Geothermal Power Economics 101: Resources, Technologies & Economics (Course)

This one day training course will take place On August, 3rd, 2012 in London, UK. This event is brought to you by Green Power Academy and is an introductory course intended for non-engineers. This course will cover the basics of geothermal power – the resource and the methods of harnessing it – along with its competitive positioning within the power and energy markets. In addressing the latter, the course will also briefly cover the fundamental concepts governing the supply and demand of power/energy, including the basics of power grids and the factors which determine popular economic measures such as levelised electricity cost (all with particular reference to geothermal as compared with other power sources, both fossil and renewable).

The course is run in an informal and highly interactive manner which recognizes that there are no simple answers to many of the questions surrounding the economics of geothermal – rather a series of interconnected issues, many of which remain open to debate and change. No background level of either financial or technical knowledge is assumed and all concepts are clearly explained, making the course suitable for a wide variety of attendees.

Geothermal Energy Resources & Applications

•Different types of geothermal resource: locations, depths, temperatures, resource characteristics and sustainability issues.
•The Geothermal market: differing direct-use (heat) and power applications, including a review of current market sizes, characteristics and case studies.
•The fundamentals of power/energy markets and the role of geothermal within them, including: measurements and scales, power demand/supply and pricing, power plant types and competing energy sources.

Capturing and Exploiting Geothermal Energy

•Comparing geothermal power plant designs, including flash steam, dry steam, binary and combined cycle: how they work, why they differ and where/when they are suitable.
•Geothermal CHP, plus smaller-scale and distributed heat and/or power applications
•Emerging technologies, including EGS – Enhanced geothermal (“hot dry rock”), mixed fluid and supercritical fluid cycles.
•Case Studies of the different types of commercial plants and pilot projects.
•Understanding limits on the sustainability of geothermal power generation.

GeoPower Economics

•The key cost and investment issues surrounding geothermal power plants, including exploration, land requirements, plant development and ongoing operations.
•What are the key risks and unknowns in GeoPower investments?
•Levelised costs of GeoPower: identifying the most significant input variables and illustrating how each influences the economics of the project.
•Geothermal power economics in comparison with both fossil fuel and renewable power sources: how each may fit into the future power mix.
•The role of external factors in GeoPower economics, including regulatory policies and incentives.

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