| Abstract |
This paper will present the results of a simulation case study of the performance and financial analysis of a geothermal power plant located in Paris, France,. The location was chosen since Paris has the second most concentrated geothermal energy activity in the world, next to Iceland [1]. This region referred to as the Paris Basin, has artesian aquifers which comprise a surface area of 117,000 squarer meters [2], which lie about two kilometers below the Earth's surface. This network is reported to be 13 kilometers in length [1]. System Advisor Model (SAM) developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) is found to be a valuable tool which allows systems engineers as well as program managers to trade one technology against another with ease. System Advisor Model (SAM) is a performance and financial model designed to facilitate decision making for people involved in the renewable energy industry. The geothermal power model used by SAM is based on the U.S. Department of Energy's Geothermal Electricity Technology Evaluation Model (GETEM)[3]. For the current paper, SAM is used to study the feasibility of installing a hydrothermal power plant in Paris France. The total resource energy density potential was taken to be 227 MW-g /cc, and the central portion of Paris is assumed to intersect the Liassic layer at a depth of 2000 meters. The Liassic layer itself is assumed to be 500 meters thick. The pumping parameters for input to the NREL SAM software were taken from available NGS database. The SAM software allows for the simulation of a hydrothermal well with a width of 400 m, height of 100 m and permeability of 0.25. the distance from injection to the production wells is taken to be 1200 m. This affords a computed design with an average pressure change across the reservoir of 26.24 bar, an average reservoir temperature of 200 degrees Centigrade, and production bottom hole pressure of 155 bar. Details for the pumping parameters, plant configuration, cooling system and power block model are also input to the SAM software. For the simulation of a flash conversion plant results show 19.4 MW for six production wells. The SAM software allows for comprehensive thermo-economic analysis including recapitalization costs, total installedd costs, indirect capital costs, and operation and maintenance costs. At the end of the first year, the system would produce 96,313 MW-hr offering a power purchase agreement (PPA) of $0.2032 per kW-hr. This PPA would increase 1% each year, creating a nominal PPA of $0.2203 per kW-hr. The internal rate of return is found to be 11%. The paper will present all inputs, assumptions are outputs from the SAM modeling and simulation. REFERENCES: [1]France Bets on Geothermal Energy, The New York Times, 2014 [2] Groundwater in the southern member states of the European region union: as assessment of current knowledge and future prospects country report for France, http://www.easac.eu/fileadmin/PDF_s/reports_statements/Easac_Groundwater_WebVersion.pdf [3] https://sam.nrel.gov/performance |