| Title | Energy Potential of Hydrothermal Systems, Geothermal Deposits, and Magmatic Chambers of the Kuril-Kamchatka Region |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sugrobov, V. M.; Rychagov, S. N.; Belousov, V. I.; Postnikov, A. I. |
| Year | 2006 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | International; geothermal, resources, heat, hydrothermal, magmatic, system |
| Abstract | Practically all high-temperature geothermal deposits hosting geothermal power plants are concentrated in the tectonically active belts of the Earth’s crust where manifestations of modern volcanism are present. In Russia, such places are Kamchatka and the Kuril islands. Currently, the local geothermal plants have an installed capacity of 79 MWe, including 73 MWe on Kamchatka and 6 MWe in the Southern Kuril islands. A prospective electric capacity on Kamchatka is estimated at 550 MWe by heat discharge and 1,250 MWe by heat energy stored in reservoirs, and about 400 MWe in the Kuril islands. About 3,100 TJ/year of direct use geothermal resources are consumed in the Russia’s modern volcanism area. A prospective amount of 1,520 MW of low-potential geothermal resources on Kamchatka is capable to meet a geothermal consumption growth up to 27 thousand TJ/year. High- and low-temperature geothermal deposits of the Kuril-Kamchatka region are controlled by long-existing (up x 106 years) hydrothermal-magmatic systems the lower parts of which are sunk into the base of the earth’s crust and, possibly, into the upper mantle. In view of this, prospective heat and electric energy resources of the region are practically not limited and depend on a development stage (progressive, extremal, regressive), physical and physical-chemical parameters of hydrothermal-magmatic systems. This article was written in blessed memory of Kononov Vladimir Ivanovitch, Professor, Doctor of Geological-Mineralogical Sciences, the outstanding scientist and person whose contribution to the development of international and Russian geothermy basics is difficult to overestimate. |