| Title | Co-Generation Opportunities for Lower Grade Geothermal Resources in the Northeast--A Case Study of the Cornell Site in Ithaca, NY |
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| Authors | Tester, J. W.; Joyce, W. S.; Brown, L.; Bland, B.; Clark, A.; Jordan, T.; Andronicos, C.; Allmendinger, R.; Beyers, S.; Blackwell, D.; Richards, M.; Frone, Z.; Anderson, Brian |
| Year | 2010 |
| Conference | Geothermal Resources Council Transactions |
| Keywords | |
| Abstract | For geothermal to have a national impact as a major energy supplier in the U.S., deployment must eventually utilize lower grade hydrothermal or Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) resources. In these locations the costs of drilling as a function of depth will limit produced fluids to lower temperatures. This limitation favors applications for direct use and/ or co-generation of electricity and heat. The Northeast region of the US where geothermal gradients are low and annual heating loads are substantial are of special interest. The paper provides the rationale for selecting Cornell University’s Ithaca campus in upper New York State as a test site for commercialscale geothermal development in the eastern U.S. At Cornell, geothermal heat would be used in an advanced co-generation system in conjunction with other renewable resources such as biomass and lake source cooling along with deployment of aggressive on-campus energy efficiency measures to substantially lower and eventually eliminate carbon emissions. A site development plan outlined in the paper characterizes the thermodynamic, environmental, and economic advantages that EGS could provide for direct heating and co-generation as a replacement to the coal and natural gas fired systems currently in use at Cornell |