Part 1 Resource Identification and Development Geology of Geothermal Regions Exploration Strategies and Techniques Geothermal Well Drilling Reservoir Engineering “A man must stand in fear of just those things that truly have the power to do us harm, of nothing else, for nothing else is fearsome.” Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno ~ 1306-13212. Geothermal Power Plants: Principles, Applications, Case Studies and Environmental Impact ‘The first part of the book deals with the geological aspects of geothermal resources — how the forces of nature shaped the earth in a way to create reservoirs capable of supplying energy for geothermal power plants. We discuss the means to identify and characterize geothermal prospects, and the techniques for drilling wells into geothermal formations to extract the hot fluids for use in power stations. The last part of this section of the book examines the physical principles of fluid flow through the porous rocks that constitute the reservoir, and the modern computer simulation methods that are used to model the behavior of the reservoirs. (Left) Volean Rincon dela Vieja, Guanacaste province, Costa Rica Location: 10.8N, 85.30 Elevation: 6,286 fet (1,916m) Photo by Federico Chavarria Kopper published by Smithsonian Inst. Global Volaanism Program website: http://www volcano sted word oleae, hazomum=1405-02= [WWW], (Above) Volcan Pacaya (foreground) Location: 14.38N, 90.600 Elevation: 8,371 fet ( Location: 14.5N, 90.71 Elevation: 12,333 fet (3,760m), Guatemala, Ref: Voleano World, U. of N. Dakota htep:volcano.und nodak. el vodocs! vole ‘images! south_america/guat/pacaya html (WWW. 2 meters), and Voloan Aqua (background),Chapter 1 Geology of Geothermal Regions 1.1 Introduction 1.2. Theearth and its atmosphere 1.3 Active geothermal regions 1.4 Model of a hydrothermal geothermal resource 1.5 Other types of geothermal resources 1.5.1 Hot dry rock, HDR 1.5.2 Geopressure 1.5.3 Magma energy References Problems. “Birth and death. Like us, geothermal features begin and end, moving through cycles of their own. We draw towards them, lured by change, beauty, and an unusual cast of the familiar — water, rocks, and heat. We search them for answers to mysteries in our own lives, like birth and death.” Susan F. Hodgson - 1995 10 1 u 1B 14 16