Two Geothermal Projects Appear to be Abandoned

BB.

A couple of geothermal drilling projects appear to have been abandoned:

Two Major Geothermal Projects Abandoned Due to Induced Quake Risk

Two high-profile geothermal projects in the U.S. and Europe were both permanently halted late last week, after federal officials in both countries questioned their safety and propensity to cause earthquakes. Projects in Basel, Switzerland, and in northern California were both abandoned, raising questions about the danger of purposefully cracking open the Earth to extract its heat.
The California project, operated by a firm called AltaRock, had been halted since September after the company ran into repeated snags with a drill. The project, about 100 miles north of San Francisco in an area called The Geysers, had also been under a U.S. Department of Energy review, according to the New York Times.
The Swiss project had been on hold since late 2006, when it caused earthquakes in the city of Basel, doing about $9 million in mostly minor damage to homes and businesses.
Both projects used an "enhanced geothermal" system, which works by fracturing bedrock and circulating water through the cracks to superheat it and produce steam. The steam would be used to spin turbines in a power plant.

But, never fear:

Despite the setbacks, the Energy Department considers geothermal power a potentially rich, clean replacement for fossil fuels; the department is still working on a draft National Geothermal Action Plan, and invested more than $400 million in geothermal projects just this year. Several other enhanced geothermal projects have also received federal financing, including one in Idaho, operated by the University of Utah; one in Nevada; and another in California, a few miles from AltaRock's site.

-Bill

Windsun

Re: Two Geothermal Projects Appear to be Abandoned

It is not just those type of projects that seem to get abandoned. A couple of years ago there was some newspaper and TV hype about a local company that was installing solar panels at a city-owned parking lot. After much fanfare and $2 million.

I stopped by there a couple months later to take a look and it was turned off and producing nothing. I was by there again about a month ago (almost 2 years later), and it was still not producing. I made some inquiries, and it seems that anyone that might have possibly been responsible for checking it out did not exist. We have an offer in now to buy the panels for 85 cents a watt just to see what reaction we get from their city council. :roll:

I am betting that you could multiply that same scenario by thousands through out the country. While not quite on the scale of the geo projects, and for different reasons, it points out the fact that solar and RE still has a way to go.

niel

Re: Two Geothermal Projects Appear to be Abandoned

you should've offered $.25/w as it is a nonfunctioning boondoggle to them.:D

AntronX

Re: Two Geothermal Projects Appear to be Abandoned

Or offer to finish the job yourself, as a service to the community and the world.

Windsun

Re: Two Geothermal Projects Appear to be Abandoned

AntronX wrote: »

Or offer to finish the job yourself, as a service to the community and the world.

The job was finished, worked for a couple of weeks. Then it got some kind of fault, so they turned it off, and it has sat there ever since, according to one guy I talked to their. The installer contractor was from out of state apparently.