Geothermal Power: Improving Sustainability at Forward Operating Bases

Transcription

1 Geothermal Power: Improving Sustainability at Forward Operating Bases Roger Lueken Research Fellow NDIA E2S June 14, 2010

2 Agenda DARPA workshop overview Energy use at DoD facilities Cost of providing power Geothermal technology Applying geothermal power to military use Lessons learned 2

3 Geothermal Energy Workshop Overview Workshop sponsored by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) March at LMI headquarters in McLean, VA Convened group of geothermal experts Government Military Industry Academia Focus: How to facilitate geothermal technology use by the U.S. military? 3

4 Types of DoD Bases Strategic: Installations Operational: Semipermanent bases Tactical: Forward operating bases Source: Col. T.C. Moore, DARPA 4

5 Risks of Supplying Power Source: Col. T.C. Moore, DARPA 5

6 At the Tactical Edge Power Demand is Small Source: Col. T.C. Moore, DARPA 6

7 Fully Burdened Cost of Fuel Takes account of the entire cost of delivering fuel to where it is used: Purchase cost of fuel Logistics assets Protective assets Attrition Per gallon values: Peacetime: $6.25/gallon Low-intensity conflict: $15.55/gallon Medium-intensity conflict: $19.10/gallon Source: Michael Canes, LMI 7

8 Fully Burdened Cost of Power* Elements of total cost: Generator Set (genset) capital cost Genset maintenance and repair cost Cost of fuel Support personnel Transport Backup power 60 kw Power Plant 5 kw Power Unit Peace-time Low- Intensity Conflict Medium- Intensity Conflict $.73/kWh $1.44/kWh $1.71/kWh $2.33/kWh $3.55/kWh $3.99/kWh *Assumes 4080 hrs/yr of genset operation, power produced at genset capacity Source: Michael Canes, LMI 8

9 Traditional Geothermal Technology Geothermal steam powers a turbine generator Mature tech: 10 GW globally Cost competitive Economies of scale: 100 MW+ size plants Years to install Requires high temp resource (>350 o F) Coso Geothermal Field, China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA Potential for use at DoD installations 9

10 Geothermal Resources U.S Geothermal Map of North America (Blackwell & Richards) Source: David Blackwell, SMU 10

11 Geothermal Resources - Global Global Heat Flow Contours, Artimeva and Mooney (2002) Source: David Blackwell, SMU 11

12 Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Can utilize lower temperature resources (~160 o F) Binary power plants Artificial reservoir creation Installation can take months Substantial logistical support Demonstration projects: Europe, U.S., and Australia Potential for use at DoD strategic bases 12

13 Potential Benefits of Geothermal Base load power Enables water production and purification Low environmental impact Leave-behind value Deployable over wide variety of geologies Expeditionary forces: reduces high costs and logistical requirements of power Fixed installations: reduces grid dependence 13

14 Bottom Line Installations Traditional geothermal where feasible; otherwise EGS Semi-permanent bases Likely EGS Forward operating bases Technological advancements needed 14

15 Needed Technical Improvements Resource identification Gravity gradiometry Hyper spectral imagery (LIDAR) Radar-based gas detection Infrared surface temp measurement Electromagnetic and thermomagnetic measurement Gamma ray spectometry Automated drilling Drilling Casing-while-drilling Larger diameter holes Spallation drilling Stronger drill pipe materials EGS Improved seismic monitoring More accurate directional drilling Robust down-hole microseismic tools Smart tracers & reactive tracers Energy conversion Heat exchanger materials Membrane technologies Novel working fluids Thermoelectric active cooling Fast, automated, minimal logistics support 15

16 Lessons Learned FOB characteristics: Low power demand Low energy efficiency High water use Desirable power source requirements: Rapid setup Minimal logistical support Can be left behind Does not require cost competitiveness 16

17 Questions? Roger Lueken

18 Electrical Power [MW] At the Operational Level, Efficiency is the Problem On-Line Generator Capacity Greatly Exceeds the Load 19 Installed Capacity Load 96 generators Operating at <30% load 15,431 gal/day 42% of camp consumption 5 Source: Col. T.C. Moore, DARPA Camp Leatherneck 18