Technology Status - NET Nowak Energie & Technologie AG

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Large-scale applications (usually > 5 MW): As shown above, geothermal
power can play a particularly significant role in the energy balance of some
areas in developing countries (with rapidly increasing energy demand)
because geothermal is competitive with conventional alternatives.
Additionally there is a large technical potential in some areas in the
industrialised world. Several dozen megawatts will be installed every year in
Europe and the US over the next decades, due to energy security or
environmental benefits of geothermal power.
Developing countries and remote areas: Opportunities for small
geothermal projects exist in many areas of the developing world, including
Latin America, the Caribbean, Indonesia and the Philippines as outlined by
Vimmerstedt. Small-scale geothermal power plants (< 5 MW) could supply
electricity in remote areas. However, governmental support is needed for
small geothermal projects because they face special financial and
operational challenges, for instance, relatively high project finance costs and
difficulty in establishing and supporting an operation and maintenance
infrastructure for small plants in remote areas. These difficulties may be
mitigated by bundling small projects. The widespread use of small
geothermal units demonstrates the technological feasibility of small systems,
but does not demonstrate operational or economic feasibility for remote
applications.
Small-scale plants (usually < 5 MW, sometimes < 1 MW): Despite their
higher energy costs, small-scale plants offer a number of potential
advantages. Skid-mounted, modular units can be built in a factory and
shipped anywhere in the world. A plant owner can start with a small
investment and add modules as needed. Small plants can be designed
to operate automatically in order to reduce O&M costs. Small plants
can become attractive in regions where low-cost shallow wells are
possible and where the exit brine from the plant can be used for
direct-heating applications. The advantage of small mobile plants is most
evident for areas without ready access to conventional fuels or where
alternative systems are costly. For example, a 300-kW geothermal binary
plant at Fang, Thailand, supplies power at 6.3 to 8.6 USD cents per kWh, as
reported by Lund, compared to the alternative of diesel-generated power at
22 to 25 USD cents per kW. Another opportunity is for small communities
that may be near a thermal reservoir, but are by-passed by high-voltage
transmission lines. The expense involved in serving these communities is
prohibitive, since the step-down transformers needed to tap electricity from
high-voltage lines cost some USD 675,000 each, including installation, and
GEOTHERMAL POWER X6