GEOT 3101: Geothermal Energy Technology

Course Lecturer: Mapereka FL Chagunda

Department of Energy Resources

Ndata School of Climate and Earth Sciences
Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST)

Email: [email protected]
 Lecture 7

The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy

MUST 13/04/2025 2
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy

• In some cases, there have been production declines at geothermal fields due to:
• loss of water/steam
• declining temperatures in specific areas or wells.
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy

• The future of the Geothermal energy plant will depend on how well the
technology can blend with:
✓ energy security,
✓ energy equity (access and affordability),
✓ environmental sustainability
✓ proper management of water and reservoir.
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy

• However, in a future where the emphasis is no longer on fossil fuels but on

renewable and environmentally acceptable energy resources, geothermal energy
is bound to have an important role.
• 161 countries at the end of 2015 climate change conference in Paris pledged to
cut carbon emissions by increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix.
• Geothermal energy is included in pledges of several countries.
• These commitments will have a positive influence on geothermal development,
so much so that it is estimated that capacity will double by 2030
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy –
Developed countries

• There are significant opportunities for the expansion of the geothermal industry
in developed countries, for example, across the United States, primarily in
western states.
• A report by the U.S Geological survey indicates that 39 gigawatts of geothermal
production potential exist in 13 of the most geothermal-friendly states.
• Of the 39 gigawatts, nine gigawatts exist in already-identified geothermal
reserves, and the other 30 gigawatts is estimated to exist in undiscovered
geothermal reserves.
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy –
Developing Countries

• Geothermal energy is now on the threshold of becoming a major player in the

energy market.
• For example, in the East Africa Rift System.
• Energy demand is rising, geothermal resources are plentiful and reliable.
• To some extent, the Geothermal energy can be used to replace energy
production based on imported (usually) fossil fuels.
• The East Africa Rift System is a classical continental rift system associated with the
world-wide mid ocean rift systems.
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy –
Developing Countries

• The rift extends from the Red Sea – Afar triple junction through Ethiopian
highlands, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi to Mozambique in the south.
• Geothermal activity in the rift is manifested by the occurrences of Quaternary
volcanoes, hot springs, fumaroles, boiling pools, hot and steaming grounds,
geysers and sulphur deposits.
• However, the Eastern Branch that comprises the Ethiopian and Kenya rifts is older
and relatively more volcanically active than the western branch that comprises –
Tanganyika-Rukwa-Malawi rifts
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy -
Prospects of Geothermal Energy in Malawi

• Geothermal indicators in Malawi occur in form of mainly warm springs and hot
springs.
• Twenty-one (21) major hot springs are reported in Malawi, in the Chitipa and
Karonga area in the North to Chipudze in the Southern region with the highest
recorded temperature at 79.3°C.
• Discharge of gases is observed in some springs.
• They occur within the Malawian Rift Valley and the source of heat is the high
heat fluxes from the crustal rocks due to conduction.
 The possibilities and issues of future geothermal energy -
Prospects of Geothermal Energy in Malawi

• Preliminary results from fluid geothermometry indicate that the reservoirs have
temperatures of more than 160-250℃.
• A private company in Malawi has been concessioned the prospects and have
signed an agreement with GDC to undertake detailed exploration in the
prospects.
Did we
talk
about
these?
Geopressured and Enhanced Geothermal Systems
 Geopressured geothermal systems

• Geopressured Resources take advantage of underground pressurized

reservoirs that contain both hot water and dissolved natural gas
• They exist as deep sedimentary formations containing hot, saline liquid at
pressures considerably higher than normal hydrostatic.
• They are type of hydrothermal environment whose hot water is almost
completely sealed from exchange with surrounding rocks
 Geopressured geothermal systems

• Geopressured systems form a basin in which very rapid filling with sediments
takes place, resulting in higher than normal pressure of the hydrothermal water.
• The value of these resources is enhanced by the presence of natural gas dissolved
in the fluids.
• For electricity generation, the dissolved gas and any free gas are separated from
the geofluid prior to directing the geofluid through a binary system.
 Geopressured geothermal systems

• The gas is then directed to

✓ a gas engine for direct electricity generation
✓ or to a gas pipeline, and
• The geofluid is directed back to an injection well that is not hydraulically
connected to the geopressured reservoir.
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)

• Although in some Geothermal resources heat can naturally exist underground as

pockets of steam or hot water, most areas need to be “enhanced” with injected
water to create steam.
• EGS uses drilling, fracturing, and injection to provide fluid and permeability in
areas that have hot—but dry—underground rock
There are several descriptions or definitions of EGS
• EGS include all geothermal resources that are currently not in commercial
production and require stimulation or enhancement for the energy to be
extracted.
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

• EGS are engineered reservoirs that have been created to extract economical
amounts of heat from low permeability and/or porosity geothermal resources”.
• EGS refer to methods of harvesting energy from Earth’s crust by passing fluid
through a zone of enhanced permeability in rock at depth.
• The enhancements involves:
✓ drilling to sufficient depths that high temperatures are reached;
✓ creating enough permeability that fluid can be flushed at significant rates
through the hot rock deep in the crust,
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

✓ extracting the energy from the fluid to produce useful effects, either in
terms of electricity generation or heating operations
• EGS are aimed at creating or enhancing heat exchangers in deep and low
permeable hot rocks where natural hydrothermal systems do not exist or are not
productive enough for an economic use.
How to develop an EGS ,
• An “injection well” is drilled vertically into the ground.
• Depending on the type of rock, this can be as shallow as 1 kilometre to as deep
as 4.5 kilometres.
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

• High-pressure cold water is injected into the drilled space, this

✓ forces the rock to create new fractures,
✓ expand existing fractures, or
✓ dissolve the rock.
• Water is pumped through the injection well and absorbs the rocks’ heat as it
flows through the hot rocks.
• This creates a reservoir of underground fluid called production well.
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

• The hot water, called brine, is then piped back up to Earth’s surface from
the “production well.”
• The heated brine is contained in a pipe.
• It warms a secondary fluid that has a low boiling point, which evaporates
to steam and powers a turbine.
• The brine cools off, and cycles back down through the injection well to
absorb underground heat again.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems

• Illustration of an enhanced
geothermal system with faulted
subsurface structures
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Environmental attributes of Enhanced Geothermal System

Positive
• EGS power plants operating with closed loop circulation have minimal
greenhouse gas and other emissions.
• It can reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels
 Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Environmental attributes of Enhanced Geothermal System

Negative
• The major environmental issues for EGS are associated with
✓ groundwater use and contamination,
✓ induced seismicity or subsidence as a result of water injection and
production.
✓ Issues of noise, safety, visual impacts, and land use associated with
drilling and production operations are also important but fully
manageable.
 The End

MUST 13/04/2025 24