Plasma-drilling technology breaks EXPO 2015 Milan

EXPO Milan 2015 provides an opportunity to seek solutions to the contradictions of our world. There are approximately 870 million people suffering from daily starvation. Food security is strongly dependent on effective energy supply that is continuously failing in developing countries. High energy volumes are just beneath our feet; even in the areas of drought disasters. Geothermal energy considered to be “energy for life” still remains untouchable. This quest needs a real ground-breaker.   

A real ground-breaker
Plasma based drilling technology by Slovak pioneers from GA Drilling enables an effective access to geothermal energy. This groundbreaking innovation takes part in EXPO 2015; recognized as world’s prestigious visionary showcase. It has the ability to drill economically regardless the depth and can be applicable at depth up to 10 km, which is the area suitable for extraction of hot geothermal reservoirs anywhere. This ground-breaking technology is built to let the geothermal heat cascade economy thrive in volumes currently not possible.
A geothermal heat cascade economy has the potential to create new jobs and local autonomous economies. The cascade consists of hydrogen production, electricity production, direct building heating and cooling, biotechnology reactors, aquaculture, fisheries, wellness, geothermal heat pumps, etc. In the second decade of the millennium, the geothermal energy is going to play more crucial role in the energy mix of countries around the globe.

Feeding the Planet
The theme of EXPO 2015 "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" sums up the most important issues that human beings must address in an effective manner to safeguard life on the planet. An optimal balance between natural resources and the production of food and energy is a fundamental condition for ensuring the survival of the eco-system. The keywords here are: innovation, energy conservation, environmental protection and natural resources. It is one of the reasons, why innovative drilling technologies serving as the key to geothermal energy reservoirs need more promotion and global awareness.

EXPO 2015 is hosting Milan, Italy from 1st May to 31st October 2015. It is expected to welcome over 20 million visitors promoting more than 140 participating countries.

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Research of supercritical water may bring geothermal revolution

In recent years, a large effort has been done to utilize a heat from the earth. Geothermal companies all over the world try to make another step to this goal. They get started an intensive research of supercritical fluids, mainly supercritical water (SCW).

SCW is a specific state of water which is very hot and under so much pressure that it exists somewhere between water and steam.  The boundary of this state are conditions with temperature higher than 374°C (705°F) and pressures over 22.1 MPa. SCW has several interesting features; its main disadvantage is the fact that it is very corrosive. On the other hand, advantages can be utilized in several industry segments.

Nowadays the most famous attempt to utilize the supercritical water as an energy source is the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP). The approach in this case is simple; developers are trying to drill a well two miles deep into the active Volcano crater, Krafla and that way to reach 400-600°C hot supercritical hydrous fluid at a rifted plate margin. When this fluid hits the surface, it will have much more energy than fluid in conventional thermal cycles. The result is radical increase of power output from one geothermal well. It is necessary to mention that geothermal conditions in Iceland are extraordinary and there are just a few other locations in the world with similar opportunities. More detailed information you can find on IDDP.

Therefore, for the utilization of this phenomenon is required an improvement of current drilling methods for accessing the geothermal reservoirs with supercritical conditions. On the other hand, SCW could be an effective support during the process of drilling. Its aggressive and corrosive nature can are suitable for increase of the disintegration process. Naturally, the drilling tool with high corrosion resistance is required. This process is mainly suitable for drilling techniques based on thermal approach, such as plasma, which offer high heat flow required for supercritical conditions. 

SCW could be utilized not only in geothermal segment, but according to recent research, using it in the process of material or waste disintegration is very promising. We hope that research of the SCW in all mentioned segments will continue and bring sufficient results.

European Conferences on Geothermal District Heating

Interested in knowing more about Geothermal District heating, what it can do for you and what the future holds? Join European Conferences on Geothermal District Heating (22-23rd September in Brussels) for information on the prospective and potential for geothermal district heating in Europe, as well as information on financing, business models and regulation. 

The second session will cover the technological developments and will be held in collaboration with a geothermal panel meeting, covering the Horizon 2020 in 2015 work programme. These sessions will be preceded by a conference on the EU’s Energy security strategy and the 2030 climate and energy package.

Who should attend?

• National, Regional and local authorities, municipalities in particular. 
• EU policy makers 
• Universities and Training Centres 
• Financial Actors (banks and other investors) 
• District heating designers and installers 
• DH operators and associations 
• Owners and tenants of large buildings. 

In case you are interested in this topic, feel free to register here at the official site of GeoDH project. The event is free of charge!

Geothermal energy can play a decisive role, not only in the Pacific

If the Asian countries would make full use of the potential they have in renewable energy sources, 94% of the energy needs could be provided. But the countries, including Philippines, must initiate an “energy revolution”, states the newest Greenpeace report. According to the report, geothermal energy has one of the biggest potential in the Pacific region.

If we are to reach a drastic reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050, 80% of the world energy supplies should come from renewable energy. The developing Asian states will also have to play a crucial role, claims the Greenpeace report entitled “Energy Revolution: A Sustainable Energy Outlook”. The global investments ought to reach $17.9 trillion until 2030, whereas the share of developing Asian states should amount to approximately $837.5 billion.

The Philippines are currently the regions leading country in geothermal energy production. The installed capacity in the country reaches 1.900 MW, which is the second largest in the world. The United States hold the primacy with 3.000 MW of installed capacity. The two countries together with Mexico, Italy and Indonesia account for 75% of the world’s geothermal electricity. Geothermal energy is mainly used for heating.

According to the latest report released by Earth Times, the global geothermal energy capacity is currently 18.6 gigawatts, states the portal RenewablesHub. The potential of geothermal energy, an energy source free from greenhouse gas emissions, is more than 70 GW and is available at all time compared to solar or wind energy. However, one of the key conditions for a wider use of geothermal energy are new, cheaper, technologies that could reduce the costs of available and also emerging drilling methods (like that our – PLASMABIT).

We introduce Mr. Innovation - Ivan Kocis

Ladies and gentlemen, a short time ago, Mr. Ivan Kocis joined our group on Facebook. Very openly, it is appropriate to call him „Mr. Innovation“. Let us provide some basic facts about his career background.

This time, Mr. Ivan Kocis is the President and Chairman of the Advisory Board of GA Drilling a.s. - the innovative technology company developing the breakthrough system enabling efficient ultra deep drilling for accessing and utilizing the vast sources of geothermal energy anywhere in the world.

Ivan is the inventor of five registered patents on field of engineering and ICT. He is research veteran, with 35 years of experience in leading positions within the large organizations and successful start-ups.

He is a member of various executive and scientific EU technological platforms‘ bodies and since 1990 he has hold several posts in Slovak government administration, all linked to research and development.

In 1999 he became the founder and chairman of The Eurovalley Industrial and Technological Park in Slovakia, which focuses on renewable and geothermal energy. From 1992 to 2000, as the CEO of the INFOTRANS Company, he achieved a dominant position in the special government-security market in Slovakia.

Before 1989, he led the R&D of the robotics and automation technology at the Institute of Mechanics and Automation of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In other words, he led the team composed of 400 researchers. From 1964 to 1996 he published more than 80 scientific reports linked to automation and ICT. Under his leadership and with his participation, his team developed the first ever 16-bit computer in former Eastern block.

He holds the M.Sc. from the Technical University in Bratislava, specialization mechanization and automation as well as the Ph.D. from the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Beside the mother tongue, he speaks fluent English, German and Russian.

The opportunity for Cleantech innovators in Europe

The European Venture Summit (EVS) is suitable event for innovative companies in the ICT, Life Sciences and Cleantech sectors. Therefore it offers opportunities for innovations in geothermal energy which belongs to Cleantech sector. EVS in 2012 will be held  in Berlin on 6 and 7 December and here is the short summary of this promising event. 

Over 120 investors and more than 120 presenting contest finalists selected from the various regions will meet and discuss issues concerning high potential entrepreneurs and top VCs and corporate investors. The Selection Board comprises 30 high-profile investors that will take part in the selection of the ‘best-of-the-best’ of the 2012 European Venture Contest. Profiles and presentations of all presenting businesses at the Venture Summit will be reviewed by the members of this Board prior to and during the Summit. European Venture Contest finds, evaluates and awards world-class innovative companies with the potential to dramatically impact their industry and contribute to increasing European competitiveness and growth. Moreover it accelerates the growth of young innovative companies by providing access to top-level international partners, advisors and financiers. In addition it supports the global leaders of tomorrow at an early-stage by updating the skill set they will need to grow and expand their businesses successfully.

If you are interested in this event, take the opportunity of being part of the Summit as a delegate, join in the knowledge sharing and establish vital relationships. This decision may accelerate your Cleantech business). Geothermal Anywhere as a leader in geothermal innovations will take part and our representative will give a presentation in Cleantech section.

We congratulate the leading geothermal cities

Geothermal Energy Association chose at the beginning of December ten leading geothermal cities. They are good example of geothermal energy development and utilization and could serve as an example for the others wishing to find ways how to exploit huge potential of clean energy. And here they are:

• Copenhagen in Denmark,
• Larderello in Italy,
• Reykjavik in Iceland,
• Reno in Nevada (U.S.),
• Perth in Australia,
• Xianyang in China,
• Madrid in Spain,
• Masdar City in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates),
• Klamath Falls in Oregon (U.S.),
• Boise in Idaho (U.S.).

 

Just a few observations regarding some of the cities above. Copenhagen set the target of zero carbon emissions by 2025 and the aim of covering 50 perc. of its local heating needs by geothermal energy. At the same time, the extensive geological exploration GEUS revealed the huge geothermal potential under the city as well as under the majority of Denmark‘s land (more information here).

In case of Iceland, one should know that 87 perc. of local buildings are heated by geothermal. Surely, this is due to very kind nature conditions and anomalies, which could not be found anywhere in the world.

Geothermal energy is linked to heat, but the energy can be used in many different ways. This is the example of Perth, which declared the intention to massively develop geothermal cooling systems and geothermal air-conditioning units.

Masdar City plans to use solely renewables in the future. The half of overall energy demand should be covered thanks to geothermal power plants.

Last but not least, some U.S. cities we awarded as well: Boise for the largest direct use of geothermal systems in U.S., Klamath Falls for wide scale of ways how geothermal can be exploited in daily life and Reno for supporting the technology development, research and marketing.

Photo: jerrroen/flickr.com (licence under Creative Commons)

GEO-DH project approved: Focused on strengthening of geothermal district heating in Europe

In June 2011 we participated in the preparation of the project GEO-DH for European Commission´s (EC) funding scheme of the CIP-IEE (Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme - Intelligent Energy Europe). The project with the full title “Promote Geothermal District Heating Systems in Europe” was proposed by EGEC and other nine participants. We are happy to announce that this interesting project has been positively evaluated by the EC. Once the negotiation will be concluded, the project will start for a period of 30 months.

The project is aimed at stimulation of the use of geothermal energy sources for heating purposes. The main driver is to consequently replace the use of fossil fuels by district heating (DH) by 2020. Geothermania presents this project in four simple questions:

• Why is this project important for Europe?

The sector of Heating and cooling is an important player responsible for approximately 50% of total European final energy consumption as well as a large part of greenhouse gas emissions. District heating has a long tradition, especially in the Nordic countries and in those countries of Central and Eastern Europe with formerly centrally planned economies. In general, the use of district heating systems is stated as economically feasible and ecologically preferable for the broad introduction of low-enthalpy geothermal sources.

Many district heating systems in Europe already use renewable energy sources in their energy mix. At present around 14% of the heat for district heating in Europe is derived from renewable sources (biomass, geothermal, solar) and waste, both directly (e.g. boilers) and indirectly (e.g. co-generation). However, there is a greater potential to expand the use of renewable sources since many of the systems operating especially in Central and Eastern Europe are generally in bad conditions. Such systems operate inefficiently with cumulative heat losses in generation, transportation, distribution and end-use from 35 % to 77 %!

• What are the objectives of GEO-DH?

Worldwide, utilization of geothermal technology in DH is an efficient and environmental friendly approach. Geothermal application in DH will result in significant savings of primary energy resources and ensuring security of supply. Therefore the most important objective of the project is to significantly increase the number of geothermal DH schemes. This can be reached by encouraging district heating scheme owners to improve and modernise their systems and to increase the share of geothermal in district heating.

Another ambitious target is to identify current barriers in order to promote the best circumstances for policy makers. There are several obstacles to the development of geothermal resources, and especially geothermal DH, which are characteristic of the transition of countries in Europe, more specifically Central and Eastern Europe, such as unrealistically low energy prices, weak financial and institutional infrastructure. There is a stated the need for market price reform, new financing mechanisms, and technology transfer to promote geothermal development, as well as the importance of new pilot projects.

• How will be the aims fulfilled?

The GEO-DH consortium participants come from the following countries will be participating in this project Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Moreover, project´s activities and aims cover countries with support from EGEC members also another 14 countries. During a of 30 months, the GEO-DH project will focus on increasing the market penetration of geothermal district heating systems in several Member States, and especially in Eastern and Central Europe. This region is rich in medium and low enthalpy geothermal resources which are located in several sedimentary basins, such as Carpathian basin, Pannonian Basin and Podhale basin.

In order to identify barriers and the specifics of national situations necessary to exchange information, on costs and the market penetration, evaluating national and local regulatory framework. Legal and financial recommendations will be drafted to accelerate market penetration of this technology. The sharing of best practice and technologies among European Countries will be achieved through the arrangement of seminars focusing on audiences such as developers, municipalities and energy service companies. The targeted seminars will address issues such as evaluation of resources and widening existing resource bases, energy conversion, operation and control, connection to local power and district heating infrastructures, as well as organizational issues and other related topics.

• What is an expected impact of the GEO-DH project?

GEO-DH project aims at several ambitious results:

1. Understanding of the technologies involved within geothermal district heating and cooling
2. Awareness of the current situation and recommendations for raising regulatory market barriers
3. Improving national and local regulatory framework and increasing national market penetration of geothermal energy.
4. Transfer of best practices and examples of successful applications to national and local authorities and the public sectors of the regions
5. Training energy officers, developers and installers, on matters concerning geothermal DH technologies
6. Increasing awareness among key professional groups on the potential applications and benefits, of direct heating and cooling with geothermal energy.

In order to achieve stated goals, a number of reports will be prepared with regulatory and financial issues. In addition participants will organise seminars and workshops which will communicate the potential applications and benefits of geothermal energy. 

In conclusion, it is of extreme importance to create all the necessary boundary conditions to make sure that renewable heating and cooling from geothermal sources can be used in an optimal way. And Geothermania believes that GEO-DH project is a suitable tool for this challenge.

Igor Kočiš about the support of renewable energy: Australia can be an inspiration for Slovakia.

Representatives of Geothermal Anywhere attended an international event conference The Australian Geothermal Energy Conference held from 16th to 19th November 2010 in Adelaide, Australia.

Igor Kočiš, Chief Executive Officer, described the main findings of this conference. In his point of view, Australia has a long-term strategy for promoting renewable energy system, which is not limited to one electoral term. Therefore Australia can be an inspiration for Slovakia.

The whole article in Slovak language you can find on our partner portal Energia.sk.

Exceptional Interractive Presentation Of Geothermal Power Plant In Iceland

During Geothermal week in Reykjavik (3.-9. 10. 2010) we had a unique chance to visit many beautiful places in Iceland. One of them was geothermal power plant Hellisheiði. Its current production capacity is 213 MW. The power plant is situated in the Hengill area which represents one of the most extensive geothermal areas in Iceland.

 The power plant does not influence the environment in negative way. On the other hand, it products very low emissions of the greenhouse gases. Very interesting for us was an interactive creative model which simulates whole energy production process. Visitors can get a better idea about operation of geothermal power plants. Exceptional interactive presentation you can find on this address.

Another step to the new drilling technology developmnet - Geothermal week in Reykjavik

First week of October took place the Geothermal week in Reykjavik. Delegates of the Slovak Republic had a unique chance to present the development of the innovative ultra-deep plasma drilling technology in the world scene.

Our representatives, Igor Kočiš and Tomáš Krištofič, discussed there possibilities connecting the Slovak Republic to the most important worldwide energy organization International Energy Agency (IEA) and its part Geothermal Implementing Agreement (GIA) focused on geothermal energy research technologies.

The aim of this Geothermal week was presenting and discussing new geothermal topics from geothermal world and talking about the possibilities of cooperation globally and within EU including FP7 schemes. The meetings were attended by government institutions, industrial companies and geothermal energy experts from the EU, USA, Australia, Iceland or Japan.

Our representatives had a chance to present a unique technology PLASMABIT which is developed in Slovakia. This presentation brought valuable and interesting discussion. The authorities recognized and appreciated the concept of ultra-deep drilling method which is able to produce geothermal wells for an appropriate cost. There was a chance to discuss cooperation with the authorities of EIA-GIA. They appreciate prepared presented focus of Slovakia in geothermal issues and offers and endorsed an opportunity to join GIA.

Another success of our participants is the invitation to The Australian Geothermal Energy Conference (AGEC 2010) which will be run from 16th to 19th November 2010 in Adelaide. The contacts from this conference can contribute to testing plasma drilling technology in demonstration projects.

Photos from this event are available on our Facebook site.

geoEnergia: Topics of the 1st preparatory meeting

Last week we informed about the first meeting of future's geoEnergia technology platform's working group. Let's look at the event closer.

The first working meeting of the group took place on 24th June 2010 in Bratislava with the aim of creating the National Technology Platform geoEnergia. The meeting was attended by 15 participants from various institutions, e.g. representatives from universities and state administration, scientific and research SMEs, industrial companies and geothermal project developers. The whole working session was divided into a number of blocks, whereas each focused on a specific topic related to geothermal energy.

The first block was devoted to an overview of the potential of geothermal energy, its positions vis-à-vis other renewable sources, realized projects, research and development on a global scale:

The outlook for year 2030 with regard to electricity consumption is 31.8 trillion kWh, which is twice as much if compared to 2005. Currently renewable energy sources account for less than 7% of the whole energy mix, which is untenable under the above mentioned scenario. The three main advantages of geothermal energy are: it is a base-load energy able to guarantee state's strategic security; secondly, the fuel price is zero, because there no fuel is needed; thirdly, geothermal energy produces zero CO2 emissions, therefore it can save emission quotas.

The potential of geothermal energy in Slovakia is estimated at 5.538 MW, but currently only 2,3% of the whole potential is being used.

After evaluating the current global position of geothermal energy, the participants focused on the already existing European and national technological platforms, their influence and outcomes. The examples were the German or the Spanish platform, or the European RHC-ETP or Geolec.

The biggest part of the meeting was dedicated to Slovakia and the success stories of Slovak integration into international projects as Secricom or Artemisia. The participants then focused on the platform geoEnergia. Particularly on issues as establishing the whole working mechanism of geoEnergia, identification of the technological needs, legislative and other barriers, the potential of geothermal energy in Slovakia etc.

According to the project developers (e.g. Slovgeoterm), Slovakia has above-average geothermal conditions. Most of the projects in Slovakia focus on heating, however a lack of state support is the biggest barrier for further development of the geothermal sector. On the other hand, representatives from the research sector pointed out to the needs of creating cooperation with the industry, other SMEs as well as defining long-term strategic synergetic goals.

Official representatives of Slovak government from both the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Economy highly welcomed the idea of creating the technological platform and expressed their  further support and desire to intensify activities that would lead to the establishment of geoEnergia.

The next step in our plan is to conduct a series of meetings between the potential members of geoEnergia, communicating with partners in the EU in order to gain experience and best practices. The official kick-off of the national technological platform geoEnergia is planned for September or October later this year.

Photos from the first workshop you would find on our Facebook fan page.

New technology platform: geoEnergia

On 24th June 2010, the first workshop of coordinating group took the place in Bratislava, whose aim is to prepare future founding of Slovak National Technology Platform ‘geoEnergia’. The kick-off meeting's date  has been set for Autumn 2010. 

Since last Thursday, the preparation phase of future founding of geoEnergia technology platform has begun. The research and development in Slovakia is about to be boosted at kick-off meeting planned for the Autumn. It will become the first platform in Slovakia focused solely on the issue of geothermal energy as well as related research and development of drilling methods.

The first workshop with the outcome of preparing geoEnergia took place on 24th June 2010 in Bratislava, with attendance of 15 participants from universities, innovative SMEs and public administration (comprehensive information and more details you would find on Geothermania tomorrow), including us – the Geothermal Anywhere company. Representatives of the governmental sector expressed the support for establishing such technology platform, dealing with geothermal energy.

The first among the workshops was organized by the Agency for geothermal power engineering (AGEO), in which we are the founding members.

In regards of EU level, currently there are just two technology platforms in this field: GEOELEC (ETP for geothermal energy) and the Geothermal Panel included in Renewable Heating & Cooling ETP. In our opinion, technology platforms are one of the most effective ways how to support geothermal technology research, development and innovations useful „for real life“.

Photos from the first workshop you would find on our Facebook fan page soon.

Geothermal Energy to Change the World - The BALI declaration

We are proud to be among the first to foster the landmark "Geothermal energy to change the world" from the 5th World Geothermal Congress in Bali. Its fundamental message is: Energy Independence Powered by Geothermal.

 

In the Bali Declaration, signed by representatives of the world's geothermal community, countries emphasize their willingness to promote "geothermal energy to change the world" in order to provide a sustainable, peaceful, healthy and clean environment with prosperity for people and to support this environmentally positive source of energy.

The Bali Declaration

"We are more than 2500 members from World Geothermal Communities represented by 85 countries assembled in Bali, Indonesia, for the World Geothermal Congress 2010. The Congress has been convened by the International Geothermal Association and the Indonesian Geothermal Association. Indonesia is a country that has been blessed with abundant, sustainable natural sources of energy including perhaps the world’s largest readily accessible geothermal resources. In light of the long history of geothermal energy development here in Indonesia and throughout the world it is only appropriate that we, the members of the geothermal community so assembled, do hereby declare:

FIRSTLY – Energy constitutes a basic and continuing human need:

1. Humankind is learning to develop technology to effectively and efficiently manage this diverse energy need in an environmentally responsible manner.
2. Natural resources should not be considered merely as an inheritance from our ancestors, but that which has been entrusted to us for our children and grandchildren.
3. Without energy other natural resources cannot be developed, industrialization cannot occur; food production will always be a problem, unemployment will continue to be a major issue, and health services will be extremely limited.
4. Geothermal energy can be a major player in making significant changes in that situation and is reflected in the theme of the Congress. Geothermal: The Energy to Change the World.

SECONDLY – It is established that:

1. The world needs energy, now and in the future. Geothermal energy is hugely abundant.
2. Climate change must be well managed and energy must be provided at a reasonable cost to our growing world wide population.
3. Geothermal energy is indigenous, sustainable and environmentally responsible, counteracting global warming by displacing carbon-intensive energy usage.
4. Geothermal energy can generate electricity as well as provide for the development of a wide range of direct uses including heating and cooling buildings, various industrial processes and agricultural production, as well as balneological and recreational health resorts.
5. Geothermal energy is the only renewable energy source which is totally independent of daily, seasonal and variation, allowing it to provide power with a higher availability than any other energy source including fossil fuels and nuclear.
6. Geothermal energy technology is well established, though it is continuously being improved.
7. Geothermal energy has to date only been developed to a very limited extent compared to the potential resource base. Obtaining financing, and legal, institutional and regulatory barriers are two of the limiting factors.
8. Geothermal technologies based on higher temperature resources have life-cycle costs competitive with other forms of energy. Cost competitiveness is steadily being extended down the resource curve as technology improves, but at the lower end of the temperature scale pro-active policies or incentives are still needed to increase geothermal competitiveness.
9. The importance of extending geothermal energy usage to lower temperatures is that not only is the resources base increased exponentially as the minimum temperature is reduced, but the range of geographies where it can be applied also greatly increases.

THRIDLY: We the assembled therefore do urge that:

1. Large investment is secured for national, regional and local geothermal projects in developing as well as developed countries and economies in transition. Greater acceptance of geothermal by international funding agencies can play a major role.
2. Legislative and administrative barriers be removed and reformed.
3. All technocrats, decision makers, politicians and world leaders, whether they are in the developed or developing countries strive to create a favorable political climate by molding public opinions that are conducive to the sustainable development of geothermal energy. This can include for example government support in the areas of risk mitigation insurance, cost sharing, loan guarantees and production tax credits.
4. Investments can be provided in many forms (financial incentives from government, loans and capital investment from banks, private investors, venture capital funds) and policies need to be established to facilitate accessing all of these sources.
5. Recognition be given to the important role of existing utilities as the off taker for electrical output, that Renewable Portfolio Standards be adopted, that Integrated Resource Planning be fully implemented and standard offer contracts including feed-in tariffs be made available.
6. Substantial funding be committed to research and development to improve the cost competitiveness of geothermal energy production, particularly where it means it can be extended into new situations, such as at low temperatures and into different geological settings.
7. Know-how transfer from developed to developing countries is facilitated and supported through effective international cooperation among government, private and academic institutions, especially by joint training and education, capacity building, and technical assistance.

FOURTHLY – All this will:

1. Avoid additional carbon dioxide emissions and reduce current emission levels;
2. Create employment opportunities, increase industrial development and agricultural production and improve the standard of living of citizens of the world;
3. Secure adequate and environmentally responsible energy supply for generations to come; and last but not least
4. Effectuate “geothermal energy to change the world” toward a sustainable peaceful, healthy and clean environment in a world to live in and consequently the lasting prosperity of the people through out the world.

Nusa Dua, Bali – Indonesia, 30th April 2010."

The full text of declaration you would find here on this link.

Remarks on Innovation Policy and Technology Transfer Conference in Bratislava

Last week, we as Geothermal Anywhere, attended the Innovation Policy and Technology Transfer Conference in Bratislava. The discussion was about research, development and innovations in our country. The event was organized by American Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia, the Government Office of the Slovak Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic.

I do not want to write any detailed reports, those you can find as links at the end of this post. I want to point out several remarks that are typical for governments in Central Europe, in particular for the Slovak one. My comments can be interesting especially for our fans from Slovakia.

 

My first impression was the difference between most of the US and Slovak speakers. It was also mentioned at the end of conference that in Slovakia, we are very good in problem defining, while Americans are oriented towards problems solving. Very simple, but very unflattering statement for our government. For R&D and Innovation segments definitely.

Second, a symptomatic factor for all similar conferences is that all real decision makers - responsible Ministers - were just participating in their initial panel, presenting their success story and mentioning a lot of problems that have to be solved (and were not solved during 3,5 years of their government). The subsequent discussion with rectors of leading universities, prominent international guests and top governmental officials, full of good advises, criticism and success stories, was without the presence of the ministers. I know that their agenda is overfilled, but without qualified feedbacks you cannot make qualified decisions. And the result of the discussion was - very limited feedback.

 

Slovak government undertook an obligation to reach research and development expenses at 1,8% of GDP. In 2007 and 2008 this percentage dropped below 0,5%, one of the lowest in EU. Thanks to Structural funds this number is higher now, but this is only temporary.

And support of high-technology small and medium companies and innovative leaders in top regions is very limited and if there is some, then it is extremely bureaucratic. Conditions like refund character of research projects, their delays in every stage of project implementation and main focus on project inputs (reports, statements, procurement, accounting) not outputs (technology, competitiveness) makes the efficiency of these investments even lower.

What we are missing are real long term priorities. We hope that the new government’s approach will take this issue seriously, because without a competitive economy any country will sooner or later turn into one cheap manufacturing factory. And I think this is not a target of any government in EU. The worse thing is that most of the results of the government’s investments in R&D are visible only in the next term of office.

Igor Kosic, CEO at Geothermal Anywhere

Photos (source: AmCham Slovakia):

• No.1: Mr. Dusan Caplovic (left), vice-PM of Slovakia responsible for knowledge society, and Mr. Jan Mikolaj (right) vice-PM of Slovakia and the Minister of Education
• No.2: Mr. Igor Kocis, CEO at Geothermal Anywhere
• No.3: Mr. Tomas Kristofic, Project Leader at Geothermal Anywhere

More photos you would find here on this link.
More information about the Conference you would find here (AmCham) or here (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Travelling to Vegas

These days, we take the part at the 3rd Annual Geothermal Finance and Investment Summit in Las Vegas. At the same time, geothermal energy sector becomes more and more self-confident to offer the solution for rising demand on wider using of renewable sources.

The most influence investors, project developers, contractors and the other stakeholders, meet from 8th to 10th March 2010 in Las Vegas in U.S. in order to discuss prospects for near future. And so we do as well.

Geothermal Anywhere company takes the part. Our colleagues flew away to U.S. on very early Monday. We are glad we could share and compare our opinions, our PLASMABIT technology concept as well as contact-less drilling methods with the ones of the other experts.

Hopefully, we are open for networking, closing the deals on cooperation or the other ways of joining forces together in order to bring the end of exponential growth of costs for drilling process in depths of 6 – 10 kilometers.

We have been in Vegas these days not for gambling and hazard, but for introducing our platform and confronting the views on research.

We also look forward to talk with the investors, who, as we believe, are the core group in regards of further support of ultra deep drilling systems’ innovation and development.

Dear friends, keep us the fingers crossed, while we take the part at the Summit in Vegas. Have a nice day from Nevada desert.

Geothermal and Oil Industry should cooperate on drilling

Last week, some of our colleagues participated at GeoPower Europe 2009 Conference in Munich in Germany (more general facts on this link). We would like to share some personal observations and remarks:

 

The price of ultra deep drilling as well as risks linked to Enhanced Geothermal Systems are two main obstacles of geothermal energy expansion, conclude Geothermal Anywhere‘s representatives, who participated GeoPower International Conference in Munich last week. Effective deep drilling is for the EGS vital precondition for decreasing the costs of geothermal projects in general. At the same time, this remains the prerequisite for more intensive engagement of investors.

If the positive evolution should come in near future, significant research and development must be done on field of EGS, observed the majority of companies attending GeoPower. Ultra deep drilling, which means drilling to 5 kilometers an deeper, remains still too expensive, while using the current technologies, although many of them have been continuously upgraded. In depth of 5 kilometers, the drilling costs start to increase according the exponential curve.

The geothermal drilling technologies as well as hydrocarbon ones are still waiting for some kind of breakthrough, which would bring the end of exponential growth of costs in case of ultra deep drilling.

 

As we indicated above, hydrocarbon (oil and gas) and geothermal industry face very similar obstacles. For example in areas of Mexican Gulf, Falklands or even Hungary, there are huge reservoirs ultra deep under the surface, which are not able to be exploited effectively due to technology limitations. Schlumberger‘s Jean-Philippe Gibaud, the expert on drilling, as well as the other conference speakers said that due to huge costs of drilling, much reserves of gas and oil are not at industry‘s disposal. The outcome is that the growing demand on fossil fuels is covered by opening new oil fields, which damages the nature. Therefore, the technology enabling to drill ultra deeply would provide the access to another billions of barrel of oil on old oil fields. This could help ecosystems especially in Canada or in Alaska, where the oil industry causes real environmental catastrophe.

The new drilling technologies we would evaluate as a huge opportunity not only in geothermal, but in hydrocarbon industry as well. There is a space for joining forces and doing research together. Therefore, our company Geothermal Anywhere opens itself for cooperation with oil drilling industry. And what we offer? The technology concept, which (as we believe) would enable to drill into depths of 6-7 or even 10 kilometers. Cost effectively, of course.

Google Insights indicates: Geothermal energy needs its evangelist

Maybe you know quite useful online utility „Google Insights“. Thanks to this service, provided under cloud computing, you can compare search volume patterns across specific properties. We looked closer at demand for keywords „geothermal“, „solar“ as well as „wind“ (among searches via Google). We compared just searches linked to industry and this made us to conclude: Geothermal energy really waits for its own evangelist. The demand for solar and wind keywords is much higher than for geothermal one.

Well, in line with the traditional Slovakian proverb telling that „it is much more better to see once than to hear twice“, here are the screenshots from Google Insights (click on them to blow up):

 

At the beginning, we chose those three keywords - geothermal, solar and wind. We set that we are interested just in web searches linked to industry, but worldwide. In other words, we asked Google Insights to show us relevant industrial demand for geothermal, solar and wind energy technologies, industry and technological products.

 

What we realized… Interest for information linked to geothermal energy was the lowest. As we can see on the graph, „solar“ (red) becomes searched at most. Less interesting is „wind“ (orange) and with the notable deficit, there is „geothermal“ (blue) at the bottom of graph.

 

One can object that solar as well as wind are terms related not only to energy, but to some other areas from daily life as well, like weather or holiday conditions. Let us remind that in step one we chose just interest related to industry. What are the most searched phrases related to keyword "geothermal", we can see on on screenshot, and there is also the trend telling, which searches  rise at most.

 

Well, the last question is: Users in which countries are interested in geothermal at most? The answer is on the last screenshot - it could be titled as „Geothermal Interest Map“. We could find there countries like Philippines, Kenya, Canada, U.S., Indonesia etc - traditional geothermal ones.

Looking at those graphs, once again we conclude: Geothermal energy really waits for its own evangelist.

You can check full Google Insights‘ statistics on this link.

COP15: Delegates, please look under own feet

While delegates from all corners of the world participate UNFCCC climate negotiations in Copenhagen (COP15) and these days they try to find a way how to tackle CO2 emissions, under their feet lies the clean energy source that could cover the total demand for electricity and heat in Denmark, EurActiv.sk informs.

 

An extensive geological exploration - GEUS - indicates that the pores of sandstone subsoil under Copenhagen creates good conditions for exploiting geothermal heat in region of Copenhagen as well as in the other ones in country. This amount of energy would cover the entire energy consumption of Denmark, no question about it. Therefore, it is a kind of irony that while COP15 participants find all manner of difficult solutions for political agreement, the simple answer lies just under their feet.

Should be one able to exploit geothermal potential of Denmark entirely, this would over-exceed Danish total energy consumption by 70 times, writes Michael von Bülow on official COP15 web portal. He adds that this number is several times higher than former data of the energy group DONG Energy estimated.

This time, there are only two geothermal power plants in Denmark - in Thisted and Amager. At the same time, the geological exploration suggests that in future additional 32 fossil power plants could be converted into geothermal ones, if such steps would find economically feasible solutions. In addition, in 2011 the third geothermal power plant in Sonderborg should come into operation, EurActiv.sk concludes.

GEOELEC European Technology Platform starts

Geothermal energy is about to be more visible in circles of European Commission since now. On 2nd December 2009 the European Technology Platform „GEOELEC - Geothermal Electricity“ had been established. This step was made in Munich, beside the Geothermal Energy Conference „GeoPower Europe“, organized by EGEC (European Geothermal Council). We are proud to write that our Geothermal Anywhere company played an active role at the kick-off meeting as well.

European Technology Platforms (ETPs) are joint initiatives of the European Commission and the European industry representatives. ETPs are being set up with the aim to bring together companies, research institutions, financial world and the regulatory authorities on the European level, in order to define a common research agenda and strategy. The major outcome should become the cooperation of European and national stakeholders on the top level, as well as collecting private and public resources into common research and development activities. But keep on mind, please, that this is just the theory. The practice can differ from case to case.

To this time, the geothermal energy in Europe had not any common technology platform. This was so despite the fact it has a huge potential as clean source of energy. At the same time, geothermal energy is not so visible in circles of European Commission. In practice, this means the low level of European financial support. In contrast with the United States, where Obama's administration strongly supports the geothermal research and development, in Europe geothermal is some kind of „Cinderella“.

To this time, just one ETP was linked a little bit with geothermal. One body of ETP Renewable Heating and Cooling is the panel dealing also with geothermal heating and cooling systems. But in fact, GEOELEC is the first ever ETP truly focused on geothermal energy as a source of heat sufficient to produce electricity, not only just as a source of the residual heat for heating systems.

In our opinion, looking on geothermal without linking its potential  with the electricity generation, causes a kind of frustration. Dividing geothermal companies into two groups - those focused on heating and ones on electricity production - evidently weakens ourselves. European Commission looks at the energy in three categories: transport, heating and electricity. Such division in geothermal makes no sense for research, is artificial, in R&D creates lot of duplications. In addition, core of the geothermal R&D has almost nothing common with the wind or biomass technologies, which are jointly organized in the ETP Renewable Heating an Cooling.

All in all, we consider ETP GEOELEC as an opportunity to make geothermal energy visible on European level as an independent energy segment, with the huge potential waiting to be researched and exploited.

Finally, geothermal stakeholders‘ decision to fight for their own European Technology Platform is an encouraging sign. We hope it will help with optimizing geothermal R&D activities. Geothermal ETP also represents the key for European Commission‘s recognition of geothermal energy as a new, independent and complex part of its strategic visions for the EU. We hope geothermal would become sufficiently financed under FP7, comparably to support under U.S. Geothermal Program of Department of Energy.

We know that this is a long run, but when the EU does not want to be heavily dependent on import of energy, this is one of the necessary ways we must follow.