A NEW CHALLENGE FOR GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY:

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINIBILITY

FOR DEEP GEOTHERMAL

BRUNO DELLA VEDOVA (DELLAVEDOVA@UNITS.IT)

UNIONE GEOTERMICA ITALIANA - UGI

GEOELEC Workshop Milan, Dec. 5, 2011

Dip. di Ingegneria Civile ed Architettura

Università di Trieste

Where? What? How? ?

Research Permits in the last 3 years (Oct. 2011)

Requested: 109 Released: 29 Rejected: 10

9

51

6

7

2/8

T > 150 °C at 2 km

T > 100 °C at 2 km

Shallow water resources (red and orange patterns) Deep resources (circles)

Marsili SMt.

Coastal/Offshore Projects

3/8

Campi Flegrei Deep Drilling

Campi Flegrei Deep Drilling Project-CFDDP (Project Coordinator: G. De Natale, INGV)

Binary Power Plants 0.1-10 MWe

Geothermal flash-hybrid Power Plants 10-100 MWe

Supercritical fluids: superheated steam power plants 100 -1000 MWe

Geotermia – Fiera Milano Rho 2011 4/8

Estimated potential 8 MW

Buonasorte et al., 1995)

Why offshore?

Majority of high geothermal potential areas located offshore and in coastal areas

(PLATE BOUNDARIES) Seawater + sediments confine

high P – high T reservoirs and provide recharge

High advective heat transfer

rate through rifts (faults) T gradients (> 100 °C/km) Shallow supercritical fluids in

active volcanic areas

The Offshore is a promising geothermal resource both in:

Coastal areas, island and shallow waters

deep waters

5/8

CONVENTIONAL

BINARY CYCLE

POWER PLANT

INNOVATIVE BINARY

CYCLE POWER PLANT

operative cycle

selection

Suitable working

fluid screening

Working fluid

selection

Suitable operative

cycle screening

Operative cycle

optimization

(thermodynamic

simulations)

Testing theoretical data

(prototypal sized pilot innovative

binary plant realization)

6/8

500 kW prototype plant due by 2012, forseen upscaling to 5 MW

Innovative power generation systems for low T geothermal res. using Supercritical Binary Cycle

(ENEL- MIT- PoliMI-Turboden)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

TWh/anno lordi

scenario II

scenario I

2030

11

12

2020 SCENARIO I

6,9 TWh/a

(1.080 MWe)

2030 SCENARIO I

9,4 TWh/a

(1.500 MWe)

2020 SCENARIO II

7,3 TWh/a

(1.150 MWe)

2030 SCENARIO II

12 TWh/a

(2.000 MWe)

2010

5,34 TWh/a

(882,5 MWe)

Geothermal power production in Italy (vision to 2010)

(UGI Working Group, 2011)

7/8

R. Cataldi: Sviluppo della geotermia italiana al 2010 e stime di crescita fino al 2030 Roma, 7/7/2011

ASSOKNOLEDGE GEOTHERMAL PLATFORM, ITALY

(Sciolari Confindustria SIT, De Natale INGV, Manzella CNR)

• Geothermal Resources in Italy are abundant at shallow depth

• R&D are highly strategic

• Priority Research Focus:

innovative surface expl. technology: T, depth, fluid presence, stress

improve drilling technology & services: logging, high T, off-shore

improve reservoir engineering (thermal & hydraulic sustainability)

mitigate industrial risks (corrosion and scaling)

mitigate environmental impact (recondensation and reinjection)

innovative technologies for hybrid plants and co-generation.

8/8

With the contribution of

GEOTHERMAL HEAT USE IN ITALY 2010

Power production…… 882,5 MWe …… 5,34 TWh/a …… 1,02x106 TOE

---------------------------------------------------------- Avoided CO2 emission in 2010 = 4x106 Tons 9/9

Geothermal energy development in Italy (to 2010) (UGI Working Group, 2011)

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2

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4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

TWh/anno lordi

2005 5,21 TWh/a

(810,5 MWe)

2010 5,34 TWh/a

(882,5 MWe)

9 % of world power production

1,7 % of Italian power production

25 % of Tuscany total energy consumption

R. Cataldi: Sviluppo della geotermia italiana

al 2010 e stime di crescita fino al 2030

Roma, 7/7/2011