Strengthening the capacity of foreign countries to develop their geothermal energy resource base

GBCGE project personnel: Dr. Maria Richards (PI); Dr. Emmanuel Olvera Garcia; Maxwell Wilmarth; Colleen Ulibarri; Dr. James Faulds; Dr. Mark Coolbaugh; (formerly: Dr. Bridget Ayling (PI); Dr. Anieri Morales Rivera)

Project duration: 6.5 years: October 1, 2017 – March 31, 2024

Project funding: ~$2.2 million (including cost share)

Funding agency: U.S. Department of State

Project goal: Increase the technical capacity of foreign governments to identify, explore for and develop their geothermal resources to promote energy security, economic prosperity, and grid stability by:

  1. Increasing their knowledge of technical aspects of geothermal development, including reservoir management, well drilling, power plant design and operation, integrated planning and project management, financing, permitting, and others;
  2. Increasing their knowledge and application of best practices in geothermal development; and
  3. Developing their expertise in managing the unique technical, regulatory, financial, and environmental issues associated with the development of geothermal resources and develop knowledge in utilizing best practices to address those challenges.

Project activities include developing and delivering customized training workshops (in-country and in the USA) for foreign government representatives. Focus areas may include geological, geophysical, geochemical and engineering topics, power plant design, financial issues, and best practices in regulatory and environmental aspects of resource development and management. Additionally, we may collaborate with foreign government partners to conduct geothermal resource evaluations using the play fairway approach to delineate favorable locations.

Activities:

Argentina

The team at the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy partnered with the Argentinian geological survey (SegemAR – Servicio Geológico Minero) from 2018 – 2020 and collaborated on conducting a geothermal Play Fairway Analysis (PFA) in north-western Argentina. A visit to Argentina in April 2018 involved fieldwork near Volcan Socompa – a high (6,050 meters) strato-volcano near the border with Chile.

The project concluded with a final workshop in Buenos Aires in November 2019, to review the results and implications of the geothermal PFA. Several publications presenting this work were completed, including a SegemAR report and a peer reviewed publication in Geothermics by Lindsey et al.

SegemAR collaborator Dr Matteo Lelli from Italy measures water pH and conductivity in a saline lagoon
SegemAR collaborator Dr. Matteo Lelli from Italy measures water pH and conductivity in a saline lagoon, NW Argentina.
SegemAR collaborator Dr. Brunella Raco measures CO2 soil gas near a spring discharge to identify possible geothermal anomalies in the quebrada de agua, NW Argentina.
SegemAR collaborator Dr. Brunella Raco measures CO2 soil gas near a spring discharge to identify possible geothermal anomalies in the quebrada de agua, NW Argentina.
The SegemAR-GBCGE-Italian fieldwork team at basecamp near Volcan Socompa, NW Argentina.
The SegemAR-GBCGE-Italian fieldwork team at base camp near Volcan Socompa, NW Argentina (April 2018).
Dr. Bridget Ayling (right), and Dr. Cary Lindsey (second from right) from the GBCGE meet with SegemAR collaborators in La Rioja, Argentina.
Dr. Bridget Ayling (far right), and Dr. Cary Lindsey (second from right) from the GBCGE meet with SegemAR collaborators in La Rioja, Argentina (October 2018).
Photo of participants from Argentina’s Servicio Geológico Minero (SegemAR) and the Secretariat of Energy visiting travertine hot springs in Bridgeport, California, USA with GBCGE team members (May 2019).
Participants from Argentina’s Servicio Geológico Minero (SegemAR) and the Secretariat of Energy visiting travertine hot springs in Bridgeport, California, USA with GBCGE team members (May 2019).

 

Peru

We also collaborated with researchers from the Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico (INGEMMET) in Peru and are working on a geothermal Play Fairway Analysis in southern Peru. The GBCGE team ran a workshop at INGEMMET in Lima in November 2019, and also visited some geothermal field sites in southern Peru.  Outputs from this collaboration included several posters presented at a special ‘Peru session’ at the 2020 Geothermal Rising annual meeting.

The Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy hosted INGEMMET partners at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2022 to conduct in-person training, and complete the collaborative geothermal Play Fairway Analysis.  The team also participated in a field study-tour of geothermal sites in Nevada and California and attended the 2022 Geothermal Rising annual meeting in Reno, NV.

Photo of geothermal researchers
Geothermal researchers from the Instituto Geológico Minero y Metalúrgico (INGEMMET) and the Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy at the conclusion of a geothermal training workshop in Lima, Peru (November 2019).
Photo of a boiling hot spring and river in the Andes of southern Peru.
INGEMMET and GBCGE team members visit Rio Calientes in southern Peru: a geothermal wonderland (November 2019).
Two men presenting graphics and maps on a poster hanging from the side of a truck to a group of collaborative researchers from Peru in south-central Nevada.
Drs. J. Faulds and M. Coolbaugh provide an overview of geothermal potential at Teels Marsh in south-central Nevada (August, 2022).
Peru's INGEMMET and UNR researchers standing at Double Hot Springs in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
The INGEMMET-GBCGE group visit Double Hot Springs in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. This discharge channel has fluids >70°C (~158°F) (August 2022).

Colombia

Other collaborative partners include the Colombian Geological Survey (SGC – Servicio Geológico Colombiano).  In November 2020, GBCGE researchers ran a virtual geothermal training workshop for SGC focused on introducing the team to the geothermal play fairway analysis technique.

In May 2022, GBCGE researchers conducted an in-person workshop at the SGC office in Bogotá, implementing the play fairway analysis for the prioritized site in southern Colombia, the Volcan Azufral.  The training results in a successful completion of the first PF model for the Azufral geothermal area.  The trip also included a field visit to Azufral with two SGC team members.

Group standing in front of Servicio Geologico Colombiano sign in Bogota.
Some of the SGC team and GBCGE team at SGC, Bogotá (May 2022).
Group standing on a lava dome in with the Azfrual Crater in Colombia in the background.
Standing on the resurgent lava dome in the Azufral Crater. From left to right: Two guides from the Tuquerres community, B. Ayling (GBCGE), J. Rueda (SGC), E. Olvera-Garcia (GBCGE) (May 2022).

Philippines

More recently, GBCGE is partnering with the Geothermal Energy Management Division of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau, Philippine Department of Energy (DOE-P).  An in-person scoping visit took place in November 2022 to learn more about DOE-P’s geothermal activities and programs currently underway and to identify opportunities for capacity-building and applied research.  During a second visit in April 2023, GBCGE and DOE-P participated in a technical workshop to progress a play fairway analysis for a study area in northeast Luzon.

GBCGE team with DOE-P during in-person workshop in Manila, Philippines (April 2023).
DOE-P working on the play fairway analysis during in-person training (April 2023).
The Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy team members standing with field engineers and the DOE-P project leader outside of the Makban Geothermal Field.
The GBCGE members, Maria, Emmanuel and Max, are pictured with three MakBan field engineers and DOE-P project leader, Aylmer Marabella (2nd from right). The MakBan Geothermal Field produces up to 443 MW of steam that is moved through the Bitin community on its way to the AB Renewables INC Geothermal Power plant located approximately 70 km south of Manila (April 2023).

Publications to date:

  • Ayling, B.F., Cruz, V., Olascoaga, D., (2020), Preliminary Evaluation of Sinter Deposits at the Río Calientes, Kovire, and Casiri-Kallapuma Geothermal Systems in Southern Perú. Transactions, Geothermal Resources Council annual meeting, October 19-23, 2020. https://www.geothermal-library.org/index.php?mode=pubs&action=view&record=1034295
  • Lindsey, C., Ayling, B., Cruz, V., Velarde, V., Olascoaga, D., Flores, R., Malpartida, J.C., Zarate, H., Escobar, C.B., Faulds, J., Coolbaugh, M., (2020). Development of Targeted Exploration Techniques in Peru: An International Collaboration and Case Study. Transactions, Geothermal Resources Council annual meeting, October 19-23, 2020.  https://www.geothermal-library.org/index.php?mode=pubs&action=view&record=1034324
  • Lindsey, C., Ayling, B. F., Asato, G., Seggiaro, R., Carrizo, N., Larcher, N., Marquetti, C., Naon, V., Conde-Serra, A., Faulds, J. E., Coolbaugh, M. F., (2021). Play fairway analysis for geothermal exploration in north-western Argentina. Geothermics, Vol. 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geothermics.2021.102128
  • Ayling, B. F., Schroeder, J., (2021). Building Technical and Human Capacity in Emerging Geothermal Countries: Introducing a U.S. Initiative. Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress, Reykjavik, Iceland.
  • Lindsey, C., Ayling, B. F., Coolbaugh, M. F., Faulds, J. E., Conde-Serra, A., Asato, G., Naon, V., Marquetti, C., Seggiaro, R., Carrizo, N., Peroni, J., Kaufman, J., Larcher, N., Castro, S., Azcurra, D., Elissondo, M., Carballo, F., Balbi, A., Castano, M., (2021). Development of Play Fairway Analysis for Geothermal Exploration in Argentina. Proceedings, World Geothermal Congress, Reykjavik, Iceland.
  • Olvera, E., Ayling, B., Morales Rivera, A., Alfaro, C.M., Bernardo Rueda, J., Rodriguez, G., Rodriguez, G.F., Sanchez, J., Matiz, J.C., Malo, J., Casallas Veloza, Y.P., Rodriguez Molina, Y., Pardo, Y., Alva, M.R., Aguirre, A., (2022), Local-scale Play Fairway Analysis applied to the Volcan Azufral geothermal area in southwestern Colombia.  Poster presentation at the 2022 Geothermal Rising Conference, Reno, NV.

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