ESRIG-EES colloquium: Eline Struik and Karlieke Holtz, MSc EES students

Title: Validation of the USGS ‘heat in place’ method by dynamic modelling in TOUGH2.

By: Eline Struik, MSc EES student.

Summary:
Plate boundary zones where active volcanos are common are known for their geothermal potential. Deposits with high temperatures (>150°C) allow highly efficient electricity generation using steam turbines. The global geothermal power generation capacity is expected to increase from 13 GW in 2018 to almost 17 GW by 2021. To assess newly recovered geothermal fields, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) developed the volumetric “heat in place” method in the 1970s. The question arises whether this is an accurate tool to estimate geothermal potential of a field, since this method is based on large uncertainties concerning the amount of heat that can be recovered from the reservoir, the geothermal recovery factor. This thesis investigated if the ‘heat in place’ method is a good estimator of the geothermal potential of a high-enthalpy geothermal reservoir by dynamic reservoir modelling in TOUGH2. Moreover, the influence of the injection- and production rate, reservoir permeability, well spacing and fractures on the fraction of energy that can be extracted from a high-enthalpy geothermal reservoir (i.e. the geothermal recovery factor) was studied.

Title: Investigating sustainable energy options in the Municipality of Westerkwartier.

By: Karlieke Holtz, MSc EES student.

Summary:
In the Netherlands, climate change policies have been draften and implemented, both on a central as wel as a decentralized level. From all government levels, it is the local level that is nearest to the citizens and it is the local level where climate change problems manifest and action is organized. Local governments like municipalities are therefore forced to design and implement workable climate policies. In this respect, the municipality of Westerkwartier developed policy goals to mitigate the emissions of CO2. During my internship, I investigated the effect of several sustainable energy sources on CO2 emissions, land occupation and local suitablility within the landscape. These parameters will be investigated within three scenario's: the all electric scenario, the biomass scenario and the geothermal scenario. This study therefore aimed to advice the municipality on their journey towards a sustainable future.