothermal energy, approved in yen by JICA, is
composed of three parts, whose approximate amounts
are $167 million for Las Pailas II (which is already underconstruction), and another $234 million for Borinquen I
and $157 million for Borinquen II which have not yet
been handed over.” It was also unveiled that the funds
JICA is providing for ICE are being awarded with a 40year term and fixed interest rate of 0.6%. JICA and theICE will sign the loan agreement in February 2017 after
an assessment mission visits Costa Rica in December.
Borinquen I and II will have a 55MW power plant each.
Borinquen I is planned to start operation in 2023 andBorinquen II in 2025.
Source:http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/

According to the report, the 2015 production ofelectricity in the eight SICA countries amounted
to 64,076 GWh, an amount that has been broken
down into the following percentage shares: The
Dominican Republic (23.3%); Costa Rica
(16.7%); Guatemala (16.1%); Panama (14.8%);
Honduras (13.2%); El Salvador (8.8%);
Nicaragua (6.5%) and Belize (0.5%). The
installed capacity of the sub-region was 18,744
MW, of which 19.9% was installed in Guatemala;
19% in the Dominican Republic; 16.4% in Costa
Rica; 15.9% in Panama; 12.3% in Honduras;
8.7% in El Salvador; 7.1% in Nicaragua and0.8% in Belize.
The power produced in the SICA sub-region by
renewable sources was 34,629 GWh, or 54% of
the total. From that, the geothermal energy
www.geothermal-energy.org

Ceremony of agreement signing. Photo by ICE.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

12

Costa_Rica_224_Million_for_Geothermal_Plant?u=aab
8b4488d77652c0c67fedfccf1ed2a&s=n&e=3&mid=[M
ESSAGEID]

million in the coming months through loans frominternational financial institutions—thus continuing the
expansion of LaGeo.

100% Renewable Energy for Two Months Straight(and Counting) - Costa Rica ran on 100 percent
renewable energy for 76 days straight between June andAugust this year, according to a new report, thus
demonstrating life without fossil fuels is possible –forsmall countries, at least. This is the second time in two
years that the Central American country has operated
for more than two months straight on renewables alone,
and it brings the 2016 total to 150 days and counting.

Source:http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/
El_Salvador_Seeks_Financing_for_Geothermal_Energy?u=aab8b4488d77652c0c67fedfccf1ed2a&s=n&e=3&m
id=[MESSAGEID]

According to Costa Rica’s National Centre for Energy
Control (CENCE), 16 June 2016 was the last day thisyear that fossil fuel-based energy was used on thenational grid. (Data for September is still forthcoming.)
Since then, the country has been powered by a mix ofhydro, geothermal, wind and solar energy, with hydropower providing about 80.27% of the total electricity inthe month of August. Geothermal plants contributedroughly 12.62% of electrical generation in August, whilewind turbines provided 7.1% and solar 0.01%. Just likelast year when Costa Rica managed to power itself for a
total of 299 days without burning oil, coal or natural gas,
the 2016 milestone was helped along by heavy rainfalls
near the country’s four hydroelectric power facilities.
Source: http://www.sciencealert.com/costa-rica-hasbeen-running-on-100-renewable-energy-for-2-monthsstraight

El Salvador: LaGeo Seeks
Financing for Geothermal
Through the company LaGeo, the Salvadorian
Government has announced that US$250 million isneeded to start exploration in new areas and to change ageothermal turbine plant in Berlin. Authorities at the
Executive Commission of the Lempa River (CELGroup) explained that they have formed closer ties withinstitutions such as the World Bank and the CABEI tonegotiate possible financing.
David López Villafuerte, president of CEL, said in early
September that investments will focus during the rest of
the year on new fields, and during next year on making
changes to a turbine in the geothermal power station at
Berlin Geothermal Field. The turbine was installed by
the former partner of LaGeo, the Italian firm Enel
Green Power. Unit 3 in Berlin, CEL’s president said, isan “inefficient piece of machinery that uses more steam
than required to produce the same amount of power asother turbines.”
According to Lopez, CEL has “various projects”
planned, which could add up to about US$800 million
in investment. Of these, they expect to get US$250
www.geothermal-energy.org

Berlin power plant, El Salvador. Photo by Enex.

Honduras: Approval for
Financing the Platanares
Project
The Board of Directors of the Overseas Private
Investment
Corporation(OPIC),theU.S.
Government’s development finance institution,
approved in mid-September its support for new
development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, theCaribbean and Central America. One of the projects is
the Platanares geothermal project, located in western
Honduras and sponsored by Ormat Technologies.
OPIC approved up to US$135 million for thedevelopment, construction, and operation of a 35MW
geothermal baseload power plant in the geothermal fieldof the same name. This project will be the first utilityscale geothermal project in Honduras and is expected togenerate sustainable, reliable, and cost-effective power,
while contributing to the Honduran Government’s goalof generating 80 percent of its energy from renewables
by 2032.
OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development financeinstitution. It mobilizes private capital to help addresscritical development challenges. OPIC works with the
U.S. private sector and provides investors withfinancing, political risk insurance and support for
private equity investment funds when commercial
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
funding cannot be obtained elsewhere. Established as anagency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates
on a self-sustaining basis. All OPIC projects adhere tohigh environmental and social standards and respecthuman rights, including worker’s rights. OPIC services
are available for new and expanding business enterprises
in more than 160 countries, worldwide.
Source: https://www.opic.gov/pressreleases/2016/opic-board-directors-approves-over-1billion-support-investments-developing-countries

México: Exploratory Drilling,
more Exploration Permits,
Second Electricity Auction
Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín, Chair of
the Information Committee
Drilling to Start at the Ceboruco Geothermal Area El Ceboruco, a huge stratovolcano located in the
Mexican state of Nayarit, last saw volcanic activity (anandesitic-basaltic lava flow) in the nineteenth century.
There are some hot springs and fumaroles associatedwith this volcano and in late 2104, the area was the
subject to a geothermal exploration permit to exploreand define its geothermal potential and eventually installa power plant. The exploration permit, issued by the
Energy Ministery under the new Geothermal Energy
Law, was awarded to Mexxus RG, a joint venture
between Mexico’s Mexxus Drilling International and
Iceland’s Reykjavik Geothermal. It was the first
exploration permit in Mexico awarded to a private
investor. The previous 13 exploration permits wereawarded to the state-owned Comisión Federal deElectricidad (CFE). Ceboruco’s exploration permit isvalid for three years and can be extended for three more
years. It establishes the obligation to drill at least one
exploration well for each 50 km2 of the granted area.

13
In mid-August, Mexxus RG stated it has finished thedrill pad for the first exploration well, plus other civil
works and access roads, and they expect to start drillingby the end of the year. If all runs as planned, the current
objective of Mexxus RG is to install a geothermal power
plant up to 30 MW, with an estimated cost of US$115
million. This will be the second, privately developed andoperated geothermal-electric project in Mexico.
Source: Personal communication with Mexxus RG.
Three more Exploration Permits - In late August, theMinistry of Energy awarded three new geothermal
exploration permits to private companies, Grupo
ENAL and Grupo Dragón. Both are Mexican
companies specialized in the development ofgeothermal power projects from early phases ofdevelopment until the installation and operation ofgeothermal power plants. Grupo Dragón is the ownerand operator of the Domo San Pedro geothermal field,
located in the State of Nayarit, with 35 MW of installedcapacity. This is currently the only private geothermal
field being developed in the country. The other four
fields are owned and operated by the state-owned utility,
Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE).
The three permits were granted under the new
Geothermal Energy Law (GEL) that regulates thereconnaissance, exploration and exploitation ofgeothermal resources in Mexico. Two zones wereawarded to Grupo ENAL, one located in the northern
State of Baja California (with 145 km2) and the other inthe central State of Guanajuato (with 144 km2). Thezone awarded to Grupo Dragón is located in the westcentral State of Jalisco, covering an area of 105.45 km2.
Up to now through its Clean Energies Direction, theMinistry of Energy has awarded six geothermal
exploitation concessions for six geothermal fields, and18 geothermal exploration permits with a potential
estimated at over 500 MW.
Thirteen of the permits are for
CFE, two for Grupo Dragón, twofor Grupo ENAL and one for
Mexxus RG. According to the
GEL, all these exploration permits
are valid for three years and can be
renewed for another three years.
In each case, the awarded
company should drill at least one
exploration well for every 50 km2
of area granted.

View of the Ceboruco Volcano. Photo by Lcagn.
www.geothermal-energy.org

Source:https://www.gob.mx/sener/prens
a/otorga-sener-tres-nuevospermisos-a-empresas-privadaspara-realizar-actividades-deexploracion-de-recursosOctober-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
geotermicos
Results of the Second Electricity Auction - In late
September, the Secretary of Energy unveiled the resultsof the second long-term electricity auction in Mexico. In
total, 8.9 million megawatt-hour (MWh) and 9.3 million
Clean Energy Certificates (CEL) were preliminarily
awarded to solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric
projects. PV projects got 4.8 million MWh of energy(54% of total) and 4.9 million CEL (53% of total). Wind
represented 43% of energy and 41% of CEL. This timea geothermal power plant of 25 MW net in capacity wasawarded around 190,000 MWh (2.2% of the total) andthe same amount of CEL per year (2.1% of the total).
Capacity power was also dealt in the auction, with 1187
MW-year awarded in this category. Out of that, 850
MW-year (71.6%) was awarded to energy-efficient
combined-cycle gas plants, 184 MW-year to PV projects(15.5%), 128 MW-year (10.8%) to wind projects, and 25
MW-year (2.1%) to the mentioned geothermal power
plant. This seems to be the project Los Azufres III,
Phase II, which is under construction by the Comisión
Federal de Electricidad (CFE) in the geothermal field of
the same name in central Mexico (see IGA News 102, p.
15).
According to the Secretary of Energy, the average pricefor the combination of energy and CEL was US$33.47
per megawatt-hour. This average price is 33% lower
than the average price obtained in the first auction, heldin last March, which was around US$50 per MWh +CEL (see IGA News 104, pp. 15-16).

14
According to the Inter-American Development Bank(IADB), 50.6% of the country’s energy generation lastyear (2015) came from renewable sources, of which
30% was geothermal. Nicaragua’s estimated geothermal
potential is 1,500 MW, of which only 10% is currently
exploited. Meanwhile, energy demand has been on therise in recent years, growing 2.6% in 2014 and 4.6% in2015.
Thus in late July, IADB proposed carrying out a projectto explore and certify geothermal energy reserves in the
country. This proposal was presented by Carlos Melo,IADB’s representative in Nicaragua. The purpose of the
project is the promotion of alternatives for thegeneration of renewable energy, as well as theconsolidation of the sector and the promotion offoreign investment in the country. Melo estimated thatthe project will have an approximate cost of up to
US$60 million and said that public and private
partnerships are expected for its execution.
The execution of this project will allow Nicaragua topresent a more attractive and reliable offer to potential
investors, national or foreign. They will have access to a
specialized study of the available reservoirs, potential
capacity and other specific conditions of the reservoirs,
which consequently, should expedite obtaining
financing for geothermal exploration and exploitation,
as well as the required permits and authorizations,among other resulting benefits.

As for capacity, the average price was US$32,258 per
megawatt per year. This price resulted 64% lower thanthe maximum set by the CFE at US$90,016 per MWyear.
Like in the first auction, the only buyer of energy, CEL
and capacity, is the state utility CFE through one of its
subsidiary companies. But CFE also participated in theoffer side of this auction through other subsidiaries
engaged in electric generation, one of which includes its
geothermal division. These are legally separated
companies, and is worth mention that CFE had
participated also in the first auction with no success.
Sources: http://www.pvmagazine.com/news/details/beitrag/renewables-comein-at-3347-mwh-in-mexicos-secondauction_100026238/#ixzz4LUFo3rhF,
http://www.gob.mx/sener/prensa/con-preciosaltamente-competitivos-se-anuncian-los-resultadospreliminares-de-la-2-subasta-electrica-de-largoplazo?idiom=es

Nicaragua: IADB Funding for
Geothermal Exploration
www.geothermal-energy.org

View of the top of the Cosigüina Volcano(Photo taken from Pinterest).

In early September, the IADB announced Nicaragua
will enhance its renewable energy generation capacity
and improve its power transmission system under aOctober-December 2016

IGA News No. 105$103.4 million project, which will be partially financed(US$51.4 million) by the bank. Among other activities,
the project will support site investigation to help
determine the technical viability of exploiting thegeothermal potential of the Cosigüina field in
northwestern Nicaragua, including activities such ascommercial-width well exploration. It will also develop
mechanisms to attract private investment to help
stimulate geothermal generation.

15
thermal-power-at-geysers-proves.html,
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/californiawildfire-forces-geothermal-plant-evacuation/

Sources:
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ca4641
f2-8a18-473f-ba52-f0dbe39a174b,
http://www.iadb.org/en/news/news-releases/2016-0909/nicaragua-to-develop-geothermalpotential,11555.html

United States: The Geysers &Valles Caldera, New R&D
Geothermal Projects, Support
for Salton Sea
The Geysers Almost at Full Capacity - The Geysers
is the world’s largest geothermal resource for electric
power. It is located 75 miles north of San Francisco,California and has 17 power plants in operation, 14 ofwhich are operated by Calpine Corporation. The
California Energy Commission (CEC), which certifies
thermal power plants that are 50 megawatts (MW) andlarger in California, has jurisdiction over six of them.
The plants can produce roughly 725 MW of electricity.
Four of the six Calpine facilities under the jurisdictionof the CEC were among the hardest hit by last year’s
Valley Fire (see IGA News 101, pp. 12). The fire, which
killed four people and burned a total of 76,000 acres(almost 310 km2), tested the resiliency of operations at
The Geysers. The fire caused US$100 million indamages. Cooling towers were destroyed and powertransmission wires, pump stations and piping weredamaged. Nine months afterwards by early July
2016The Geysers is almost back to full capacity. Fireresistant cooling towers made of fiberglass replaced theburnt ones. The Geysers power output in June 28 was
653 MW, just shy of the 685 MW produced in
September 12, 2015—the day the fire started. Calpine
officials said The Geysers is expected to be at full
capacity by the end of the year.
On late September a new wildfire erupted amid hot, dry
conditions and gusty winds in Sonoma County thatforced evacuation of one of the 14 plants in The
Geysers. All employees were safe and accounted for but
the evacuated plant was not operating. The employees
were allowed to return to the plant the following day.
Sources:
http://calenergycommission.blogspot.mx/2016/07/geo
www.geothermal-energy.org

One of the new cooling towers. Photo by the CEC.
Officials Weigh Geothermal Energy Leases near
Valles Caldera, New Mexico - Parts of the Santa Fe
National Forest could be leased for exploration anddevelopment of geothermal energy in 2017. The U.S.
Geological Survey has identified 195,000 acres (789km2) west and north of the Valles Caldera National
Preserve, New Mexico, as having significant geothermal
potential. Not all of the 195,000 acres in the project area
are available for leasing. Some land is private or ownedby the state and other governmental entities. And
32,000 acres are protected by conservation statutes,
leaving 136,650 acres as potential leasing options.
Modeling studies have indicated hot rock exists that
could be tapped into, but have not determined if it isaccompanied by water or would require water to be
injected to create steam, according to Larry Gore, ageologist with the Santa Fe National Forest. “The big
question right now,” said Gore, “Is there a resource
north of the Caldera that could be developed? And thatis completely unknown at this time.”
New Mexico territories were first explored forgeothermal potential in the late 1960s, identifying areas,
predominantly around the Jemez range known forboiling natural hot springs, with high geothermal
potential. Projects were also proposed in the 1980s but
failed to move forward.
But development interest was reawakened over the past
four years, when Ormat Technologies Inc. notified the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) the company
would like to lease land in New Mexico fordevelopment. According to the environmental impact
statement, there has been interest in leasing 46,000 acres(186 km2) in the Santa Fe National Forest.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
In mid-July, the Santa Fe National Forest released astatement draft on the environmental impact to help
guide forest managers determine the viability ofgeothermal energy development on public lands. A
public meeting on the proposed project and thepotential effects outlined in the draft was held, andmembers of the public had until late August to submit
comments on the draft. The forest manager, Maria
Garcia, is expected to make a final decision on whether
leasing will occur by early 2017.
Source:http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/officials-weigh-geothermal-energy-leases-near-vallescaldera/article_24d6d8a0-efe9-5e24-be7aa37b8425762a.html

Three R&D Geothermal Projects to be Funded by
the DOE - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has
announced the selection of eight new research anddevelopment projects to receive a total of US$11.5
million in federal funding under DOE’s Subsurface
Technology and Engineering Research, Development,
and Demonstration Crosscut initiative. The new
projects are focused on furthering geothermal energy
and carbon storage technologies.
Those projects, “…will advance our ability to store
captured carbon pollution from the burning of fossil
fuels and improve our understanding of renewablegeothermal resources – both of which will help us
achieve our nation’s climate and clean energy goals,”said DOE’s Under Secretary for Science and Energy,Franklin Orr.
Many opportunities exist to use the rocks beneath theearth’s surface to improve the way we use energy –including next generation of geothermal energy; safely
storing greenhouse gases that are contributing to climatechange; mitigating the impacts of fossil energy
development; and nuclear waste storage and disposal.
www.geothermal-energy.org

16
Across those varied challenges, the Subsurface Crosscut
addresses a number of common technical issues. In
particular, it plans and implements research,development, and field demonstrations emphasizing:
Wellbore Integrity, Subsurface Stress and Induced
Seismicity, Permeability Manipulation, and New
Subsurface Signals.
Three of the eight projects were selected with the aim ofidentifying and validating new subsurface signals tocharacterize and image the subsurface, thus advancing
the state of knowledge in geothermal exploration. These
projects are:Development of a Novel, Near Real Time Approach to
Geothermal Seismic Exploration and Monitoring via
Ambient Seismic Noise Interferometry: Baylor
University (Waco, TX), the University of Nevada–Reno,
and Hi-Q Geophysical Inc. will advance the state of theart in geothermal exploration and monitoring throughthe development of new computer hardware andsoftware. The team will build a 150-node seismic system
consisting of commercial, off-the-shelf digitizer /recorders and geophones augmented by a device called
the RaPiER, which is based on the Raspberry Pi singleboard computer. The team will integrate the RaPiERbased seismic system with ambient-noise signal
processing software developed at the University of
Nevada-Reno and then perform validation tests at
Baylor University and at two geothermal sites in
Nevada. Funds from DOE: US$ 879,802.
Geothermal Fault Zone Dilatancy and Fluid Imaging
through
Integrated
Geophysical,
Geological,
Geochemical and Probabilistic Analysis: The Universityof Utah (Salt Lake City, UT), Quantec Geoscience Inc.,and Geotech Ltd. will advance geothermal energy
development by improving technologies that map fluidbearing, permeable subsurface fractures connected tohigh-temperature heat sources. Drawing upon several
new in-house technology developments, the team will
integrate electromagnetic and seismic geophysics,
structural geology, and isotope geochemistry todemonstrate that it is possible to discriminate among
the fault zones in the subsurface carrying hightemperature geothermal fluids. Funds from DOE: US$
620,000.
A Novel Approach to Map Geothermal Permeability
Using Passive Seismic Emission Tomography and Point
Inversion of Active Seismic and EM Data: U.S.
Geothermal Inc. (Boise, ID), Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory, and Optim Inc. will work toadvance the imaging and characterization of geothermal
permeability. Geophysical techniques have advanced,
yet still fail to consistently image permeability, and notechnique to effectively and robustly map subsurface
permeability of geothermal resources has beendeveloped. The techniques developed by the team will
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
be validated at the San Emidio Geothermal Plant in
Nevada, where the current geothermal resource
produces 9 MW, net, and at Crescent Valley, NV, wherea commercial geothermal resource has yet to be
identified. Fund from DOE: US$ 1,497,016.
Source: http://energy.gov/under-secretary-science-andenergy/articles/doe-investing-115-million-advancegeologic-carbon
Two Teams Selected for the Second Phase of
FORGE – In late August, the Department of Energy(DOE) announced US$29 million in funding under the
Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal
Energy (FORGE) program for projects awarded toteams at Sandia National Laboratories and the
University of Utah. The funding will be for each team to
fully instrumentalize,
characterize and permit
candidate sites for anundergroundlaboratory to conductcutting-edge researchonenhanced
geothermal
systems(EGS). The Sandia
team will be working
on a site in Fallon,
Nevada,andthe
University of Utahteam will be working at
a site in Milford, Utah.

Both teams were the winners of the FORGE’s firstphase, in which five selected teams with EGS projects
prepared during the last year technical and logisticaltasks that demonstrate site viability and show the team’s
capability of meeting FORGE objectives anddeveloping plans for Phase 2. The five teams and sites
competing in the first phase were as follows. The Idaho
National Laboratory, with location in Snake River Plain,
Idaho; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, withlocation proposed at Newberry Volcano, Oregon;
Sandia National Laboratories with two locations, one in
Coso, California, and the other in Fallon, Nevada—both on grounds located on air stations of the U.S.
Navy; and the University of Utah, located in Milford
City, Utah (see IGA News No. 100, pp. 19-20).
The Energy Department, with the support of the
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL),
awarded funding to the teams working on the Nevada
and Utah sites after a competitive first research phase towww.geothermal-energy.org

17
evaluate potential EGS underground research sites. The
candidate sites announced in Nevada and Utah will use
this new funding to prepare for the competitive third
phase of the FORGE effort, which will designate one of
the sites as headquarters for the future undergroundfield lab.
EGS is the technology with which geothermal resources
are accessed from deep beneath the surface of the earth
where there are hot rocks ideal for geothermal wells but
little naturally occurring liquid to generate steam.
Pumping fluids into the hot rocks creates pathways thatcarry heat to the surface through wells where the fluids
become the steam that drives turbines and generates
electricity. It is estimated that EGS technologies could
eventually lead to more than 100 gigawatts (GW) of
economically viable electric generating capacity in thecontinental United States, representing an increase of
two orders of magnitude over present geothermal
capacity, which currently stands at 3.5 GW.
Source: http://energy.gov/articles/energy-departmentannounces-29-million-investment-enhancedgeothermal-systems-efforts
President Obama Announces Support for Salton
Sea Restoration and Plans for Geothermal Energy
Development – Speaking at the 20th Anniversary of theAnnual Lake Tahoe Summit, President Obamaannounced in late August a package of actions in
support of the communities surrounding the Salton Sea,
California’s largest lake, which is facing a tipping pointin environmental degradation. The announced actions,in close partnership with the State of California, will
support implementation of the State’s Salton Sea Task
Force Agency Action plan to help boost the region’s
climate resilience through innovative conservation
approaches, spur economic growth by developing new
clean energy resources, and improve public health whileproviding a path forward for the Sea.
Among those actions is the Advance Collaboration on
Renewable Energy Development in the Imperial
Valley/Salton Sea Area. The Department of Energy’s(DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)
has published a Request for Information (RFI) on
identifying pathways for aggregating a power purchase
between 100 and 250 MW of new geothermal energy
from around the Imperial Valley’s Salton Sea. Anotherimportant action is the focus on Technology Adoption
and Breakthroughs to boost the Salton Sea economy
and clean energy generation. In addition to evaluating
approaches to purchase clean power from the region,
the DOE is advancing technology adoption andbreakthroughs by convening key geothermal experts fora first-ever forum on the Salton Sea renewable potential.
The DOE will lead a targeted, technical forum with theState of California and the Geothermal Resources
Council in October 2016 to accelerate development of
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
geothermal energy resources in California, particularlyaround the Imperial Valley’s Salton Sea. The forum will
convene a diverse group of stakeholders fromgovernment, industry, and research to lay out solutions
for new geothermal development while remaining
consistent with critical Federal and state conservation
planning efforts at the Salton Sea.

18
capabilities, now envisioning a comprehensive
collaboration within the geothermal power-generation
business. Under the terms of the MOU, ODDEG and
Toshiba will develop Djibouti's extensive geothermal
resources and provide training for personnel working inplants.

Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2016/08/31/fact-sheet-lake-tahoe-summitobama-administration-underscores-importance

ASIA/PACIFIC RIM
China: Tibet Considers
Geothermal to Solve Power
Shortage
Renewables make up 43% of Tibet’s energy mix, which
includes three times more clean energy than the rest of
China. The main Tibetan renewable energy source ishydro, which means there is a power shortage in winter.
The Tibetan Yangbajing geothermal plant is the firstand biggest geothermal power plant in the country. The
plant production is enough to power 50,000 Tibetanhouseholds.
Tibet’s power challenges are manifold. The high altitude
and difficult climate take a toll on power equipment andthe people who operate it. Tibet’s residential powerusage is a much bigger portion of the total than isindustrial usage, which means less tariff revenue iscollected for power plants. Difficulties aside, thepotential for geothermal power is enormous.
Because China is going big on geothermal power,
private firms want to invest. Developing energy has
been welcomed by locals, because they’re the first to
benefit. The Tibetan autonomous government plans todouble investments in generating capacity and gridconstruction over the next five years. That could open agood opportunity to develop the vast geothermal
potential of the region.
Source: http://www.cctvamerica.com/2016/08/19/tibet-pushes-geothermal-tosolve-power-shortage

Djibouti: Memorandum ofUnderstanding on Geothermal
Power Generation
The Japanese Toshiba Corporation has concluded amemorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Office
DjiboutiendeDéveloppement
del'Energie
Géothermique (ODDEG), the government organization
responsible for developing Djibouti’s geothermal power
www.geothermal-energy.org

Dr. Kayad Moussa Ahmed and Mr. Toyoaki Fujita
have signed a memorandum of understanding.
Photo by Toshiba Corp.
ODDEG was established in 2014. It reports directly to
the Presidency of Djibouti and is responsible for the
long-term development of Djibouti's geothermal
resources, under the country's plans to promoterenewable resources for a sustainably green economy.
Working with Toshiba will allow ODDEG to draw on
Toshiba’s comprehensive capabilities as the world’s
single largest provider of geothermal energy equipment.
The collaboration will include the creation of guidelines
for plant operation and management, the development
and supply of generation systems and support intraining personnel to operate plants.
Djibouti currently has an installed generation capacity of
120 MW, mostly from thermal power that it
supplements with power imports from Ethiopia.
However, many sites in Djibouti are suitable forgeothermal power generation and current plans envisage
constructing geothermal power stations with a basecapacity of about 50 MW. The MOU provides Toshibawith the opportunity to work with ODDEG to develop
a highly promising, low CO2 renewable source that willcontribute to a green Djibouti, and supply geothermal
power generation equipment in the future.
Last December, the company concluded an MOU with
the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

19

Limited for comprehensive collaboration in thegeothermal power-generation business.

energy mix by increasing the share of renewables to up
to 23% by 2025 from the current 12%.

Source:http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2016_08/pr090
1.htm

The Way Ratai project will be the first to be developed
by Enel in the country, marking the company’s entry
into Indonesia’s renewables market. Enel will invest up
to US$30 million dollars for the exploration phase of
the project. The construction of the geothermal power
plant depends on the results of the exploration phase,but the plant itself is expected to be completed andenter operation in 2022. EGP and PT ONE will jointly
establish and own a special purpose vehicle (SPV)holding the project, with EGP having the majority stakein the SPV. In line with the tender rules, the energy
produced by the geothermal power plant, expected ataround 430 GWh per year, will be sold to the national
utility PLN under a 30-year power purchase agreement(PPA).

United Arab Emirates:
Probable Use of Geothermal
Energy for Desalination
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) isrequesting proposals for an early-stage feasibility study
on producing electricity from geothermal energy and for
its use in desalination, i.e., removing salt from water tomake it potable.
Dubai’s Clean Energy Strategy includes the generationof 75 per cent of its electricity from clean energy
sources by 2050. Geothermal energy needs to be attemperatures of more than 200°C to be a prime
candidate for power generation. The UAE’s geothermal
temperatures are much lower than this, making
geothermal more suitable for applications such as
desalination rather than power generation, according toexperts.
Steve Griffiths, the vice president for research at Abu
Dhabi’s Masdar Institute, which has been studying thepotential for geothermal in the UAE, said that using thiskind of energy for desalination was the most viableoption, as the geothermal resources, averaging about
100˚C, were only suitable for low-temperatureapplications.
Source:http://www.thenational.ae/business/energy/dubai-toexplore-feasibility-of-geothermal-energy

Indonesia: Exploration
Permits, more Working Areas,
PLN to Acquire PGE, Probable
FiT, Bonus to Local
Governments
Geothermal License for EGP and Contract for
Ansaldo - Enel Green Power (EGP), in consortiumwith the Indonesian geothermal developer PT Optima
Nusantara Energi (PT ONE), has been awarded theright to hold the license to explore for geothermal
resources and develop the 55MW Way Ratai geothermal
power project. The project is located in the Way Ratai
area, in Indonesia’s Lampung province. The award
follows the tender launched by the Indonesian Ministryof Energy and Mineral Resources in December 2015,
which is part of the country’s efforts to diversify its
www.geothermal-energy.org

Recently, Enel signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Indonesian power utility PT PLN
Persero to evaluate possible cooperation opportunities
on projects in electricity generation in Indonesia,
starting from the joint assessment of the local market
for renewables, conventional technologies and minigrids.
Source: https://www.enel.com/engb/Pages/media/press/detail.aspx?source=media&cur
Page=1&Title=&id=1602
In other news, the Italian engineering firm Ansaldo
Energia said it has received a notice to proceed on acontract to upgrade a geothermal plant in West Java,
Indonesia. The company signed the contact last year.
Ansaldo Energia will refurbish a 30MW geothermal
plant in Kamojang. The company will act as theengineering, procurement and construction manager
and will supply the geothermal steam turbine andrelative air-cooled generator. The customer is PT PLN.
Ansaldo Energia recently opened a branch office inJakarta during a ceremony attended by the Italianambassador to Indonesia, Vittorio Sandalli.
Source:http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/08/italian-firm-to-upgrade-30-mw-geothermal-plant-inwestjava.html?cmpid=renewablegeothermal08112016&eid=
291021978&bid=1493202
The Target for Geothermal Power will Be
Exceeded in 2016 - In early August, the Directorate
General of Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation(EBTKS) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral
Resources (ESDM), Rida Mulyana, said that “therealization of the power supply from geothermal power
plants in the first half of 2016 amounted to 1,493.5 MW.
The achievement means that electricity from geothermal
power plants has reached 90 per cent of the target of
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
2016, equaling 1,657.5 MW and is expected to exceed
the target by year’s end”. Rida explained that the“installed capacity was 1,438.5 MW, despite an
additional 55 MW that started generation on July 15,
2016. This amount has not been officially added, so thecorrected total is 1,493.5 MW”.

20
Resources Ministry’s director of geothermal energy said
the government is planning offer the following
geothermal working areas through a bidding processfrom 2016 to 2018:
Aceh (1), North Sumatra (2), West Sumatra (2), Jambi(1), South Sumatra and Lampung (1), Bengkulu (3),West Java (3), Banten (1), Central Java (1), East Java (4),West Nusa Tenggara (2), East Nusa Tenggara (2),Central Sulawesi (2), Southeast Sulawesi (1), Gorontalo(1) and North Maluku (3).
However, for those areas, the government has alreadyappointed the public utility firm PT Perusahaan Listrik
Negara (PLN) to develop the two working areas of East
Nusa Tenggara, which are Ulumbu and Mataloko, withcapacities of 50 MW and 22.5 MW, respectively. PLN
president director Sofyan Basir is committed tocompleting the assignment by early 2020.

Sarulla geothermal project. Photo taken fromhttp://www.itochu.co.jp/en/business/machinery/
project/02/
The General Director also mentioned that there is anadditional capacity of 215 MW of geothermal power
expected to begin generation this year, comprised of the
55MW Ulubelu plant, the 110MW Sarulla geothermal
power plant, the 20MW Lahendong plant and the
30MW plant at Karaha Bodas. If these four geothermal
power plants begin operating this year, the supply ofelectricity from geothermal energy will exceed the target
for 2016.
Rida commented on the recent issuing of licenses to theconsortium formed by PT ONE and Enel Green Powerfor the Way Ratai project (55 MW) in Lampung
Province. He said, “The recent investment from Italyshows that Indonesia remains an attractive market for
geothermal energy, despite the current market
conditions in the oil and gas sector and a weak global
economy… We should be proud of a lot of investors
who want to come to Indonesia, like now with the Way
Ratai project with an estimated potential of 55 MW,” hesaid.
Source: http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/fourgeothermal-plants-expected-to-start-operation-inindonesia-thisyear/?utm_source=ThinkGeoEnergy+List&utm_camp
aign=261f4a1d1aTGE_Newsletter_RSS1_12_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_657e42f767-261f4a1d1a-415210497
The Government will Offer 28 Geothermal Working
Areas in 2016-2018 - The Energy and Mineralwww.geothermal-energy.org

Source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/12/go
vt-offers-up-30-geothermal-working-areas-until2018.html
PLN to Acquire 50% Stake in PGE - State electricity
company PLN is set to acquire a 50% stake in the stateenergy giant, Pertamina in PT Pertamina Geothermal
Energy (PGE), as part of efforts to speed up thegeothermal power supply to the electricity firm.
Pertamina currently holds a 100% stake in PGE.
Pertamina president director Dwi Soetjipto said thecompany was currently conducting due diligence on theacquisition, highlighting its willingness to sell some of its
stake in PLN for the greater good of the nation. It is
expected that the acquisition will help accelerate thedevelopment of geothermal power plants in Indonesia.
Soetjipto said Pertamina’s goal was to help PGE growand help the government tap into the country’s 29,000
MW of geothermal energy potential. “Currently, PGE
itself has only installed 450 MW. We are targeting anamount over 1,000 MW in the next three to four years,”
Dwi said on the sidelines of the 4 th Indonesia
International Geothermal Convention and Exhibition(IIGCE) on August 10.
PLN President Director Sofyan Basyir said theacquisition plan was partly to meet the 7,000 MW
geothermal power plant target set by the government,
and then PLN “…will have a greater ability to conductgeothermal explorations,” he said, adding that the plan
would likely decrease the high prices of geothermal
power.
About that target, the Indonesian Geothermal
Association (INAGA) chairman, Abadi Purnomo,
acknowledged that the 7,000 MW geothermal power
plant target was quite ambitious because Indonesia’s
current total geothermal capacity stood at only 1,493.5
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
MW. Hence, there was a shortfall of 5,500 MW, whichmust be obtained within 10 years, or 550 MW per year,
he went on. “Of course, this large target requires a verylarge investment, which amounts to US$4 million to $5
million per MW,” he said during the IIGCE at the
Jakarta Convention Center.
To attract investment in the geothermal sector, Abadi
said, innovations are needed, including attractive
electricity rates for geothermal developers, a guaranteethat the state power company PLN would act as an offtaker and purchase the electricity, and legal certainty.
Abadi reminded the audience that exploration was a key
activity in the geothermal business chain. He believes
Government Regulation (PP) No. 59/2007 on indirect
exploitation would encourage investors to carry out
exploration drilling activities.
He further said PLN had conveyed its commitment torealize the target set by the government by purchasing
power in accordance with the rates set by thegovernment, and that INAGA will continue to workwith the government to develop geothermal energy inIndonesia.
About the planned acquisition of PGE by PLN,INAGA said that geothermal companies are opposed.
Abadi explained that geothermal exploration anddevelopment costs will not drop because of an
acquisition. “The acquisition plan is nothing but a plan
to spend money. That fund is better off being used for
expanding electricity distribution orbuilding new power plants,” headded. Abadi considers that theacquisition was not decided based on
in-depth analyses. “Anywhere in theworld, geothermal energy projects
are undertaken by oil and gas
companies
becausethetwoindustries have similar stages ofdevelopment. Just look at Chevron,Star Energy, Philippine National Oil
Company,” Abadi said.
Pertamina president director Dwi
Soetjipto said there is no certainty
about PLN’s plan to acquire PGE.
The decision depends on the processof due diligence and feasibility
studies.
Sources:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/pln-plans-to-acquire-pge-to-boost-geothermaldevelopment.html,
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/10/inn
ovations-needed-to-achieve-7000-mw-geothermalpower-target-association.html,
http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2016/08/19/05679718
www.geothermal-energy.org

21
7/Geothermal-Companies-Against-PGE-Acquisitionby-PLN
Government Prepares a FiT Mechanism - Thegovernment is preparing a Feed-in Tariff mechanism toassist geothermal developers in a bid to boost thedevelopment of the geothermal energy sector in the
country, according to the Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry’s geothermal director Yunus Saefulhak. He said
the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism was better
economically in facilitating geothermal developers as
this new tariff regime has a fixed-price system. In a
fixed-price system, energy suppliers do not have tonegotiate with state-owned electricity firm PLN as thepower-off taker.
He further said the FiT mechanism is aimed to assist
power plants with capacities ranging between 5 to 220
MW and accommodate tariff variables. Yunus said theministry, along with a consortium of researchersconsisting of Arup, Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA) and geothermal engineers, was currently
studying the FiT scheme. He further said thegovernment had made some innovative breakthroughsin the geothermal sector by harmonizing regulations andremoving geothermal from the list of mining activities.
“We have simplified geothermal business permit request
procedures by establishing a one-stop service and giving
fiscal incentives for geothermal development such as a
tax allowance and import duty facility,” he added.

Source:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/08/11/go
vt-prepares-feed-in-tariff-mechanism-to-boostgeothermal-energy.html
Production Bonus to Be Paid by Geothermal
Companies to Local Governments – Indonesia’s
President Joko Widodo signed Government Regulation
No. 28/2016 on 14 July 2016. This states that a
production bonus is the financial obligation of theOctober-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
holder of a permit for a geothermal project and thecompany that operates the project. This obligation also
applies to geothermal energy business joint operating
contracts and geothermal energy business permit
holders. “Geothermal permit holders are obliged toprovide a production bonus from the time the first unit
starts producing commercially,” says Article 2 Paragraph(1) of this regulation. The production bonus will begiven to the local administration where the geothermal
project is located. It amounts to one percent of thegross income from the sale of geothermal energy, or 0.5
percent of the gross income from the sale of electricity
derived from geothermal power plants. To determine
the production bonus, the Energy and Mineral
Resources Minister will reconcile the sale of geothermalenergy and/or electricity from geothermal power plants
and the production bonus that will be paid to the local
administration. The outcome of this reconciliation will
determine the production bonus amount.
Source:http://en.katadata.co.id/news/2016/08/05/geothermal-companies-must-give-production-bonuses-to-localgovernment

Japan: Domestic andInternational Promotion of
Geothermal Energy
Events to Promote Geothermal Energy in Several
Regions - A Japanese committee called the Chinetsu
Marché Executive Committee held a Chinetsu Marché(geothermal market), between February and March2016. The Chinetsu Marché provides people withhands-on experience related to geothermal power andpromotes greater understanding about the developmentof this clean energy source among Japanese people. In
Japan, geothermal power is increasingly expected to fill22
the role of a domestic, baseload power source because
stable power generation is possible regardless of natural
conditions, and Japan has the world’s third largest
potential for geothermal power generation (23,470 MW,
according to the New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development, NEDO)
In order to make best use of geothermal power, whichis common property in Japan, it is important to makethe development of geothermal power generation gosmoothly and use the surplus heat to revitalize local
communities, thus ensuring the development is mutually
beneficial. For this reason, the committee held a seriesof four Chinetsu Marché events in the Hokkaido,
Tohoku, and Kyushu –regions with large potentials forgeothermal power generation— as well as in Tokyo.
The event venues were designed using the marché(market) concept. Programs included a local produce
market selling local vegetables grown by using
geothermal power, an event stage on which local groups
danced and performed and workshops intended to raiseinterest in geothermal power.
Source:http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/news_id03
5602.html
Geothermal Plans in Akita Prefecture - Akita
Prefecture has launched an initiative to create newindustries utilizing local energy resources such as wind
power since fiscal 2016. The initiative aims to double
installed power generation capacity from renewables
over the next 10 years. The prefecture intends toenthusiastically expand generation of power fromgeothermal heat and biomass, in addition to power fromwind and solar.
Targeting the areas around and in Yuzawa City, afamous hot springs spot located in south Akita
Prefecture, several projects are underway to develop
geothermal power generation. Here in
Yuzawa, the Uenotai Geothermal Power Plant
has been operating since 1998, with a capacityof 29 MW. The capacity factor of the plant ishigh, hitting 70 percent, standardized.
Plans are underway to construct geothermal
power plants at three sites surrounding the
Uenotai plant. The project farthest along isdevelopment of the Wasabisawa geothermal
power plant. In addition to three production
facilities for taking in steam and hot waterfrom underground, two return facilities will be
constructed around the production facilities toreturn hot water remaining after power
generation to the ground in order to reduce
the environmental impact.

Volcanic belts and geothermal plants (green dots) in Japan.
Source: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.
www.geothermal-energy.org

Source:http://www.japanfs.org/en/news/archives/n
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
ews_id035650.html
Japan to Support African Geothermal Power Japan’s government will provide financial assistance forgeothermal power projects in Africa, with Japanesetrading houses and plant builders eyeing new business
opportunities in this relatively underdeveloped area.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the aid initiativeat the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African
Development (TICAD), held in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Japanese government will provide both financing
and know-how for African geothermal projects fromthe initial stage, hoping to improve the odds of successin exploration. Grants will cover a portion of preconstruction-stage costs, which can run to US$100
million. For starters, the government will appropriate
more than 1 billion yen (US$9.97 million) for grant
provision as part of a supplementary budget for thecurrent fiscal year.
In addition, Tokyo will make low-interest loans fromthe Japan International Cooperation Agency and otherfinancing available for African geothermal projects thathave reached the construction stage. The government
announced in May that it would provide US$200 billion
through such channels to support infrastructure exports.
Some of this will go to projects in Africa.
Twenty-two Japanese companies and organizations,
including Toyota Tsusho Corp., concluded a total of 73
memorandums of understanding (MOU) with African
governments, businesses and others on providing
financial and technological assistance. The agreements
were concluded on the sidelines of the mentioned
summit TICAD VI. The deals, signed in the Kenyan
capital of Nairobi in August 28, will cover projects
including geothermal power generation and urban
transportation system development.

23
expand cooperation. Prime Minister Abe alsoannounced at the TICAD summit a bold new African
infrastructure plan worth US$10 billion over the next
three years to be implemented by the African
Development Bank (AfDB). The Japanese Prime
Minister said the support package aims to increase theelectricity generation capacity by 2,000 MW as well as
the geothermal power generation using Japanesetechnologies. The increased power-generation capacity
is planned to reach 3 million households by 2022.
Japan has pledged to work together with the African
leaders towards achieving developmental objectives fora range of principles –quality, resilience and stability.
The quality principle will focus on building theinfrastructure elements based on Japan’s preferred work
ethos, known as kaizen, or ‘continuous learning’. This isa system aimed to empower factory foremen and plant
managers and leaders of worksites under a new plan tobe known as the African Business Education Initiative
for Youth (ABE) Initiative. This will allow businessexecutives from Africa to study in Japan. Japan aims toreach at least 1,500 experts. Japan has also pledged to
put the advances of its domestic education policies atthe disposal of African industries. Japan hopes toprovide access to its educational system to African
students by promoting engineers to learn from its kosen,or ‘colleges of technology’. This system aims to train atleast 30,000 engineers to support the foundations ofAfrica’s industrialization.

The private-sector aid is in line with the government’s
policy of promoting Japanese-style assistance--in an
attempt to counter China, which has expanded its
influence in the region with large-scale financial support.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced theestablishment of the Japan-Africa Public and Private
Economic Forum.
Toyota Tsusho, a trading house, concluded MOUs withthe governments of Kenya and Ethiopia to strengthen
cooperation in ground-surface surveys for thedevelopment of geothermal power generation. From theearly stages of development, the company will provide
the two countries with proprietary technology that raises
the success rates of test drilling.
Japan’s three megabanks, including Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corp., the core banking arm of Sumitomo
Mitsui Financial Group Inc., signed memorandums ofunderstanding with the African Development Bank to
www.geothermal-energy.org

Secretary F. Kabagambe-Kaliisa and Toshiba’s T.
Fujita, in the signing ceremony.
Japanese groups Toshiba, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power
Systems and Fuji Electric already hold a significant shareof the global geothermal power business. The Africa’s
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
biggest concentration of geothermal power capacity is
located in the Olkaria region of Kenya. Trading house
Toyota Tsusho and Toshiba, which won a 2011 contract
for geothermal power facilities in Olkaria, may provide
additional capacity. Other pairs of contenders include
Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power, andMarubeni and Fuji Electric. Meanwhile, Toyota Tsusho
and the national utility, Kenya Electricity Generating,are planning feasibility studies for geothermal
installations beyond that region.
Sources: http://the-japannews.com/news/article/0003179764,
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-andevents/article/japan-chooses-afdb-to-implement-boldnew-infrastructure-plan-for-africa-16039/,
http://asia.nikkei.com/PoliticsEconomy/International-Relations/Tokyo-switching-onaid-for-African-geothermal-power

Malaysia: First Power Plant to
Be Installed in 2018
Following a site inspection in early August, theMalaysian Energy, Green Technology and Water
Minister Datuk Seri, Maximus Ongkili, disclosed that
Sabah will be home to Malaysia’s first geothermal power
plant, slated to be developed by the Tawau Green
Energy Sdn Bhd (TGE) at a proposed site in Apas Kiri,
Tawau. The minister was accompanied of senior
ministry officers, including Sustainable Energy
Development Authority (Seda) Malaysia Chairman
Datuk, Yee Moh Chai. “As of today, two geothermal
well pads are completed, and the third well pad is underconstruction. The geothermal power plant is scheduled
to achieve commercial operation by June 2018. Once
operational, Malaysia will rank 16th in the world in
geothermal energy generation,” said Ongkili.
After extensive research, followed by geological,
geophysical and geochemical analyses and modeling by
GeothermEx Inc. and Jacobs, they indicated theexistence of an active geothermal system centeredaround the flanks of Mt Maria on Apas Kiri. The plantis set to produce 30 MW. The power will be sold to
Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) via 132 kV
interconnection to the grid under a 21-year renewable
powerpurchase agreement (PPA) applying the Feed-in
Tariff (FIT) scheme.
The plant is estimated to cost some MYR 600 million(US$149 million) total investment with an initial grant of
MYR 35 million (US$8.7 million) from the Federal
Government.
As of June 2016, Seda had approved a total of 9,570 FiT
applications with a total capacity of 1,308.55 MW. In thesame period, 6,201 FiT applications have achieved
commercial operation with a total capacity of 364.02
www.geothermal-energy.org

24
MW. By the end of 2020, the 11th Malaysia Plan
estimates that renewable energy installed capacity willreach 2,080 MW or 7.8 per cent of total generating
capacity in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah.
Sources:
http://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2016/08/08/steaming-up-some-extra-energy-malaysias-firstgeothermal-power-plant-to-open-in-tawau/,
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/
minister-malaysias-first-geothermal-plant-to-beoperational-by-2018#sthash.8xd5wIV0.dpuf

Philippines: Expansion Plans,
Asking for FiTs, Chevron
AssetsPlans for 60MW Expansion in Southern Negros –The Energy Development Corp. (EDC) said by midAugust, the 60 MW expansion of the Southern Negros
Geothermal Power Plant (SMGP) in Valencia, Negros
Oriental will not encroach into a biodiversity area. EDC,
the country’s biggest geothermal energy producer, isexpanding Southern Negros Geothermal’s capacity to282.5 MW from 222.5 MW to meet the region’s growing
electricity needs.
“We will confine our expansion within SNGP’s existing
geothermal production block in Valencia,” EDC’s
Negros Integrated Geothermal Business Unit head Jay
Joel Soriano said. Some reports have said EDC’s
expansion required an additional 5,163 hectares thatwould encroach into Mount Talinis, considered a key
biodiversity area in Negros Oriental. EDC, however,said the expansion involved an increase in capacity, notthe area. The current SNGP’s steam field and power
plant occupy less than 200 hectares, and EDC assured
the expansion would be confined within the existingdevelopment block of 5,163 hectares.
EDC is awaiting the release of the environmental
compliance certificate (ECC) from the Environment
Department for the 60MW geothermal expansion. The
company said the proposed expansion went throughpublic consultations and hearings for the ECC
application and received the strong endorsement for an
ECC from the host communities and local governmentof Valencia. “But pending the release of the ECC, EDC
has not begun any activity for its proposed geothermal
expansion project,” Soriano said.
Source:http://thestandard.com.ph/business/213284/edcplant-expanding-within-geothermal-site.html
NGAP Asks the Government for FiT to Include
New Geothermal Technologies - A group ofgeothermal developers has urged the government tocover under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) program theOctober-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
emerging geothermal technologies that were not yet
commercially viable under existing market and pricing
structures. This is expected to help address the barriers
related to the high costs and resource exploration risks
faced by geothermal energy developers, the National
Geothermal Association of the Philippines (NGAP) said
in a statement.

25
Philippine Geothermal Production Co. Inc., are among
the NGAP members.
Source: http://business.inquirer.net/213590/groupseeks-perks-for-new-geothermal-technology
Firms Interested in the Chevron Geothermal Assets- The Aboitiz group plans to team up with Japanesebusiness house Marubeni to bid for thegeothermal assets of American energy giant
Chevron Corp. in the Philippines andIndonesia. Luis Miguel Aboitiz, Chief Operating
Officer and Executive Vice President at Aboitiz
Power Corp., said in early September the group
was interested in the Asian geothermal assets tobe sold by Chevron. Aboitiz said the auction
was being structured in such a way that these
Asian assets would be sold as one block. As
such, he said the Aboitiz group would join with
Marubeni in this big undertaking.
Chevron is unloading its geothermal assets inIndonesia and the Philippines with estimatedvalue of $2.5 billion, industry sources said.
Other Filipino groups, like Ayala Corp. andEnergy Development Corp., are likewise keen
on getting a piece of Chevron’s geothermal
assets.

According to NGAP, the DOE strategy should apply
new development technologies to what previously wereconsidered to be second-tier resources, such astechnologies that could use acidic and young geothermal
systems, development of low-heat geothermal systems
and the direct use of small-scale geothermal energy
technologies.
Exploration using these technologies was deemed to
become more feasible should the DOE allow thecoverage of these emerging technologies and new
geothermal sources under the FiT program, which
provides guaranteed payment to investors through auniversal charge.
NGAP called on the government to expedite theregulatory and approval processes as well as ensure thepeace-and-order situation in some of the more remote
prospects. It also called for the prompt implementationof the Renewable Portfolio Standard and Green Energy
Option under the Renewable Energy Act, which will
give incentives to utilities to buy geothermal power.
The government, it added, also needed to address the
special technical challenges faced by firms in tapping
undeveloped geothermal resources that require adapting
emerging technologies like binary-cycle generation,
ground source heat pumps and corrosion-resistantalloys. Aboitiz Power, Chevron Geothermal Services,
Department of Energy, Emerging Power Inc., Energy
Development Corp., Maibarara Geothermal Inc. andwww.geothermal-energy.org

It was unveiled that China General Nuclear Power
Corp., the country’s biggest nuclear power operator, hasbeen invited to make a second-round bid. Medco Groupis considering partnering with a Japanese company and aPhilippine company, while the sovereign fund China
Investment Corp., Malaysia’s power producer Malakoff
Corp., Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and Ormat
Technologies Inc. were among the companies thatconsidered making offers.
Chevron has a 40% interest in Philippine Geothermal
Production Co. Inc. (PGPC), which develops andproduces steam energy for third-party owned andoperated Tiwi and Mak-Ban geothermal power plants inSouthern Luzon, with a combined generating capacityof 692 MW. Chevron also has an interest in the Kalinga
geothermal prospect area in northern Luzon. In July, thecompany reported its third straight quarterly loss, thelongest slump since at least 1989, according to datacompiled by Bloomberg.
Sources: http://business.inquirer.net/214761/aboitizmarubeni-team-vying-for-chevronassets#ixzz4Jp7Pcg9u,
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-0916/chevron-said-to-narrow-bids-for-3-billion-asiangeothermal-saleTaiwan: Exploration Well Is
Being Drilled in Chinhsui
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
The local government of Yilan began exploratory
drilling in mid-July in Sanshin Town for what it hopes
will be Taiwan’s first geothermal power plant. The
geothermal zone is located in the Chinhsui River Valley,
south of Chinhsui Village in Shanshin (Three Stars)
Town. Hot springs with surface temperatures of up to
95°C are currently used for a resort called Chinhsui
Geothermal Energy. The drilling is expected to take six
months.
It was reported that a geothermal plant was developedin Datong Town in Yilan in the 1980s, and that the
project closed in 1993. There’s no confirmed data about
this plant, but a geothermal well at 178 m depth was
drilled in 2009 at Yangao County, about 52 kilometers
to the west of Datong. This well was part of a programby the county government to tap local geothermal
resources for the development of spa services andtourism, and produced around 40 tons per hour ofwater at 104°C.

Chinhsui Geothermal Energy resort (photo: Eva隨
手拍)
Previous records showed that local hot springs
contained heavy amounts of calcium carbonate and 28
trace mineral supplements. The hot springs come fromthe extinct Datong volcanic cluster, which covers ageothermal field of 2.3 square kilometers.
Sources: http://www.totaltaipei.com/yilan-beginswork-geothermal-power-plant/,
http://en.people.cn/90001/90776/90882/6850573.htm
lEUROPE
Horizon 2020 – A Unique
Opportunity for the
Geothermal Community inEuropewww.geothermal-energy.org

26
Introduction and compilation byThomas Reinsh, GFZ German ResearchCentre for Geosciences
Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany(Thomas.Reinsch@gfz-potsdam.de)Multinational geothermal research initiatives have been
growing significantly over the past few years. Within theframework of the EC funded horizon 2020 initiative, inthe past two years, 11 geothermal projects werepositively evaluated, 10 already started. Together with
two on-going projects granted within the seventh
framework programme FP7, the European Commission
granted about €92 million (~U$103 million), whereas
the total project costs are up to €145 million (~US$162
million) for the coming years. In addition, there are a
few projects, where geothermal related topics are being
investigated in individual work packages. A list of
currently active as well as finished EC-funded projects
can be accessed under www.geothermalresearch.eu.
In order to explore synergies between the different
activities across project and national boundaries in
Europe and worldwide, an initiative was started todefine cross-topics and research needs vital for eachproject. It is intended to join forces in order toovercome the major bottlenecks for geothermal
development today. To give the reader a concise
overview of the various projects investigating topics
ranging from exploration over drilling and stimulation
technologies to monitoring aspects, on-going Horizon
2020 projects are presented below. All the projects havereceived funding from the European Union’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme. For grant
agreement
numbers,
pleasesee
https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/horizon-2020/fundedprojects/geothermal.

Cheap-GSHPs - Cheap and efficient
application of reliable ground source heatexchangers and pumps
The Cheap-GSHPs Project is an EU co-funded project
under the Horizon 2020 Programme. The acronym
stands for ‘Cheap and efficient application of reliable
Ground Source Heat exchangers and Pumps’, and isvery relevant for the project’s objectives.
The project’s consortium is composed of 17 partners,
research centers and universities, ground source heatexchanger material suppliers, drilling machines and heatpump constructors, engineering companies andinstallers. All these consortium partners are specialized
and expert in specific parts of constructing low-enthalpy
geothermal systems.
CheapGSHPs is a particularly valuable tool for energy
efficiency in the buildings sector, which is developing
many innovative technologies related to: Ground Source
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

27

Heat Exchanger designs (GSHE) in combination with
developments in drilling machine components andinstallation technologies, heat pumps with increased
efficiencies at higher temperatures, and a decisionsupport tool (DSS) for holistic optimization and design.

investigating previously unexplored pathways at a lowTRL. This will be achieved by developing a Roadmap in
support of the pilot implementation of such systems
before 2025, and full-scale commercial implementation
before 2030.

All these new technologies will be tested at several
demonstration sites in different European climate zones
in both historical and modern buildings.

For further information please visit www.chpm2030.eu,
and be updated as we progress.

Project web site: http://www.cheap-gshp.eu
Contact: Adriana Bernardi, Institute of Atmospheric
Sciences and Climate – National Research Council of
Italy, Corso Stati Uniti 4 – 35127 Padova – Italy; Phone:0039-0498 295 906; email: a.bernardi@isac.cnr.it

CHPM 2030 - Combined Heat Power andMetal Extraction
CHPM 2030 aims to develop a novel technologicalsolution that can help satisfy European needs for energy
and strategic metals in a single, interlinked process.
Working at the frontiers of geothermal resource
development, minerals extraction and electrometallurgy, the project aims at converting ultra-deep
metallic mineral formations into an ‘ore body-EGS’ thatwill serve as a basis for the development of a new typeof facility for “Combined Heat, Power and Metal
Extraction” (CHPM). In the technology envisioned, themetal-bearing geological formation will be manipulated
in a way that the co-production of energy and metals
will be possible, and able to be optimized according to
the market demands at any given moment.
The work plan has been set up in a way to provide
proof-of-concept for the following hypotheses: 1. The
composition and structure of ore bodies have certain
advantages that could be used to our advantage whendeveloping an EGS; 2. Metals can be leached from theore bodies in high concentrations over prolonged
periods of time and may substantially influence theeconomics of EGS; 3. The continuous leaching of
metals will increase a system’s performance over time ina controlled way and without having to use highpressure reservoir stimulation, minimizing potential
detrimental impacts of both heat and metal extraction.
As a final outcome, the project will deliver blueprints
and detailed specifications of a new type of futurefacility that is designed and operated from the very
beginning as a combined heat, power and metals
extraction system. The horizontal aim is to provide new
impetus to geothermal development in Europe bywww.geothermal-energy.org

Contact: Tamas Madarasz, University of Miskolc,
Institute of Environmental Management, 3515, MiskolcEgyetemváros, Hungary; Phone: +36 30 321 3701;
email: hgmt@uni-miskolc.hu

DEEPEGS - Deployment of Deep Enhanced
Geothermal Systems for sustainable energy
business
The DEEPEGS project is a demonstration project
supported by the European Commission. The goal is todemonstrate the feasibility of enhanced geothermal
systems (EGS) for delivering energy from renewable
resources in Europe. It is a four year project led by HSOrka Iceland, in cooperation with partners from
Iceland, France, Germany, Italy and Norway.
The project will test stimulating technologies for EGS indeep wells in different geological situations that will
deliver new, innovative solutions and models for wider
deployments across Europe of EGS reservoirs with
sufficient permeability for delivering significant amountsof geothermal power. The project demonstrates
advanced technologies in three geothermal reservoir
types that provide all the unique conditions fordemonstrating the applicability of this ‘tool bag’ under
different geological conditions. It will demonstrate EGS
for the widespread exploitation of high enthalpy heat (i)beneath existing hydrothermal field at Reykjanes (avolcanic environment) with temperatures up to 550°C,
and (ii) very deep hydrothermal reservoirs at Valence (acrystalline and sandstone environment) and Vistrenque(a limestone environment) with temperatures up to
220°C.
The consortium is industry driven by five energy
companies that will implement the project goals throughcross-fertilization and sharing of knowledge. The
companies are all highly experienced in energy
production,and three ofthem alreadyare delivering
power
tonational grids
from geothermal resources.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

28

Project web site: http://www.deepegs.eu, Project
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/deepegs/,
Twitter account: twitter.com/DEEPEGS_demo.
Contact: Gudmundur Ómar Fridleifsson, HS Orkahf, Brekkustigur 36 – 260 Reykjanesbær – Iceland;
Phone: +354–520 9300; email: gof@hsorka.is
Project office: GEORG, Grensasvegur 9 – 108
Reykjavik – Iceland; info@deepegs.eu

DESCRAMBLE - Drilling in dEep, SuperCRitical AMBient of continentaL Europe
The DESCRAMBLE project is meant to drill incontinental crust, super-critical geothermal conditions,
to test and demonstrate novel drilling techniques tocontrol gas emissions in aggressive environments and in
the high temperatures/pressures expected from deep
fluids and to characterize the chemical and thermophysical conditions of the reservoir. The demonstration
will be performed in Larderello, Italy, where very hightemperatures (>375°C) and high pressures (>22 MPa)
are expected at depths of about 4-5 km. Expected
extreme conditions will be a challenge for actual drilling
technology, but will also ensure that the energy output
from such wells can be as much as ten times greaterthan from standard geothermal wells. The success of
this project will open new market frontiers for
exploiting similar resources at deeper depths. The
combination of shallow depths for super-criticalconditions and the possibility of deepening an existing
well reduces the costs of drilling and focuses the projecton drilling into formations with super-critical conditions
and their related challenges.
The project will demonstrate safe drilling in hightemperature and pressure condition by combining thebest practices of oil & gas and deep geothermal drillingand using innovative materials. DESCRAMBLE will
also reduce pre-drill uncertainty in the exploration ofdeep geothermal wells by improving knowledge of thephysical and chemical conditions in deep geothermal
formations in the continental crust and applying thelatest seismic processing, imaging and interpretation
technology for exploring supercritical reservoirs prior to
drilling. Eventually, studies will be made of theeconomic potential of exploiting chemicals and minerals
by analyzing fluid samples
for valuable materials.
The consortium is led byindustryandincludescompanies(both
geothermal and oil & gas)and research units from
Italy,
Germany
andNorway. Started on May
2015, the project will end in
April 2018.
www.geothermal-energy.org

Project web site: http://www.descramble-h2020.eu
Contact: Ruggero Bertani, Enel Green Power SpA,Via Andrea Pisano 120, 56122 Pisa, Italy;
Phones: O +39 0506185650, M +39 3299506574; email: ruggero.bertani@enel.com

DESTRESS - Demonstration of soft
stimulation treatments of geothermal reservoirs
DESTRESS demonstrates methods of Enhanced
Geothermal Systems (EGS). The aim is to expand
knowledge and to provide solutions for a more
economical,
sustainable
andenvironmentally
responsible exploitation of underground heat. EGS
allows the enormous untapped potential of geothermalenergy to be put to widespread use. DESTRESS will
improve the understanding of technological, businessand societal opportunities and risks related togeothermal energy. Existing and new project sites ofdifferent geological settings have been chosen to
demonstrate the DESTRESS concept.
The concepts explored in DESTRESS are based on
experiences in previous projects (e.g. GEISER) and on
scientific progress and developments in other fields,
mainly the oil and gas sector. Recently developed
stimulation methods will be adapted to geothermal
needs, applied to new geothermal sites and prepared formarket uptake. The main focus is on various stimulation
treatments with minimized environmental hazards that
address site-specific geological requirements. The
overall objective is to develop good practices forcreating reservoirs with increased transmission,sustainable productivity and a minimized level of
induced seismicity.
DESTRESS brings together an international consortium
comprised of major academic and research institutions
and key industrial players from Europe and SouthKorea
to ensure enhanced EGS-technology
performance and accelerated market penetration.
More
Information:www.destressh2020.eu
Contact:
Justyna Ellis, GFZ German Research Centre forGeosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany;
Phone: +49-331-288-1526; email: Justyna.Ellis@gfzpotsdam.de.

GEMex - Cooperation in Geothermal energy
research Europe-Mexico for development of
Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Superhot
Geothermal Systems
The GEMex project is a complementary effort of aEuropean consortium with a corresponding consortium
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
from Mexico that submitted an equivalent proposal forcooperation. The European consortium will be fundedthrough the International Cooperation Programmewithin the framework of Horizon 2020, while the
Mexican partner project is funded by the Mexican
Government (Conacyt). The joint effort is based on
three pillars:
1. Resource assessment of two unconventional
geothermal sites in Mexico: EGS development at
Acoculco and a super-hot resource in Los Humeros.
The work will focus on understanding the tectonic
evolution, the fracture distribution and hydrogeology of
the respective regions, and on predicting in-situ stresses
and temperatures at depth.
2. Reservoir characterization using techniques andapproaches developed at conventional geothermal sites,
including novel geophysical and geological methods tobe tested and refined for their application at the two
project sites: passive seismic data will be used to apply
ambient noise correlation methods and anisotropy bycoupling surface and volume waves; newly collected
electromagnetic data will be used for joint inversion
with the seismic data. For the interpretation of thesedata,high-pressure/high-temperaturelaboratory
experiments will be performed to derive the parameters
determined on rock samples from Mexico or equivalentmaterials.
3. Concepts for Site Development: all existing andnewly collected information will be applied to define
drill paths, recommend a design for well completion
including suitable materials selection, and investigate
optimum stimulation and operation procedures for safeand economic exploitation with control of undesired
side-effects. These steps will include appropriate
measures and recommendations for public acceptanceand outreach as well as for the monitoring and control
of environmental impacts.
The European consortium was formed from the EERA
joint programme of geothermal energy (www.eeraset.eu) in regular and long-time communication with thepartners from Mexico. The close interaction of the two
consortia is planned to continue beyond the duration of
the project.
Start date: 1st October 2016, duration: 3 years. Website
not yet available.
Contact: Egbert Jolie, GFZ German Research Centre
for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam,
Germany; Phone: +49-331-288-28713; email:egbert.jolie@gfz-potsdam.de

GEOTeCH - Geothermal Technology for
Economic Cooling and Heating
Geothermal Technology for Economic Cooling andHeating (GEOTeCH) is a project funded by the
www.geothermal-energy.org

29
European Union within the Horizon 2020 program,corresponding to the topic ‘demonstration of renewableelectricity and heating / cooling technologies’.
The project introduces improvements in different fields
of application. It improves the current drilling
technology by introducing a waterless drilling systemthat requires less complex systems and reduces risks.
The project also develops an improved integration of
the heat pump elements during installation and an
innovative heat exchanger that obtains high yields
without loss of pressure. This system uses a coaxial
configuration and spiral flow of fluid that improves
thermal resistance compared to the U-shaped tubes
commonly used.
The project also implements an economically efficientgeothermal system maximizing the use of foundations
for obtaining energy in tertiary buildings. Foundations
as piles, diaphragm walls or footings are used as heatexchangers in the project and. together with the
optimization of hybrid systems, are integrated in thegeothermal systems; this technology will be included inboth large and small buildings. This optimization of thegeothermal system is achieved with the development ofa dual source heat pump (ground and/or air) that will be
attractive to both users and construction companies.
Thus, the aim of the project is to improve the drillingand geothermal technologies, along with thedevelopment of an Energy Management System thatwill be used to automatically control the systems.
Further
information
can befound atwww.geotec
h-project.eu.
Contact:
Javier Royo Abancens, SOLINTEL M&P S. L.,
Edificio PAYMA, Av. de la Industria 32, EP-2, 28108
Alcobendas – Madrid, Spain; Phone: + 34 91 2291368;
email: javier.royo@solintel.eu

GeoWell - Innovative materials and designs forlong-life high-temperature geothermal wells
The project aims to develop reliable, economical andenvironmentally friendly technologies for design,completion and monitoring of high-temperaturegeothermal wells with the intent to expedite thedevelopment of geothermal exploitation globally.
GeoWell will address all relevant steps in the geothermal
well completion process to enhance the lives of hightemperature geothermal wells. These include cement
and sealing technologies, material selection and casing
couplings. Methods of temperature and strain
measurements in wells plus using fiber optic
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

30

technologies to monitor well integrity will be
developed—plus methods for assessment of risk related
to design and operation of high-temperature geothermal
wells.
To ensure the quality of the approach and the final
results of the project, the research is based on traditional
production wells as well as deeper wells where thepressure is as high as 150 bars and the temperature
exceeds 400°C. This new technology will be tested bothin laboratories where real situations will be simulated,
and also, partly, in existing geothermal environments.
Since this three-year project started in February 2016,
work has been initiated in all work packages. Cement
samples from the IDDP-1 well in Iceland have been
analyzed and this will be useful for further developing
the technology of cementing casings. Work on thedesign of a flexible coupling to mitigate the effects ofthermal expansion of casings in high-temperaturegeothermal wells is ongoing and a prototype will beready soon for laboratory testing. A study of casingmaterials has started--mainly metallic materials but also
composite materials. Also, experiments have started oftemperature and strain measurements in a geothermal
well using fiber optic cables, as well as work on
developing risk assessment methods for the geothermal
industry.
Participants in the project, apart from ÍSOR who leads
the project, are the research institutions IRIS in Norway,
GFZ in Germany, TNO in the Netherlands and BRGM
in France, as well as the industrial companies Statoil in
Norway, HS Orka in Iceland and Akiet in the
Netherlands.
Website:www.geowellH2020.eu
Contact: ÁrniRagnarsson,Íslenskar orkurannsóknir, Grensásvegi 9, 108 Reykjavík,
Iceland; Phone: +354 528 1562; email:arni.ragnarsson@isor.is

MATChING - Material innovations for the
optimization of cooling in power plants
The MATChING goal is the reduction of cooling water
demand in the energy sector through innovative,
technological solutions to be demonstrated in thermal
and geothermal power plants. The project targets
include an overall saving of water withdrawal of 30% in
thermal power generation and a decrease of evaporative
losses up to 15% in the geothermal sector. It is fundedby the NMP 15 – 2015.
The use of advanced and nanotechnology-basedmaterials will be leveraged to make economicallyaffordable water saving in power plants and pave thewww.geothermal-energy.org

way for the market uptake. All technological areas ofplant cooling systems will be affected: the cooling tower,
steam condenser, cooling water circuit and waterconditioning. The use of alternative cooling fluids will
be investigated to develop advanced hybrid cooling
towers for geothermal, high-temperature power plants
and hybrid cooled binary cycles for low-temperaturegeothermal fields, combining dry/wet cooling andclosed loop groundwater cooling. To increase available
effective water supply at reasonable costs, alternative
water sources will be exploited: different membranebased technologies will be used to re-cycle or re-use
municipal process and blow-down waters.
To improve cooling equipment, robust advanced
materials and coatings for cooling towers andcondensers will be investigated, allowing increased
concentration cycles or directly used aggressive fluids.
Demonstrations will take place at partner-owned
industrial sites, operating pilot plants in intended
environments, and/or at demo scales, guaranteeing theachievement of TRL 6 for all the technologies. The
demonstration activities and the partnershipcomposition ensures the validation of suitable businessmodels and the finalization of business plans,
guaranteeing technological transfer from industry tomarket, increasing the competitiveness at European
levels and impacting water use in the power-generation
sector.
The geothermal test site for the MATChING projectwill be the cooling tower of the Nuova San Martino
plant in Larderello, Italy. To allow the use of hybrid
towers in geothermal fields, advanced tower filling (e.g.
splash 3D packing), able to reduce the volume ofpacking but not the thermal efficiency, will be installedin the wet section. The dry section will be strengthenedby means of advanced nanocoatings, applied on internaland external surfaces to increase the robustness of thedry section and avoid the fouling and clogging
phenomena without reducing the thermal exchange
efficiency between geo-fluid and air.
Contact (forgeothermal partof the project):
RuggeroBertani, Enel
Green Power,
via A. Pisano
120, 56127 Pisa,
Italy; Phone:+39 3299506574; email: rugggero.bertani@enel.com

SURE - Novel Productivity Enhancement
Concept for a Sustainable Utilization of a
Geothermal Resource
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
The EC funded Horizon 2020 project SURE, for radial
water-jet drilling (RJD), started last March. The RJDtechnology will be investigated and tested as analternative stimulation method to increase inflow ininsufficiently producing geothermal wells. Radial water
jet drilling uses the power of a focused jet of fluids
applied to a rock through a coil inserted in an existing
well. This technology is likely to provide much better
control of the enhanced flow paths around a geothermal
well and does not involve the same amount of fluid as
does conventional hydraulic fracturing, considerably
reducing the risk of induced seismicity. Therefore RJD
will be applied to access and connect the highly
permeable zones within geothermal reservoirs initiallynot connected to the main well.
SURE will investigate the RJD technology for deep
geothermal reservoir rocks in different geologicalsettings, like deep sedimentary basins and magmatic
regions at micro, meso and macro-scales. Laboratory
tests will include the determination of parameters likeelastic constants, permeability and cohesion of therocks, as well as jetting experiments into large samples
at ambient and simulated reservoir conditions. Samples
will be investigated in 3D with micro CT scanners andwith standard microscopy approaches. In addition,
advanced modeling will help explain the actual
mechanism leading to rock destruction at the tip of thewater jet. Last but not least, experimental and modeling
results will be validated by controlled experiments in aquarry (meso-scale) that allows precise monitoring of
the process, as well as in two different geothermal wellsin the Netherlands and in Iceland, respectively (at amacro-scale). Further information can be found on
www.SURE-H2020.eu.
Contact: Thomas
Reinsch, GFZ
German ResearchCentre forGeosciences,
Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany; Phone: +49331-288-1834; email: Thomas.Reinsch@gfz-potsdam.de

ThermoDrill – Fast track innovative drillingsystem for deep geothermal challenges in
EuropeEurope urgently needs renewable energy sources
producing heat and electricity on a permanent basis tosupplement the intermittent energy supply of wind andsolar power. This can only be achieved by tapping into
the enormous potential of geothermal energy. In mostareas in Europe, however, suitable geothermal reservoirs
lie at depths of 5000 to 6000 meters and consequently
involve high drilling costs. A smart and efficienttechnological solution is therefore required to exploit
these resources.
www.geothermal-energy.org

31
The goal of the ThermoDrill project is to develop an
innovative drilling system which will enable faster andcost-efficient drilling. The new system will be suitablefor drilling hard and abrasive rock types. It willwithstand the extreme temperature and pressure
conditions involved in geothermal drilling and meet themost stringent standards in terms of health, safety andenvironmental protection.
The project will be carried out in a three stage process.
First investigations and laboratory tests will be
performed to examine the relevant rock and fluid
parameters and thus provide a sound scientificframework for subsequent developmental work.
These preliminary investigations will be followed by aconcept and design phase focusing on component
development, including vertical jetting tools, innovative
bit designs and new jetting and drilling fluids for hard
crystalline rock suitable for high temperature andpressure conditions. All these technologies will be
combined into a fast track, innovative drilling systemtaking into account casing and cementing issues.
In the final stage, the laboratory results will be validated
in a small-scale field test. The project team will build atest facility and prototypes of the drill and fluids and test
them on a range of crystalline rock types under realworld conditions.
More
information:
www.thermod
rill-h2020.org
Contact: Sepp
Steinlechner, MONTANUNIVERSITÄT LEOBEN,
Franz-Josef-Straße 18, A-8700 Leoben, Germany;
Phone: +43 3842 402-3023; email:sepp.steinlechner@unileoben.ac.atHighlights of the European
Geothermal Congress (EGC)
2016
Over 1,000 participants from more than 34 countries
joined the European Geothermal Congress (EGC)
2016, held in Strasbourg, France, from 19 through 23
September. The event, organized every three years by
the European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC),
brought together stakeholders from the entire
geothermal community for sessions covering science,
markets, and social issues, an exhibition, courses, andside events.
Geothermal in Europe is growing and the sector
maintains its technological leadership. Today, 88 power
plants with a total installed capacity of 2.28 GWe are in
operation, with an increasing number of innovative
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
binary turbines. There are also 527 district heating
plants with a total capacity of 4.7GWth; new designs
and IT techniques will revolutionize the sector, creating
modern, adaptable systems for future communities.
Around 1.7 million ground source heat pumps areproviding sustainable heating, cooling and hot water tohomes and businesses across Europe, making it theleader in this technology. This growth has been
supported by both European and national measures forclimate, energy and innovation, which have triggeredinterest and private investment in geothermal.
Still, the potential for geothermal energy to provide
renewable, clean, local, safe, and reliable energy is muchlarger, but barriers still exist.
Clear and strong signals are needed at a European level.
In the legislative framework for the period after 2020, tobe unveiled by the commission by the end of the year,
investors must be reassured of stability in regulatory andplanning systems over the next 15-20 years. New
legislation should include requirements for a minimum
share of renewables in new buildings, remove incentives
for fossil fuel systems, and grant Member States theflexibility to develop their own instruments which willallow the next generation of technologies to develop.
Local, national, and international political and industrial
leaders opened the EGC 2016, describing how Europe
is leading the world in innovation and scientificexcellence. Strasbourg provides an excellent stage forthis event; famous since Roman times for its geothermalspas, it is now at the vanguard of geothermal
development as the home of the first demonstrated
EGS plant at Soultz-sous-Forêts, and the first EGS
plant providing heat to industry.

32
Centre. In the meeting, a new Board was elected,
including a new President. Burkhard Sanner, thePresident since 2004, had announced his intention to
not stand for a new election. Sanner, one of thefounders of EGEC in 1998 and active in getting EGEC
running since then, said that it was “time to hand overthe helm to others.” The new board is comprised ofPresident: Ruggero Bertani (ENEL Green Power)
Vice President: Miklos Antics (GPC IP)
Vice president: Javier Urchueguia (Energesis)
Treasurer: Attila Kujbus (Geothermal Express)
Board Member: Marco Baresi (Turboden)
Board Member: Robert Gavriliuc (Romanian
Geoexchange Society)
Board Member: Thor-Erik Musaeus (Rock Energy)
Sources: http://egec.info/wpcontent/uploads/2016/08/EGEC-NewsletterSummer2016.pdf,
http://europeangeothermalcongress.eu/thegeothermal-community-meets-in-strasbourg-for-theeuropean-geothermal-congress-2016-to-celebrateeuropean-excellency-calls-for-clear-structural-signalsand-tailored-tools-for-further-expansion/Germany: Geothermal
Congress, New Energy Law
German Geothermal Congress Offers a Full-time
English Program - The German Geothermal Congress(29th November – 1st December, Essen) is broadening
its offers for international guests. On the workshop day(29th November) and both congress days (30thNovember and 1st December) there will bepresentations and workshops on
drilling and downstream technologies
as well as on global issues. Further
information on the English offers
you
may
find
here:
http://www.geothermie.de/aktuelles/der-geothermiekongress2016/information-in-english.html.
The full program including thepresentations in German language areavailable here:

View of the Soultz-sous-Fôrets power plant, in operation since June 2016 but
officially inaugurated on September 23. Photo by Marie-Thérèse Koehler, ©
Radio France.
As one of the side events of the congress, EGEC held
its annual general meeting on 21 September in the same
venue, the Strasbourg Convention and Exhibitionwww.geothermal-energy.org

http://www.geothermie.de/fileadmin/useruploads/aktuelles/Geothermiek
ongress/2016/DGK_2016Programm_Stand_05.09.2016.pdf

New Energy Law with No
Auctions for Geothermal - The
Bundestag and the Bundesrat in early July approved a
new energy law outlining the annual auctions forrenewable power capacity over the coming years. With
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2016), thecountry turns to renewable energy auctions to replace
the feed-in tariff (FiT) program. The law will come into
force at the start of 2017, subject to receiving the EU’s
blessing.
For onshore wind, EEG 2016 announces annual
installation capacities of 2,800 MW in 2017-2019, which
increase to 2,900 MW in2020. Offshore wind willreach
15,000 MW by 2030, with 500 MW in each of 2021 and
2022, followed by 700 MW per year in 2023-2025, and
840 MW per year from 2026 on. In 2021, offshore windparks will be built only in the Baltic Sea because ofavailable grid capacity.

33
Completing the well to its total depth is estimated totake about 150 days, including about 30 days needed fortaking 10 m core samples. The available funding should
allow 20-25 core runs to be attempted using equipment,
techniques and personnel that have already successfully
extracted cores from geothermal wells at Reykjanes.
Funds for coring and their scientific studies have been
augmented by the U.S. National Science Foundation(NSF) award EAR 05076725 to Wilfred A. Elders andco-workers in the U.S.

The amended Renewable Energy Sources Act sets a 600
MW annual auctions target for big solar systems.
Biomass power tenders, on the other hand, will involve
150 MW per year in 2017-2019 and 200 MW/year in
2020-2022. There is to be no auction for hydropower orgeothermal.
Source:http://renewables.seenews.com/news/germany-okaysnew-energy-law-annual-targets-for-renewable-auctions532144#

Iceland: IDDP-2 Starts
Drilling in Reykjanes

Drilling rig at the site. Photo taken from:http://www.pennenergy.com/articles/pennenergy/2016/09/statoil-and-icelandic-partners-drill-theworld-s-hottest-geothermal-well.html

On early September, drilling of a 5000 meter deep well
was started in the Reykjanes Peninsula in SW Iceland.
This was the beginning of the IDDP-2 (Icelandic Deep
Drilling Project), which is a joint effort of the IDDPConsortium and the European Union-supported project
DEEPEGS (Deployment of Deep Enhanced
Geothermal Systems for Sustainable Energy Business).
Jardboranir, the Iceland Drilling Company (IDC), hasbeen contracted for drilling the well on a daily rate basis
using a Bentec 350 ton rig with an electrical top drive,
better known as Thor. The rig has previously been usedin Iceland at the Hellisheidi geothermal site.

The IDDP-2 is significant not only for the developmentof new geothermal resources in Iceland but
internationally. Not only do aqueous geo-fluids at
supercritical condition have more than five times thepower producing potential than hydrothermal liquidwaters of 225˚C, but there is a singularity in thetransport properties of water at the critical point.
Modeling indicates that a supercritical well could haveten times the power output of a conventional
geothermal well. Potential sites for supercritical
geothermal resources occur worldwide, both on andoffshore, wherever young volcanoes occur.

The plan is to take over an existing well, RN-15, whichis 2.5 km deep, deepen the well to 3 km, set casing, andthen continue drilling to 5.0 km depth to continue
exploring for a supercritical geothermal resource. The
well will be deviated 16° SW with a kick-off point at
2750 m to intersect the deep target zone. Conventional
down-hole motors and gyros will be used from the
kickoff point to 3150 m. Then high-temperature, downhole directional drilling equipment, recently developedby Baker Hughes, will also be employed. Lithological
logging of drill cuttings samples taken at 2 m intervals
will be carried out by ISOR and both cores and cuttings
will be scanned and the core descriptions andlithological logs will be entered into an ICDP Drilling
Information System (DIS) to disseminate the data
expeditiously.

Source: http://iddp.is/wpcontent/uploads/2016/07/SAGA-REPORT-No10.pdf

www.geothermal-energy.org

Italy: Official Inauguration of
Bagnore 4 Geothermal Power
Plant
Last July, Enel Green Power (EGP) inaugurated its
Bagnore 4 geothermal power plant in Tuscany, Italy.
The plant started operation in 2014 (see IGA News 98,
pp. 22-23). It’s located near Mount Amiata, between thetowns of Santa Fiora and Arcidosso, and has a total
installed capacity of 40 MW, in addition to the existing
plant of 20 MW Bagnore 3 built in 1998.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
Bagnore 4 has a sophisticated active monitoring system,
tele-diagnostics and well adjustments that prevent steam
spillage into the atmosphere in case of a halt by a
production team. The control unit is equipped with two
AMIS (mercury abatement and hydrogen sulfide) and an
innovative system for the removal of ammonia
operating at both Bagnore 3 and Bagnore 4. All thetechnology of the Bagnore geothermal complex is
Italian, from exploration and drilling, construction –allmaterial is made in Italy– to production andmaintenance.

Photo: ENEL (https://www.enel.it/it-it/eventinews/Pagine/Innovazione-dal-sottosuolo-.aspx)
The Bagnore 4 plant will also become a sort of open-air
energy school, thanks to an innovative tourist trail thatwinds around the plant. The trail will also involve
Bagnore 3 and give citizens and visitors alike theopportunity to experience up close, the operation of
power plants and the opportunities offered by the
exploitation of the earth’s heat. Those interested canchoose between two modes, both free: a free visit
without a guide or one led by EGP staff, ready toanswer questions and respond to the curiosity ofvisitors. The guided tour allows entry inside the center
to learn more about the operation of the system, theengine room suppressants like AMIS and ammonia,
placement of the electricity network, the steam coolingprocess and district heating. The Santa Fioraadministration has chosen to include the visit within thecentral municipal offer to tourists, confirming theimportance of geothermal energy not only for energy
production but also as an environmental and tourist
resource in the territory of Amiata.
Source: http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/enelofficially-inaugurates-bagnore-4-plant-in-tuscanyitaly/?utm_source=ThinkGeoEnergy+List&utm_camp
aign=33007ccd9cwww.geothermal-energy.org

34
TGE_Newsletter_RSS1_12_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_657e42f767-33007ccd9c-415210497

The Netherlands:
Extraordinary Growth ofGeothermal Uses, and One
Current Example
Rapid Growth of Geothermal Heat Applications in theCountry - Geothermal energy has been developing
rapidly in the Netherlands in the last years.
Niek Willemsen, of IF Technology, explains
the reasons for this growth, in these excerpts
taken from ThinkGeoEnergy.
There are several reasons for the
extraordinary growth of geothermal energy
in the Netherlands. One of the biggest is theexcellent regulatory framework implemented
by the Dutch government over the past
years. The Dutch government has developed
policy instruments that… have facilitated therapid development of geothermal energy in
The Netherlands. The most important ofthese instruments are listed below.
- NLOG public subsurface data. The
Netherlands Oil and Gas (NLOG) portal is a
public database that holds all subsurface data
(e.g. well logs and geophysical surveys)
gathered under a mining permit. This
includes data from the oil and gas industry
plus mining and scientific research. The
Dutch mining law obliges all parties operating under amining permit to deliver the acquired data to thegovernmental organization, TNO. This data will bemade public five years after acquisition. This system isof vital importance to the geothermal industry as it all
but eliminates the need for exploratory drilling. Basedpurely on the available data in The Netherlands, it ispossible to get a 90% certainty estimate (P90) of thepower output of a projected well pair. This high degreeof certainty means up to 70% bank financing is possible
without the need for additional exploration activities.
This significantly reduces the up-front costs and risks
for geothermal project developers.
- State owned risk mitigation fund. The Dutch
government set up a fund to mitigate the geologicalrisks within geothermal projects. This risk mitigation
fund pays out 85% of well costs in case the thermal
power output is less than the previously mentioned P90
estimate. The fee is 7% of the costs covered.
- Feed-in premium for renewable heat. The Netherlands
has a feed in premium for renewable heat to stimulate
the transition from a fossil-based energy system to arenewable energy system. This program is called SDE+
and it pays out the difference between the costs of fossil
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
energy and renewable energy. There is a set amount ofsubsidy each year and the cheapest forms of renewableenergy get subsidized first. So far, geothermal heat is
one of the cheapest forms of renewable energy per
MWh in The Netherlands.
The result of these measures is that the Dutch
geothermal market is now the fastest growing in Europe
by a large margin as shown below (see attached graphic).
The Dutch geothermal sector has seen a steady 50%
annual growth-rate in output over the past 4 years.
Source: http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/the-rapiddevelopment-of-geothermal-energy-in-thenetherlands/?utm_source=ThinkGeoEnergy+List&utm_campaign=397d2a1559TGE_Newsletter_RSS1_12_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_657e42f767-397d2a1559-415210497
Start of Drilling at the Aardwarmte Vogelaer Project- After months of preparation, on 12 August thegeothermal project Aardwarmte Vogelaer has started
drilling in Poeldijk, Holland. The seven participating
glasshouse companies are expected to begin using thegeothermal energy station located at the Wateringseweg
and the heat distribution network to be set up at the endof 2016.

Drilling pad at Aardwarmte Vogeler (Photo fromhttp://www.aardwarmtevogelaer.nl/424460745)
The company DrillTec GUT GmbH is drilling the
production well, planned to reach 2,500 m in depth andexpected produce hot water at 85°C from the aquifer
composed of a sand layer. The heat from this water will
be used to heat greenhouse farms in a sustainable
manner and the cooled water will be pumped back tothe same aquifer through an injection well to be drilled
at the same depth. This way the related horticulturalcompanies expect to annually emit approximately 23
kilotons less of CO2 and save more than 13 million m3
of natural gas. This is equivalent to the consumption byapproximately 8,000 households. The participatingcompanies are Optiflor, Fachjan, Kwekerij Apartus,
Amazone Plants, Gebr. Grootscholten Handelskwekerij,www.geothermal-energy.org

35
Kwekerij Barendse and Zuidgeest Growers, who havemade a conscious choice towards the sustainablecultivation of their products and a cleaner, healthier
future.
Source:http://www.hortidaily.com/article/28215/Start-ofdrilling-at-Aardwarmte-Vogelaer

Poland: Pros and Cons ofGeothermal Heating
The Polish government intends to fund up to 700
million Polish Zloty (US$185 million) supporting
drilling and construction of geothermal plants.
Following failed plans for shale gas development, theplanned funding could help to adapt abandoned wells.
As noted previously (see IGA News No. 103, p. 22),
Poland’s new minister of Environment stated in
February that, “Geothermal energy, not wind energy,
will definitely be the priority of this government…”
Now, Jacek Zimny from the Academy of Mining andMetallurgy and head of the Polish Geothermal
Association, said, “With heating by geothermal energy,
Poland could become completely independent fromforeign energy sources”. In February this year, thecountry’s President, Andrzej Duda, appointed him to
the National Development Council. In June, he was oneof the main speakers at the conference organized by the
National Fund for geothermal energy. There he talked
about his thesis on Polish energy self-sufficiency basedon the abundant resources of geothermal.
However, there is some opposition. Michael Wilczynski,
a former chief geologist of the country, says that only ina few places in Poland do water wells have sufficienttemperatures (above 60°C), pressures and chemicalcompositions to be used for heating. And even then,says Wilczynski, it is impossible to build a heating plant
without public subsidies, because drilling one well costs
more than 30 million Polish Zloty (US$8m). The
subsequent operation is also expensive because thewater from the ground is usually highly saline,
destroying pipes and equipment.
Source: http://www.thinkgeoenergy.com/geothermalheating-part-of-ambitious-plans-of-polish-government/

Sweden: Novel Pilot Hybrid
Solar PV-Geothermal System
Research out of the SP Technical Research Institute of
Sweden has provided proof of concept for a novel
hybrid renewable-energy system featuring a combinationof hybrid solar PV and geothermal power.
The new concept is based on a system integrating
hybrid solar PV, ground-source heat pump (GSHP) andborehole thermal energy storage (BTES) technologies.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

36

The result is a system in which outputs from eachtechnology are highly complementary to one another,and carry the potential to increase energy efficiency andcost effectiveness of individual components.
A critical feature of the system is the role played by thehybrid solar PV. Unlike conventional solar PV, hybrid
solar PV, sometimes referred to as hybrid solar
photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T), is a popular, wellestablished method for cooling PV cells. Hybrid solar
PV modules consist of conventional PV cells withembedded systems containing some form of coolingagent, typically water or air, which is circulated throughPV panels. The intention here is to reduce PV celltemperatures, as it is known that overheating —througheither solar radiation or ambient temperatures—
reduces PV cell efficiency significantly.
The new system advances the hybrid solar PV concept
by making use of the output water within a vertical loop
GSHP system through which it flows. Pernilla Gervind,
one of the lead researchers on the project, explained:“Having passed through the PV panels, water is heatedto around 10-degrees Celsius; it is then directed into thecold side GSHP system and used as heat source; if there
is a surplus of heat, this is then directed down into
boreholes. Here, the thermal energy of water isabsorbed by the surrounding ground as result of atemperature differential that arises from the ambient
temperature of the ground being between 2 to 3 degrees
Celsius. The now-cooled water is then cycled back up
the system, and re-used in the cooling of PV panels in aclosed-loop system.”Heating boreholes with direct heat is not new —it’s aprocess referred to as ‘recharging,’ and is a common
method for increasing efficiency of heat pumps in
response to temperatures surrounding boreholes
declining over time, in part through absorption ofthermal energy. Commonly, however, direct heat is
generated through more conventional means or throughconcentrated solar power (CSP). Using hybrid solar PV
in this recharging context is unique.
The system may be used for the purposes of seasonal
storage of thermal energy, as Gervind explains: “In
Sweden, seasonal temperatures vary greatly, providing

options for how the system can be used accordingly. In
the summer we can generate solar thermal energy, but
it’s not required for anything —so we can use boreholes
to store this excess energy for use during the winterwhen it is required.”

Photo by Pernilla Gervind and Jessica Benson,
taken from the source.
The system stands to be especially useful in Sweden,
where geothermal energy is dominated by lowtemperature, shallow systems featuring GSHPs used forspace heating and domestic hot-water heating. About 20
percent of Swedish buildings use GSHPs, according to
the International Geothermal Association.
In the study, which was supported by the Swedish
Energy Agency together with Energiförbättring Väst,
the system was piloted through 2015 on the western
coast of Sweden in over 70 terraced houses. Monitoring
system performance allowed the researchers to makemid-study adjustments. Owing to the relative success ofthe pilot project, the researchers are looking towards
future studies.
Source:http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2016/
09/novel-hybrid-solar-pv-geothermal-energy-systempiloted-insweden.html?cmpid=renewablegeothermal0982016&eid=291021978&bid=1520985

Turkey: Toshiba Turbo-

GEOTHERMICS
International Journal of Geothermal Research and its
Applications
Write to JournalsCustomerServiceEMEA@elsevier.com if
you want a suscription at a special rate for IGA
members.
Content of the latest issues:
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/geothermics
www.geothermal-energy.org

October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

generators for Unit 2 ofKizildere III
Toshiba Corporation announced it has won a major
order to supply a flash steam turbine system andgenerator, of 50.7 MW, gross, for Unit 2 of the
Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant in Turkey. Zorlu
Energy, an independent power producer and member ofTurkey’s Zorlu Energy Group, will construct the plantin Kizildere, in the Aydin province of West Anatolia,
Turkey. Toshiba will deliver the generation equipmentin July 2017 and the plant is scheduled to start
generating electricity in December 2017.
Energy consumption in Turkey is growing fast, driven
by population growth and economic development. Boththe government and the private sector are promoting
projects to increase capacity. Toshiba concluded amemorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zorlu
Energy Group in January 2016, covering theconstruction of geothermal, thermal and hydro power
plants.
Unit 2 of the Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant is a
70 MW, high-efficiency triple flash, combined-cycle
geothermal power plant. It will integrate two systems: anapproximately 50.7 MW flash steam generation system
driven by steam under high pressure; plus anapproximately 19.3 MW binary cycle, power-generation
system that uses a flash turbine exhaust steam tovaporize a working fluid with a lower boiling point andto drive a turbine.
Toshiba delivered a flash power generation system for
the Zorlu Energy Group’s Alasehir Geothermal Power
Plant in 2014, its first in Turkey. Following smooth
progress in installation work and proving tests, the plant
started commercial operation ahead of schedule, in
September 2015. After that, Toshiba received a further
order for a flash-power generation system for Unit 1 ofthe same Kizildere III plant in 2015, which is being
manufactured. This is the third order that Toshiba hasreceived from the Zorlu Group.
Toshiba said in its press release that the company isstrongly focused on expanding its geothermal turbogenerator business, promoting a strategic collaborationagreement (SCA) with US-based Ormat Technologies,
Inc., a maker of binary systems, and offering a range ofassistance measures, including financing by the Japanese
Government under its ‘quality infrastructure export’
policy. Toshiba noted it is expanding the scope of its
business beyond manufacturing to include operationand maintenance of geothermal power plants.
Source:http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2016_09/pr130
1.htm#PRESS

Oceania
www.geothermal-energy.org

37

Australia: Final Activities in
the First Demonstration EGS
Project
The Australian company, Geodynamics Limited, hasentered a new stage of its transition to a clean energy
product and service company. The company has ceased
all geothermal energy development projects andmaterially completed the plugging and abandonment ofwells and remediation activities in the Cooper Basin.
The Cooper Basin is the site where the company
conducted the only EGS (Enhanced or Engineered
Geothermal System) pilot project in Australia that could
produce electrical energy. The 1MW Habanero pilot
plant operated for 160 days in 2013. Prior to the closureof the trial, the plant was operating at 19 kg/s and a
215°C production well head temperature. The next stageof the project investigated the use of geothermal energy
to provide process heat to future natural gas
developments in the Cooper Basin. Mainly due to thelow oil prices, the project did not proceed to the nextstages of demonstrating this application of geothermalenergy, given there would not be a potential end user
co-located. The project was closed on 10 December
2015.

Steam at night. Photo taken fromhttps://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au/technologies/
geothermal.html.
Since then, the remediation of the Cooper Basin has
been a key focus for Geodynamics. Geothermal wells
Celsius 1, Jolokia 1, Savina 1, Habanero 1 and Habanero
2 are all plugged and abandoned with surface
remediation completed. Habanero 3 and Habanero 4 arecurrently undergoing monitoring after having thecement plugs set. Plans for the final well barriers,
surface plugs and well caps for Habanero 3 and 4 are inplace and will be executed once the monitoring period is
successfully completed. The remaining surface
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
remediation of the Cooper Basin site, removal of powerlines and the transfer of operating assets to third parties
is expected to be completed in 2016.
Geodynamics also unveiled it has implemented the exitof all interests in Pacific island geothermal projects, withno material financial liabilities associated with the
projects.
Geodynamics reported a closing cash balance of
AU$14.41 million for the year ending 30 June 2016. A
proportion of the cash outlay for the financial year was
attributable to the remediation activities in the Cooper
Basin. However, after the completion of remediation
activities, Geodynamics will prepare an R&D tax
incentive claim, expecting to receive around AU$3.47
million by the end of the calendar year.
According to ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy
Agency), the total cost of the Habanero EGS project
was AU$144.22 million (US$ 198.26 million at thecurrent exchange rate), of which the federal government
provided 23%.

38
hillside into a creek bed. The spring had a temperatureof 64.4°C in 1898 and 66.0°C in 1972 [2]. The geothermal
freezer facility plans to service the traditionallandowners of Vusasivo Village and adjoining Natewa
Village, in coordination with the Nambu Conservation
Trust of Natewa (~1000 villagers). The villagers have abasic infrastructure (post office, church, small clinic) but
lack any possibility for keeping food fresh and have noclean water and sewerage installations. This leads tosignificant provision problems and enhances the risk offood poisoning and diseases. A central Cool Storepowered by a geothermally driven ammonia-water
chiller could solve these issues. Technically the project is
identical to the Chena Hot Spring installation in
Alaska[3] that provides ice for an ice museum. The
timing of lending international development support
appears to be just right.
References:1.
Conference,
http://www.geothermalcities.com/index.p
hp/en/, inGeothermal
Energy for
the South
Pacific. 2017:
Vanua Levu.

Sources:
http://www.geodynamics.com.au/getattachment/59adc
258-fd12-4860-8346-7afe239c08a1/GeodynamicsCompany-Update.aspx,
http://arena.gov.au/project/cooper-basin-enhancedgeothermal-systems-heat-and-power-development/

Fiji: Pilot Plant GeothermalFreezer in Vanua Levu

2. Woodrow,P., Geologyof South East
Vanua Levu,
in Bulletin No.
4, 1976.

Klaus Regenaur-Lieb, University of
New South Wales, Australia
The Vanua Levu project is a Strategic Research Theme
Project (SRT) by the University of the South Pacific(Holger Sommer) in collaboration with UNSW Australia(Klaus Regenauer-Lieb). This pilot project aims atdemonstrating a clean geothermal power solution foroff-grid use in the South Pacific. The long term aim is tointegrate multiple uses of naturally available geothermalheat for electric power, cooling solutions and fresh
water and other direct-heat uses to local communities.
The pilot project develops a central freezing andgeothermal absorption chilling facility for Natewa Bay—the first step in using a comparatively low risk directheat technology. The project seeds international
collaboration through a conference[1], with the aim ofestablishing an alliance for a cleaner developing world
by supporting the cascaded use of natural geothermalheat as the main energy source for industrial anddomestic use.
The project will use a hot spring locally known as the‘Waikatakata’ (hot water) spring (see figure attached),
located at 16°33.8’ S, 179°44.8’ E. It issues from a
www.geothermal-energy.org

3. Chena,
http://www.chenahotsprings.com/ice-museum-renewables/
Waikatakata Spring.

New Zealand: Agreement withIndonesia, Contribution of
Geothermal in 2015
Agreement with Idonesia - In middle July, Prime
Minister John Key met the Indonesian President, Joko
Widodo, in Jakarta. Key and President Widodo
discussed a wide range of issues, launched two new
educational initiatives and signed a renewable energy
agreement. “New Zealand and Indonesia have a strong
and growing relationship,” says Key. “New Zealandhelped build Indonesia’s first geothermal power plant in
the 1980s. Today we signed a renewable energy andenergy conservation agreement that will see New
Zealand assist Indonesia in its ambition to increase
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
renewable energy to 25 per cent of its total energy
supply by 2025… The New Zealand Government willcontribute up to US$30 million over the next five years
for geothermal training and technical assistance, andhelp Indonesia access renewable energy in Maluku,
Eastern Indonesia.”
Source: http://www.voxy.co.nz/politics/5/257795
Geothermal Produced 22% of TPES and 17% ofPower Generation - The Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment released late September its
official report Energy in New Zealand 2015. Amongother relevant data, it reports that 80.8% of the annual
electricity generation came from renewable sources,
which also produced 40.1% of the Total Primary Energy
Supply (TPES). In particular, geothermal energy
accounted for 22% of New Zealand’s TPES, and 17.3%
of power generation, being the second energy source
just behind hydro (see Fig. F.4 taken from the report).
Geothermal plants generated 7,411 GWh along the year,
which is a new record. The total New Zealandgeneration of electricity was 42,876 GWh, with thefirms Meridian Energy producing 33%, Contact Energy
22%, Mighty River Power 17%, Genesis Energy 14%,and Trustpower 5%. The remaining 9% was producedby other minor companies and local providers.
Source: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/infoservices/sectors-industries/energy/energy-datamodelling/publications/energy-in-new-zealand

Other
Climate Change: Philippines to
Withdraw the Paris
www.geothermal-energy.org

39

Agreement, while the EU Has
Ratified it
The Philippines will not honor commitments it madeunder the Paris climate change deal, President Rodrigo
Duterte said in middle July. “You are trying to stifle us,”President Duterte said. “That’s stupid, I will not honor
that. You signed… That was not my signature.”
Agreed by 195 countries including the Philippines lastDecember, the UN pact aims to limit warming to well
below 2°C from pre-industrial levels. It comes into
force when 55 countries covering 55% of global
emissions formally join. The Philippines accounts forless than 1% of the world’s emissions, and has not
ratified the deal.
President Duterte said he felt like attacking anambassador to the Philippines at a recent meeting, after
he was asked about plans to cut the country’s
greenhouse gas emissions. “I’m mad at this ambassador.
I want to kick him,” he said. Limits on carbon emissions
for the Philippines were “nonsense,” he added.
It is not the first time President Duterte has criticized
the international climate agreement. He previously
accused the UN of being “hypocrites” for fixing a pactthat requires all countries –not just the rich– to makegreenhouse gas cuts.
The UN deal also encourages countries to develop
better climate resilience strategies, vital for a nation as
vulnerable to extreme weather
as the Philippines.
By the other hand, theEuropean Parliament, theEuropean Union’s executive
arm, ratified the Paris
Agreement on climate change
on 4th October, triggering
global approval of the accord.
The 28-nation bloc approved
the pact, the most sweeping
effort to combat global
pollution, at a session in
Strasbourg, France. The voteindicates the threshold for
ratification –approval by atleast 55 parties accounting for55
percentofglobalemissions-- was reached. The
EU, which seeks to be
regarded as a leader in the fight against climate change,came under pressure to endorse the plan, codified in2015, after the United States, China and India did so.
Parliament President Jean-Claude Junker, who in
September noted slow delivery on promises has
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
undermined the EU's credibility, said, “Today theEuropean Union turned climate ambition into climate
action. The Paris Agreement is the first of its kind and it
would not have been possible were it not for theEuropean Union. Today we continued to show
leadership and prove that, together, the European
Union can deliver.”40
were incredibly able in charting a pathway out of thesemolecules, and now we’ve actually seen the planet
starting to get better. It’s a wonderful thing.”

The EU has set a goal of reducing heat-trapping gases
by at least 40 percent, compared to 1990 levels, by 2030.
Sources:
http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/07/18/philippines-wont-honour-un-climate-deal-says-president/,
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/WorldNews/2016/10/04/European-Union-ratifies-Parisclimate-change-agreement/7831475579820/

Climate Change: First Signs ofHealing in the Antarctic Ozone
Layer
A simulation of the Antarctic ozone hole, madefrom data taken on October 22, 2015. Image:NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (taken from
MIT News).

Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have identified the“first fingerprints of healing” of the Antarctic ozone
layer, as was published in early July in the journal
Science. The team found that the September 2015
ozone hole has shrunk by more than 4 million square
kilometers —about half the area of the contiguousUnited States— since the year 2000, when ozone
depletion was at its peak. The team also showed for the
first time that this recovery has slowed somewhat attimes, due to the effects of volcanic eruptions from year
to year. Overall, however, the ozone hole appears to be
on a healing path.

Source: http://news.mit.edu/2016/signs-healingantarctic-ozone-layer-0630

The authors used ‘fingerprints’ of the ozone changes
with season and altitude to attribute the ozone’s
recovery to the continuing decline of atmosphericchlorine originating from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
These chemical compounds were once emitted by dry
cleaning processes, old refrigerators and aerosols suchas hairspray. In 1987, virtually every country in theworld signed on to the Montreal Protocol in a concerted
effort to ban the use of CFCs and repair the ozone hole.

One of the most critical components of geothermal
development is the drilling process and the integrity andlongevity of a geothermal well’s casing cementation. The
gap between the casing and the walls of the well is filledwith cement, which locks the casing into place. Within
geothermal wells, cement and casing integrity challenges
are increased by the harsh conditions of hightemperature, high pressure and a chemical environmentthat can degrade conventional cement.

“We can now be confident that the things we’ve done
have put the planet on a path to heal,” says lead author
Susan Solomon, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry
and Climate Science at MIT. As chlorine levels continue
to dissipate from the atmosphere, Solomon sees noreason why, barring future volcanic eruptions, the ozone
hole shouldn’t shrink and eventually close permanently
by mid-century.

With assistance from the U.S. DOE’s GeothermalTechnology Office (GTO), Trabits Group, LLC has
successfully developed a cement that performs strongly
in harsh geothermal conditions and is easy to use. In
partnership with University of Alaska Fairbanks, TrabitsGroup has developed a novel, zeolite-containing,lightweight, high-temperature, high-pressure cement for
use in casing geothermal wells. Zeolites are a naturally
occurring clay mineral readily dehydrated andrehydrated. This cement reduces the complexity andcost of well cementing, which will help enable thewidespread development of geothermal energy.

“What’s exciting for me personally is, this brings somuch of my own work over 30 years full circle,” says
Solomon, whose research into chlorine and ozone
spurred the Montreal Protocol. “Science was helpful inshowing the path, diplomats and countries and industry
www.geothermal-energy.org

Technology: New Zeolitic
Cement for Geothermal Wells
Casings

The main features of the cement are:October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105- Thermal stability with little strength retrogression to
300°C.
- Tensile strength to withstand temperature and pressurechanges.
- Low-density, low-viscosity slurries with low-equivalentcirculating densities (ECD) without the need for air or
nitrogen foaming.
- A single cement blend allowing density adjustments
without adversely affecting slurry properties to eliminate
the need for separate blends for lead and tail slurries.
- Resistance to carbonation.
- Accurate downhole densities throughout cement
placement without significant changes in viscosity.
- Water absorption capacity without retaining free water.
- Good bonding to casing and formation.
- Adequate compressive strength.

41
with Atlas Copco, which operates worldwide and makes
specialized equipment and systems for drilling, mining
and construction.

The main benefits include cost savings by reducing timeand complexity of well cementing, lowering the overall
cost of well completion, compatibility with all common
additives (e.g., retarders and accelerators), minimizing
the effects of down-hole temperatures and reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, compared with Portland
cement production, by using naturally occurring
pozzolanic zeolites.
Trabits Group has started to commercialize the cement
under the trademark of FlexCemTM.
Sources: http://energy.gov/eere/successstories/articles/eere-success-story-geothermal-wellsadvancing-technology,
http://www.trabitsgroup.com/geocement.html

Technology: Downhole
Hammer for High
Temperatures
Sandia National Laboratories and the commercial firm,
Atlas Copco, have designed a drilling tool that willwithstand the heat of geothermal drilling. The downhole
hammer attaches to the end of a column of drill pipeand cuts through rock with a rapid hammering action
similar to that of a jackhammer. Downhole hammers are
not new —the oil and gas and mining industries haveused them since the 1950s— but the older design, with
its reliance on oil-based lubricants, plastic and rubber Orings, isn’t suited for the hotter temperatures ofgeothermal drilling.
“The technology behind the new hammer isfundamentally the same, but Sandia worked with
Sweden-based Atlas Copco in material selection and dry
lubricant technology that will work in the hightemperature environment,” said mechanical engineer
Jiann Su, Sandia’s principal investigator for the project
www.geothermal-energy.org

Technologist Elton Wright assists as mechanicalengineer Jiann Su inspects a downhole hammer
used to drill at Sandia National Laboratories’
high operating temperature (HOT) test facility.
Sandia and Swedish firm Atlas Copco designed,
built and tested the drilling tool that willwithstand the heat of geothermal drilling.
(Photo by Randy Montoya)
The Department of Energy (DOE) GeothermalTechnologies Office funded Atlas Copco as prime
contractor on the project, and the company partneredwith Sandia as the subcontractor.
“Part of what the DOE’s Geothermal Program islooking to do is help lower the cost of getting
geothermal energy out to customers,” said Su, a
researcher in Sandia’s geothermal research department.
“Some of reducing the cost is lowering exploration anddevelopment costs, and that’s one of the areas we’re
helping to tackle.”“We developed a tool that can be used in hightemperature environments that can help increase thedrilling rates and the rate of penetration to maybe 5 to
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
10 times that of conventional drilling operations, sothat’s a big plus for drillers,” he said. “It adds to theavailable options drillers have. This is not necessarily the
final option for every drilling situation but it does
provide a good option for the right situation.”
A critical piece of the project was developing lubricious
coatings, which help reduce friction between parts—
important in geothermal operations. “As temperatures
increase, the oils essentially cook and you get this sooty
mess inside. It’s like running your car too long withoutchanging your oil,” Su said. The hammer has internalmoving components that require lubrication, similar to apiston in a car engine. Su’s team worked with a formula
tailored to the operating conditions and base materials.
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-programlaboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly
owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp. for the
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security
Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque,
N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D
responsibilities in national security, energy andenvironmental
technologies
andeconomiccompetitiveness.
Source:https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/downhole_hammer/#.V5lg9fl9601

Science: Some Earthquakes
on San Andreas Fault Are
Triggered by Gravitational Tugof Sun and Moon
The gravitational tug between the sun and moon is notjust a dance of high and low tides: It can also trigger a
special kind of earthquake on the San Andreas Fault.
This phenomenon has fascinated scientists for years.

42
Like sea levels, the surface of the Earth also goes up anddown with the rhythm of the tides, flexing the crust andstressing the faults inside. Further study found thatduring certain phases of the tidal cycle, small tremors
deep underground –known as low-frequency
earthquakes– were more likely to occur.
“It’s kind of crazy, right? That the moon, when it’spulling in the same direction that the fault is slipping,causes the fault to slip more –and faster,” said Nicholas
van der Elst, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist andlead author of a new study on the subject published bymiddle July 2016 in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences. “What it shows is that the fault is
super weak –much weaker than we would expect– giventhat there’s 20 miles of rock sitting on top of it.”Studying how these low-frequency earthquakes respondto the tides can reveal new information about the San
Andreas and what it might mean for larger earthquakes,
researchers say. The data offer a window into deeper
parts of the fault –as much as 20 miles underground–that would otherwise be inaccessible.
Scientists first discovered these deeper tremors on thefault about 10 years ago, along a particularly sensitive
section in Parkfield, California, where the San Andreas
transitions from its northern section, where it gently
releases tectonic energy, to its southern portion that islocked and capable of producing the so-called Big One.
Like ocean tides, the strongest Earth tides occur when
the sun and moon are aligned and the weakest occur
when they are 90 degrees apart. The same gravitational
forces stretch and compress the Earth’s crust (though
the rock moves less dramatically than seawater).
Some faults are more susceptible to tidal triggering thanothers, like offshore faults such as the Cascadia
subduction zone off the Pacific Northwest coast,scientists say. Other characteristics of the fault, such as
its orientation or how close it is to the Earth’s
crust, also affect the tidal response.
Low-frequency earthquakes tend to havemagnitudes of less than 1.0, occurring about
15 to 30 kilometers below ground while
nearing the deepest part of the crust where it
transitions to the Earth’s mantle.
Source:http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-la-me-earthquakes-tides-san-andreas20160718-snap-story.html

The San Andreas fault in California (Photo by the U.S. Geological
Survey.)www.geothermal-energy.org

Science: New, Massive
Earthquake Threat Could
Lurk Under South Asia
A new GPS study of Bangladesh, India, andOctober-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

43

Myanmar (Burma) has found startling evidence that thenortheastern corner of the Indian subcontinent is
actively colliding with Asia, potentially posing a major
earthquake risk to one of the world’s most densely
populated regions.

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who led the teamthat installed and monitored from 2013 to 2014 the 26
GPS tracking stations laid across Bangladesh to see how
the country’s western half was moving relative to theIndian Peninsula.

The years-long analysis is the first to incorporate GPSdata from Bangladeshi tracking stations. It is now thelatest volley in a long-running academic debate over if
and how the geologically complex region isseismically active.

Meanwhile, building codes in the rapidly growing city
have long gone ignored, and the public remains unsureof what to do during an earthquake.

If the new study’s models are correct, the region —home to more than 140 million people— could besitting atop an active megathrust fault, the same kindof geologic feature that caused the catastrophic
magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan in 2011.
What’s more, the models suggest that the fault isstuck and has been accumulating stress for morethan 400 years, since before the Mughals made the
Bangladeshi city of Dhaka the regional capital in theearly 1600s. That means that an area more than 124
miles (200 kilometers) wide may be spring-loadedwith significant levels of tectonic strain, researchers
warn in Nature Geoscience. If the entire fault were
to give way at once, the team estimates that it could
spawn earthquakes up to magnitude 9.0, causing vastdevastation in a region underprepared for seismic
catastrophes.
However, researchers do not know if and when thefault will give way.
“Whether this region actually will slip in one single
earthquake, nobody can say yes or no,” says Vineet
Gahalaut, a geologist at India’s National GeophysicalResearch Institute and an expert on the region’s
seismicity who wasn’t involved with the study. “We
don’t have enough data to prove or disprove this.”
For more than 40 million years, the Indian subcontinent
has been crashing slowly into Asia in a geological pileupthat created and continues to feed the Himalayas. As themountains erode, sediment washes into the Ganges andBrahmaputra, among the world’s largest rivers, andflows into the Bay of Bengal at a current rate of a billion
tons a year. Over millions of years, piled-up sedimenthas extended the continental margin near Bangladesh byabout 250 miles (400 kilometers). Some parts of theregion’s crust are caked with more than 19 kilometers ofmaterial.

Area under significant earthquake risk. Figure slightly
modified. Original by Lauren C. Tierney, NG Staff.
Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/07/earthquakes-mega-thrust-dhaka-bangladesh-geologyscience/?utm_source=NatGeocom&utm_medium=Em
ail&utm_content=wild_science_20160815&utm_campa
ign=Content&utm_rd=151541

Science: Mantle Heat
Convection Is Bigger thanPreviously Thought
A global map of the convective currents inside Earth’s
mantle, compiled by the first time, shows thatconvective currents are moving roughly ten times fasterthan previously thought.

While the region’s sediments take up some of the strain
along the newly proposed fault, they’re not especiallystable, particularly around the rapidly developed easternoutskirts of Dhaka. If a major earthquake strikes, thesediments could even amplify the seismic waves.

“In geological terms, the Earth’s surface bobs up anddown like a yo-yo,” geologist Mark Hoggard ofCambridge University said in a statement. Hoggard islead author on a paper published in Nature Geoscience(Global dynamic topography observations reveal limited
influence of large-scale mantle flow, by M.J. Hoggard,
N. White & D. Al-Attar, Nature Geoscience 2016,
doi:10.1038/ngeo2709; see sources).

“Dhaka’s basically like a city built on a bowl of Jell-O,”
says geologist Michael Steckler of Columbia University’s

Our planet’s deep interior is an enduring scientificmystery. Having never drilled more than a few miles

www.geothermal-energy.org

October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105
beneath the surface of the Earth, geologists rely on
indirect measurements and models to get a sense ofwhat’s happening further down. The mantle is a nearly
3000 kilometer layer of gooey, compressed rock, andconvective activity within it has a big impact on Earth’s
surface.
“In addition to the normal plate tectonics, the interiorof the plates which should be quite boring are being
forced up and down by mantle convection,” Hoggard
said. “People have known that this occurs for a longtime, but for the past 30 years we haven’t had the data
to measure it.”That is changing, thanks to new high-resolution seismicreflection profiles created by the oil industry. Seismicreflection profiling is a technique geologists use to peer
deep into Earth’s crust, by measuring the reflection andrefraction of seismic waves as they travel downwards.
The method can reveal fine-scale changes in the
thickness of the crust, which in turn relates to mantle
convection.
By analyzing over 2,000 seismic reflection
measurements taken across the world’s oceans, Hoggard
and his colleagues constructed the first global databaseof mantle convection. They were surprised to discoverfrequent changes in the thickness of seafloor crust,
indicating that mantle convection is occurring far more
frequently than we thought.
Mantle convection can also have a surprising impact on
Earth’s climate, by affecting the large-scale ocean
circulation patterns that move heat around the world.
The Gulf Stream, for instance, carries warm water fromthe Gulf of Mexico to the coast of Western Europe,
before chilling out and sinking around Iceland.
“There are these narrow channels around Iceland thatallow water to sink,” Hoggard explained. “If you elevateor depress them, you could really affect ocean
circulation.”
Finally, mantle convection is responsible for forming
geothermal systems, like Yellowstone, and islandarchipelagos, like Hawaii, that crop up in the middle oftectonic plates. Hoggard’s findings will shed light on
how and why parts of the crust located far from plateboundaries are rising, falling, and ‘cooking’.
Hoggard said: “It is really a shift in view point. A lot ofgeologists will look at places far away from plateboundaries and think they should be very stable. What
we’ve shown is that regions that are often ignored areprobably very active.”
Sources: http://gizmodo.com/we-were-totally-wrongabout-whats-happening-inside-eart-1775495644,
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/
full/ngeo2709.html
www.geothermal-energy.org

44

IGA News
IGA News is published quarterly by the International
Geothermal Association. The function of IGA Newsis to disseminate timely information aboutgeothermal activities throughout the world. To thisend, a group of correspondents has agreed to supply
news for each issue. The core of this group consistsof the IGA Information Committee:
Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín, Mexico (Chairman)
Rolf Bracke, Germany
Paul Brophy, USA
Varun Chandrasekharam, India
Surya Darma, Indonesia
Lúdvík S. Georgsson, Iceland
José Luis Henríquez, El Salvador
Susan F. Hodgson, USA
Eduardo Iglesias, Mexico
Marcelo J. Lippmann, USA
Alfredo Mañón-Mercado, Mexico
Fernando (Ronnie) Peñarroyo, Philippines
Paul Quinlivan, New ZealandAlexander Richter, Iceland
Horst Rueter, Germany
Benedikt Steingrímsson, Iceland
Koichi Tagomori, Japan
Shigeto Yamada, JapanThe members of this group submit geothermal news
from their parts of the world, or relevant to theirareas of specialization. If you have some news, areport, or an article for IGA News, you can send it
to any of the above individuals, or directly to the
IGA Secretariat. Please help us to become essential
reading for anyone seeking the latest information on
geothermal worldwide.
While the editorial team makes every effort to ensure
accuracy, the opinions expressed in contributed
articles remain those of the authors and are notnecessarily those of the IGA. The editorial team does
not assume any liability for external content takenfrom public sources and websites, or endorse theproducts or services mentioned.
Send IGA News contributions to the editor(l.g.negrin@gmail.com) and/or:International Geothermal Association (IGA)
c/o Bochum University of Applied Sciences
Lennershofstr. 140, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)234 32 10712, Fax: +49 (0)234 3214809
E-mail: iga@hs-bochum.de
This issue of IGA News was edited by Luis C.A.
Gutiérrez-Negrín. Marcelo J. Lippmann & Susan
Hodgson proofread the articles. Distributed byMarietta Sander for the IGA Secretariat. Design
layout by François Vuataz.
October-December 2016

IGA News No. 105

Application for membership
Please complete the following form and return it withpayment to:International Geothermal Association (IGA)
c/o Bochum University of Applied Sciences
Lennershofstr. 140, 44801 Bochum, Germany
Tel.: +49 (0)234 32 10712; Fax: +49 (0)234 3214809
E-mail: iga@hs-bochum.de
IGA Home Page: www.geothermal-energy.org
Membership❒ Enrol me as a new member of IGA❒ Renew my membership to IGA
Dr Mr Mrs Ms (circle)
Family name ____________________________________First name ______________________________________
Profession ______________________________________
Organization ____________________________________
Address  Work  Home______________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone (area code) _________________________________Fax (area code) ___________________________________
E-mail __________________________________________
Note: The information you provide will be held on the IGA
database. It will be used to update you on the activities of the
Association, and may be changed or cancelled at any timeupon your request. It will be included in the IGA Directory,
which may be circulated in printed or electronic form to IGA
members only. If you do not wish your details to be used forthis purpose, please tick the box (in which case your name will
not be printed in the IGA Directory) Membership category
 Individual – USD 40
 Student – USD 10
 Corporate – USD 500
 Institutional – USD 500
 Sustaining: individual – USD 100
 Sustaining: corporate – USD 1000
Representatives of Corporate and Institutional members:
Contact person _________________________________
Second person __________________________________
Third person ___________________________________
Payment
There are three ways to make payment to IGA:
1. Credit card
 Master Card American Express
 VisaCard # __________________________________________
Expiration date ___________________________________
Signature ________________________________________

www.geothermal-energy.org

45
Date of signature _________________________________
2. Bank draft.
3. International Wire Transfer in USD to the International
Geothermal Association
Please notify the Secretariat by fax or e-mail when you wirefunds.
Bank: Helaba
Address: Friedrichstr. 74
40217 Duesseldorf, Germany
Account # 1007100413
SWIFT: WELADEDD
IBAN: DE77 3005 0000 1007 1004 13
2016 dues USD ___________________________________
2017 dues USD ___________________________________
2018 dues USD ___________________________________
Contribution USD ________________________________TOTAL USD ____________________________________
These financial data will not be stored on a database, and will
not be recorded in any electronic form.
Rates for advertising in IGA NewsSpace/Format
Size mm
Number of Issues
1
4 (per issue)
Full Page
185 x 245 USD 450
USD 350
Half Page
185 x 120 USD 310
USD 215(horizontal)
Half Page
90 x 245
USD 310
USD 215(vertical)
Quarter Page
120 x 90
USD 195
USD 155(horizontal)
Quarter Page
90 x 120
USD 195
USD 155(vertical)
REDUCED SUBSCRIPTION RATES FOR Geothermics
Elsvier is pleased to offer members of the IGA a preferential
subscription rate to the journal Geothermics. It is published six
times a year, with a normal institutional suscription rate of
USD 2,085 per year (printed version), or USD 1,042.80 per
year (eJournal) (2016 prices).
IGA members, are eligible for a special yearly rate of USD
285. If you want the special rate, please contact
JournalsCustomerServiceEMEA@elsevier.com. Upon request,
they will send a proforma invoice to your e-mail ID. You canmake your payment via bank transfer, fax your card details orcall them with the information provided in your invoice.
Elsevier (https://www.elsevier.com/) provides web-based,
digital solutions —among them ScienceDirect, Scopus, Elsevier
Research Intelligence and ClinicalKey— and publishes over 2,000
journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and more than 33,000
book titles. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a world-leading
provider of information and analytics for professional andbusiness customers across industries.

October-December 2016