Geothermal energy is gaining in importance as it is cost effective, reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly. It is directly related with the heat coming from the Earth. The energy is generated and stored under the ground.

The potential of geothermal energy is extremely huge. It could provide over a half of the global electricity generation and replace many times the energy used for heating purposes.

To the most crucial advantages of the geothermal energy belongs its constant availability as it is the only renewable source of energy which is independent on weather conditions. In contrast to sources of energy such as nuclear power or fossil fuel, geothermal energy does not emit pollution which may be harmful to environment.

Another evidence confirming that it is necessary to replace nonrenewable energy with alternative one is the announcement of the Swiss Federal Council aimed at withdrawal from  the nuclear power. This kind of energy constitutes around 40% of the Swiss electricity generation and needs to be replaced with natural sources of energy such as geothermal ones.

We use an unique method which allows to drill up to 10 000 meters under the ground. Due to such range, geothermal energy may be sourced all over the world. As a result it saves costs of geological exploration. The drilling rigs work fast and efficient which additionally lowers the cost.

In contrast with traditional method of obtaining geothermal energy, we do not need the underground water reservoirs. Our technology uses hot fluid which comes back up in the same pipe as the cold one. Therefore the risk of fracturing the hydraulic system is eliminated and the technology may be used even in regions in which earthquakes occur. The said technology uses the working fluids which represent a much more thermally efficient alternative to water.

The source generating the geothermal energy is very hot. The temperature of the source rises 30 °C every 1,000 meters. Therefore at depth of 7,000 meters the temperature exceeds 200 °C.

What is more, there is no risk connected with any leakage or pollution by chemicals as the working fluid is never in contact with the rock formation.

The picture below shows the scheme of the geothermal energy system:

Deep Thermal Energy is the only ?continuously available and renewable? energy supply in the world today.  It represents an environmentally friendly and sustainable, pollution-free alternative to fossil fuel and nuclear power generation.

National, regional and local government authorities, electricity producers and power suppliers are actively seeking clean, reliable electricity production technologies. Governments in developed countries are expected to create and introduce ?incentive schemes? to encourage private investment in power production infrastructure while continuing to focus on the reduction of budget deficits.

Deep Thermal Power Plants represent the ?third generation? of geothermal power technology.  Developed by prominent scientists and energy industry professionals, the technology allows the exploitation of deep thermal energy in a cost-efficient manner.  Based on data produced by existing Deep Thermal Power Plants and by conservative assumptions regarding the Scottish energy sector, the cost per kWh of electricity produced is less expensive than any other electricity generation technology available today.

This document describes a Deep Thermal Power Plant development which is based on Deep Thermal Drilling technology and directional drilling techniques currently used within the oil and gas industry.

Each well is designed and structured to allow extremely efficient, non-polluting heat harvesting from deep geological heat sources.  The drilling rigs are designed to access heat sources up to depths of 10,000 metres. Standard, currently available power generating technology is utilised for the heat to electrical power conversion process.

At a depth of 10,000 metres, appropriate heat sources are available virtually anywhere on the planet, thereby facilitating the development of a deep geothermic well and associated thermal power plant in almost any location.

Deep thermal energy refers to the heat contained within the Earth. The Earth?s crust is the outermost layer with a thickness of between 20 km and 65 km in continental areas. The crust represents only 2% of the total volume of the planet but contains around 19% of the total estimated flow of heat from the Earth. Only 1% of the Earth?s heat energy is contained within the first 5,000 metres.

In most parts of continental Europe, dry rock temperatures of 200°C can be expected at depths between 4,000 and 6,000 metres below surface level, this being the minimum temperature required for a 30/40MW power plant.

Deep thermal power plants produce ?base-load? electricity generation, and the capacity factors of new power generation systems can reach 95%. Effectively higher than any other electricity production technology – including nuclear.

Importantly, ?deep thermal? is the only renewable source of energy not dependent on weather, tidal influences or seasonal variations. Power suppliers and distribution (grid) operators prefer this ?base load? electricity supply, as opposed to the intermittent and unpredictable electricity generation provided by wind or solar technologies.

There are always many questions being asked regarding this technology and visibilities. Let us answer some of them:

Question:

How viable is the geo-plutonic power plant? Has the technology been implemented anywhere, or is it still in experimental stage?

Answer:

 Geo-Plutonic technology is not an experimental technology. It has been proven and implemented numerous times. However, with the latest advancements in both drilling and heat harvesting the geo-plutonic plant we are proposing for Scotland will be the most modern and the technologically advanced yet. No so advanced plant has been built to date.

To better understand the technology involved, one has to understand its integral parts and how they relate to the project we are proposing for Scotland:

The technology consist of:

• Drillling
• Piping
• Heat Extraction
• Electricity Production from Steam

Drilling: The basic question raised when it comes to drilling is whether drilling to the depths of 10,000 meters has been done before.

The answer is: yes, many times. The Americans have accomplished the first drilling to reach below 10,000 meters in 1979 in Oklahoma. Soon other nations followed and records have been broken ever since.

The American effort reached 12.3 kilometers in depth in 1989. Russians drilled to same depth in Sakhalin the same year.

Later on, the question of deep drilling shifted from ?how deep can we go? to ?how fast can we go?. Transocean in Qatar drilled to 12.3 km in just 35 days in 2008. In 2011 Russians with cooperation from Exxon drilled to 12.3 km in just 60 days in Sakhalin again.

More recently deep drilling has been done or is currently in progress in many countries including Canada and Mexico.

So, our drilling is definitely a tested, proven technology- our drilling rigs are the most advanced on the market and the safest- all thanks to professor Zakiewicz 60 years of experience in drilling and hands-on experience of more than 6,000 boreholes.

Piping: a major American corporation has produced the pipes we are going to use for several years now. They have been used successfully in oil gas exploration. We have made some improvements to the design by making the pipes more efficient in heat retention and isolation as well as maximizing their fluid dynamic properties with special coatings- nevertheless- similar pipes have been operating in many locations throughout the world.

Heat Extraction: Our heat extraction technology relies on a simple principle of heat conduction. It is a simple principle used in such ordinary devices a electric tea kettles, ovens or many other devices. To put it simply- stick a bottle of cold beer in a sand on a hot beach and soon enough the beer will get warm from the sand.

I wish I could tell you that our technology is more sophisticated than that, but the truth is that it our technology relies on simple, unquestionable laws of physics.

Electricity Production from Steam:  This is again nothing to brag about. What our technology uses to make electricity from steam has been operating in virtually every power plant in existence. We run the steam through the turbines, which power the generators, which create electricity. There are tens of manufacturers who produce both turbines and power generators. We simply have to choose the best in terms of efficiency and price.

In conclusion, all parts of the technology have been proven throughout the world in both scientific and commercial endeavors.

Many parts have been employed together and are currently operational on a small scale. For example, there is a heat power plant currently operating in German town of Prenzlau, in continuous operation since 1994. The plant produces heat using a technology that is very similar to our proposal. It is a deep geothermal power plant with drilled bore holes to 2.7 km, using closed loop sealed piping (so it?s not a traditional geothermal power plant) extracting water at 108C and producing 500 kW power.

In effect it?s a miniature version of the plant we are proposing here. The only difference is that when the Germans built their plant the technologies for heat extraction from such depths as we propose here were not available. Now they are.

Question:

What is the difference between geo-termal and geo-plutonic power plant?

Answer:

This is a very crucial aspect not to compare our project to geo-thermal activities as this is a completely different type of technology.

Our geo-plutonic technology is completely safe both with respect to drilling and energy production. Unlike traditional or enhanced geothermal technology, our geo-plutonic technology does not depend on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), underground reservoirs, etc. The geo-plutonic technology uses a sealed, closed loop system of pipes, where the pipes are positioned in the production well and they produce heat through a process of natural heat convection. In other words, the pipes inside the well get heated from the surrounding rocks and the heat gets transferred to the fluid inside the pipes. After heating, the fluid gets pumped to the surface where upon decompression it  powers up the turbine and a generator. The biggest difference between geo-plutonic and all other geothermal systems is that in geo-plutonic the fluid never leaves the piping system, never gets in direct contact with underground rocks. It does not need fracking or underground reservoirs.

The principal reason for hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the need to create a large direct contact surface between the underground rocks and the fluid, which is pumped directly into the rocks- this is the method used in enhanced geothermal technology- a completely different technology than geo-plutonic. Fracking is potentially dangerous as it causes earthquakes and other earth tremors, not to mention pollution from the minerals dissolved in the fluid during direct contact with underground rocks. Geo-plutonic technology solves these problems completely.

If you have any questions, feel free to call us or send us an email.