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The Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Energy Program focuses in three areas: energy systems research and testing (working to enhance conversion of geothermal energy into heat and electricity) led by NREL; drilling technologies research (for both hardware and diagnostic tools) led by Sandia National Laboratories; and geoscience and supporting technologies research (exploration and resource management) led by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. NREL's geothermal research, conducted in NREL's Center for Buildings and Thermal Systems, primarily supports DOE's Energy Systems component, specializing in advanced power plant systems, small-scale power plants, and direct-use performance.
Energy analysis supports R&D in the following areas of geothermal technologies.
Learn about the National Laboratories (led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) that are researching and testing the performance of different system processes and products to determine their effect on the conversion of geothermal energy into heat and electricity.
Learn about the National Laboratories (led by Sandia National Laboratories) that are evaluating both hardware and diagnostic tools designed to discover new geothermal resources and new drilling techniques.
Learn about the National Laboratories (led by the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) that are researching reservoir engineering, exploration and resource management.
More than 300 cities and towns have been identified within 5 miles of a known geothermal resource.
Key Publications
These reports are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.
Comparative Analysis of Alternative Means for Removing Noncondensable Gases from Flashed-Steam Geothermal Power Plants. Vorum, M.; Fritzler, E.A. NREL/SR-550-28329. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. May 2000. (PDF 952 KB).
Evaluation of an Absorption Heat Pump to Mitigate Plant Capacity Reduction Due to Ambient Temperature Rise for an Air-Cooled Ammonia and Water Cycle, Bharathan, D.; Nix, G., GRC 2001 Annual Meeting. (PDF 475 KB)
Small-Scale Geothermal Power Plant Field Verification Projects (Preprint), Kutscher, C., Prepared for the Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting August 2001. (PDF 512 KB)
Status and Future of Geothermal Electric Power, Kutscher, C. Presented at the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) Conference, June 2000. (PDF 473 KB)
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Key staff analysts
Walter Short
Martin Vorum
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