Economics of geothermal electricity generation from hydrothermal resources

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Abstract
The most important factors affecting the economics of geothermal electricity production are the wellhead temperature or enthalpy, the well flow rate, and the cost of the wells. The capital cost of the powerplant is significant, but not highly sensitive to these resource characteristics. The optimum geothermal plant size will remain small, usually in the 50-100 MWe range. Therefore, the opportunities for achieving significant cost reductions through ''economies of scale'' are small. The steam and binary power cycles are closely competitive; the binary cycle appears better when the brine temperature is below 200-230/sup 0/C, and the flashed steam cycle appears better above this range. Geothermal electricity production is capital intensive; over 75 percent of the generation costs are fixed costs related to capital investment. Technological advances are needed to reduce costs from marginal geothermal resources and thus to stimulate geothermal energy development. Significant reduction in power costs would be achieved by reducing well drilling costs, stimulating well flow rates, reducing powerplant capital costs, increasing powerplant efficiency and utilization, and developing more effective exploration techniques for locating and assessing high-quality resources. (auth)

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