The economic impact of reducing deep drilling costs for heat mining power plants

Geothermal power generation technology is limited to those locations where the natural heat of the Earth is relatively near the surface and can therefore be accessed with conventional drilling techniques. The ability to extract the heat of the earth at greater depths and not be restricted to certain locations will revolutionize the geothermal industry. With this new heat mining technology, there will be no release to atmosphere of carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or hydrocarbons as is typical of current geothermal plants. Heat mining is also the key to truly renewable geothermal power generation. Integral to the concept of geothermal heat mining is the need to develop deep drilling methods and technology. Most geothermal wells are less that 3000 meters deep, and temperatures are usually less than 250/spl deg/C. Successful heat mining plant will need to tap into heat resources six to ten kilometers below the surface, a depth not yet economically attainable with current drilling technology. Improved technology is required to handle temperatures which could exceed 500/spl deg/C at depth. This paper presents the potential economic benefits of reducing the cost of deep drilling methods for heat mining by 50% over the next ten years.