National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Geothermal Technologies

Publications

A range of material published by NREL and others provides information on geothermal power and includes consumer-oriented publications up to complex technical analyses. In addition to the selected documents available in this Publications section, you can find resources on the DOE Geothermal Technologies Program Web site and by searching the NREL Publications Database and the Office of Science and Technology Information Geothermal Legacy Collection.

A selection of the inventory of geothermal energy documentation is provided here, arranged by the following topics:

• Analysis
• Applications
• Program Activities
• Research & Development

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Adobe Reader.

Analysis

Reports that present methods and results of geothermal analytical studies in areas such as the analysis of benefits, markets, policy, risk, and resource assessment.

• Preliminary Technical Risk Analysis for the Geothermal Technologies Program (PDF 1.4 MB). McVeigh, J.; Cohen, J.; Vorum, M.; Porro, G.; Nix, G., 2007, NREL Research Report.

• Updated U.S. Geothermal Supply Characterization. (PDF 877 KB). Petty, S.; Porro, G., 2007, NREL conference paper.

• Geothermal — The Energy Under Our Feet: Geothermal Resource Estimates for the United States (PDF 2.8 MB). Green, B. D.; Nix, R. G., 2006, NREL Research Report.

• Evaluation of the Geothermal Public Power Utility Workshops in California (PDF 3.6 MB). Farhar, B.C., 2004, NREL Research Report.

• Native American Issues in Geothermal Energy. Farhar, B. C.; Dunlevy, P. (2003). International Collaboration for Geothermal Energy in the Americas: Proceedings of the Geothermal Resources Council 2003 Annual Meeting, 12-15 October 2003, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico. GRC Transactions, Vol. 27. Davis, CA: Geothermal Resources Council pp. 419-422; NREL Report No. CP-550-34380.

• Economic Valuation of a Geothermal Production Tax Credit (PDF 591 KB). Owens, B., 2002 NREL Research Report.

• Geothermal Access to Federal and Tribal Lands: A Progress Report; Preprint (PDF 434 KB). Farhar, B.C., 2002, NREL Research Report.

Applications

Publications highlighting aspects of the application of geothermal resources to power needs, Including subjects such as electricity generation, direct use, and ground-source heat pumps.

• Geothermal Technologies Program: Direct Use (PDF 2.5 MB). 2004, DOE Brochure.

• Highlighting High Performance: Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio (PDF 1.4 MB). DOE Building Technologies Program, 2002, Brochure.

• Highlighting High Performance: Clearview Elementary School, Hanover, Pennsylvania (2002) (PDF 1.0 MB). DOE Building Technologies Program, 2002, Brochure.

Program Activities

Publications that provide information on the geothermal program actions of NREL and DOE.

• Geothermal Tomorrow 2008. (PDF 4.4 MB). DOE Geothermal Technologies Program, 2008, DOE Report.

• Geothermal Today: 2005 Geothermal Technologies Program Highlights (PDF 5.1 MB). DOE Geothermal Technologies Program, 2005, DOE Report.

Research & Development

Publications and technical reports on aspects of R&D into advanced geothermal technologies.

• Analysis of Pure Ammonia Working Fluid for a Low-Temperature Binary-Cycle Geothermal Power Plant. Kutscher, C.; Thomas, N.; Swift, L., 2005. Geothermal Energy — The World's Buried Treasure: Proceedings of the Geothermal Resources Council 2005 Annual Meeting, 25-28 September 2005, Reno, Nevada. GRC Transactions, Vol. 29. pp. 757-761; NREL Report No. CP-550-40995.

• Organometallic Polymer Coatings for Geothermal-Fluid-Sprayed Air-Cooled Condensers: Preprint (PDF 2.1 MB). Gawlik, K.; Sugama, T.; Jung, D., 2002, NREL Conference Paper.

• Poly(phenylenesulfide)-Based Coatings for Carbon Steel Heat Exchanger Tubes in Geothermal Environments. Sugama, T.; Elling, D.; Gawlik, K., 2002. Journal of Materials Science. Vol. 37, 2002; pp. 4871-4880; NREL Report No. 33328. doi:10.1023/A:1020806012202

• Assessment of Evaporative Cooling Enhancement Methods for Air-Cooled Geothermal Power Plants: Preprint (PDF 519 KB). Kutscher, C.; Costenaro, D., 2002, NREL Research Report.

• Poly(tetrafluorethylene)/(hexafluoropropylene) Coatings for Mitigating the Corrosion of Steel in a Simulated Geothermal Environment. Sugama, T.; Gawlik, K. (2001). Progress in Organic Coatings. Vol. 42, 2001; pp. 202-208; NREL Report No. 31856. doi:10.1016/S0300-9440(01)00169-2