This project evaluated techno-economic performance for a sample Eavor-Loop 2.0 design for electricity production and direct-use heating. The Eavor-Loop 2.0 design investigated is a 7.5-km deep closed-loop geothermal system consisting of 12 laterals for a total of more than 90 km of downhole well and lateral length.
To allow drilling and exploitation of deep CLGS wells, an integrated managed pressure operation (MPO) concept is presented.
Three detailed models of the future of California’s power system all show that California needs carbon-free electricity sources that don’t depend on the weather.
This profile compares Eavor’s geothermal electricity generation technology against competing electricity generation systems, such as large-scale solar systems with integrated battery-energy storage systems (BESSs), with integrated natural gas turbines (NGTs), or with both.
Eavor has proposed an innovative well design for geothermal energy production, the Eavor-Loop™ . The Eavor Loop consists of a closed loop system, in which heat is extracted from the deep subsurface through multi lateral wells acting as effective heat exchangers.
Closed-loop geothermal energy recovery technology has advantages of being independent of reservoir fluid and permeability, experiencing less parasitic load from pumps, and being technologically ready and widely used for heat exchange in shallow geothermal systems.
Constructing Deep Closed-Loop Geothermal Wells for Globally Scalable Energy Production by Leveraging Oil and Gas ERD and HPHT Well Construction Expertise.
Globally scalable geothermal energy production through managed pressure operation control of deep closed-loop well systems.
Full decarbonization of the electricity sector is critical to global climate mitigation. Across a wide range of sensitivities, firm low-carbon resource —including nuclear power, bioenergy, and natural gas plants that capture CO2—consistently lower the cost of decarbonizing electricity generation.
Constructing a multilateral closed-loop geothermal system (MCLGS) requires directional tools and magnetic ranging tools in the bottom-hole assembly (BHA) to drill and intersect the wellbores and create the closed loop. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of such an MCLGS is largely driven by rock temperature – the hotter the rock, the more energy that is produced from a given well configuration, and the lower the levelized cost. However, these tools have a maximum temperature limit above which they are no longer functional. To enable drilling of high-temperature rock formations and thereby decrease the LCOE, methods for estimating the temperature of the BHA critical components are required. To simulate drilling, two models of increasing complexity were developed. The first model is a one-dimensional pseudo steady state wellbore + thermal resistance model capable of estimating the temperature and pressure profile of the drilling mud throughout the drill pipe and annulus. This model allows for the understanding of key performance drivers and technology requirements to achieve high-temperature drilling.
Eavor-Loop™, a multilateral closed loop geothermal system, is a clean firm power generation technology that can be scaled to phase out fossil fuel baseload and peaker plant generation. Eavor has partnered with a major US utility for the large-scale development of Eavor-Loops to supply clean firm power to the grid. The favorable geothermal gradients in the region, coupled with the scalability of the Eavor-Loop™ solution, indicate that there is >1.2GW of potential Eavor-Loop™ generation on the selected project licence area located in southwestern USA.
Utility solar and wind generation play a large role in the pathways to a 24/7 carbon free energy future, especially considering that these resources are (and likely will remain for the coming decades) the least expensive form of electricity generation. While they are a central part of the mix, wind and solar alone will be insufficient. The intermittent nature of wind and solar, combined with their increased adoption in the grid, will create resiliency challenges towards meeting energy demand hour-by-hour, year over year.
Eavor’s proprietary geothermal power technology consists of two vertical wells connected by one or more passes designed to circulate a working fluid in a closed loop system, with no interaction with the underground formation water, to supply heat at the surface.
Turboden Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Technology converts the heat available at the surface into electricity by means of a closed thermodynamic process involving a suitable working fluid which is heated up in a heat exchanger and expanded in a turbine to generate electricity.
The Eavor-Loop™, a multilateral closed loop geothermal system (MCLGS), is introduced as a zero-emission load-following resource (ZELFR) that is globally scalable and can provide baseload or dispatchable electricity…
Eavor-Lite™ is a full-scale demonstration project of a multilateral closed-loop geothermal system. An update is presented based on ~16 months of operations and testing. The project is located near Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and consists of two 1.7 km long multilateral horizontal wellbores connecting two 2.4 km deep vertical wellbores to create a U-tube shaped closed-loop geothermal system.
The production of heat and electricity from geothermal energy is an old concept and has been around since the early 1900’s. However, many geothermal projects are plagued by high up-front exploration costs, financing difficulties and geological risk of low permeability reservoirs which limits development past the exploration phase.
Results from a full-scale demonstration project of a multilateral closed-loop geothermal system are presented. The project is located near Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada and consists of two 2.5 km long multilateral horizontal wellbores connecting two 2.4 km deep vertical wellbores to create a U-tube shaped closed-loop geothermal system.
The First Truly Scalable Form
Of Clean Baseload Power
