Geothermal Transmission 101: Technologies Are Not Treated Equally | Renewable Energy News Article

Geothermal Transmission 101: Technologies Are Not Treated Equally

A recent report by NREL, "Geothermal Power and Interconnection: The Economics of Getting to the Market ," delves into the specialized world of geothermal transmission. Among other things, this report finds that from a transmission perspective, not all types of geothermal energy technologies are treated equally. Conventional hydrothermal technologies likely fit differently into the transmission framework than do emerging geothermal technologies such as enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), co-produced geothermal with oil and gas facilities and geopressured geothermal. Table 1 shows three geothermal technologies and the corresponding market segment they serve. It also describes how particular attributes of each technology present challenges to connecting to the grid and how they may be considered in long term system planning. For example, due to their large project size and the...

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