alternative energy

Here's a great article on the nine challenges of alternative energy: http://bit.ly/c6WeUT

Low boiling point fluids for enhanced geothermal systems

Prof D Chandrasekharam, Board Member of the International Geothermal Association Earth Sciences, has commented that high-level nuclear waste (HLW) in a geological repository should be considered an anthropogenic Enhanced Geothermal Systems with a small volume of waste capable of generating high amounts of electric power.

Capitalizing on the thermal potential of high level waste is the essence of the Nuclear Assisted Hydrocarbon Production Method (NAHPM), which uses the thermal flux of HLW to fracture an unconventional oil formation, alter the chemical and/or physical properties of the hydrocarbon material within the formation to allow removal of the altered materials.

Aside from the Not In My Back Yard factor, the major problems associated with spent nuclear fuel are; the decay heat it generates that can break down the crystalline structure of rock in which it is placed and induces hydrothermal convection that can transport hazardous material back to the biosphere, high-level radiation which is lethal and disassociates water into its ionic components that can detrimentally react with spent fuel bundles and their containers and the cost, danger and the proliferation potential of reprocessing.

Oilsands’ problems are cost, CO2 generation and water scarcity all of which are overcome by capitalizing on what are considered the problems of HLW.

NAHPM zeroes out energy cost and produces bitumen without producing an ounce of CO2 in the absence of all but in situ water.

Hydrogen released by the process of radiolysis and ionizing radiation could also aid in fracturing and upgrading long chain bitumen molecules into more valuable fractions under ground.

Placing spent fuel in a deep oilsands formation to foster production would provide a massive economic benefit to Alberta, which is the best way to address the NIMBY factor associated HLW.

As Yeoman points out, water is not the only medium capable of producing steam to drive a turbine, or for that matter to mobilize bitumen. Low boiling point fluids are just as capable and some have dilutant capabilities as well.

political will

I am happy to say that this is exactly the kind of power production that BC Refed wants.
I am on policy committee and like stuff like this.
BC Refed rejects run of river power production as it screws up streams.
We are against Site C for the same reason.
This combined with removal of the fish farms from estuaries and ultimately out of BC waters, makes us a viable choice.
refedbc.com

Nonsense

This is what happens when a wide eyed wet behind the ears nontechnical journalist gets snowed by an industry shill.

If geothermal could be build here today for $4B/Gw then you can be sure there would be hundreds of applications trying to get 13 cent a kwh contracts from BCHydro - one of the best places in the world for geothermal. There are none to date.

That $4B/Gw is for low hanging fruit built in the sixties, California power.

Mass large scale gigawatt level geothermal energy requires drilling deep into the earth injecting water and pumping with not yet invented 400 deg C pumps supercritical steam to the surface driving generators but also causing earthquakes.

Your car will be powered by a Mr. Fusion device long before large scale geothermal becomes viable.

24/7 zero polluting clean and green Nuclear Power power is under $2B/Gw today and with mass production factories now being built in China will soon drop below $1B/Gw and 1.5 cents a kwh.

These global warmer deniers spew their not so renewable nonsense in an effort to delay the only possible solution to global warming nuclear power.

Individual Reduction Pays

For residential homes do the math on an air to air heat pump, cheaper than geo thermal, and delivers great savings in a lot of BC locations. After this week's snowstorms it seems hard to believe, but summer load on the electricty grid is now almost as bad as winter.

Entrepreneur defined

"Most of our membership are die-hard Canadian entrepreneurs, but they are forced to operate in other countries because there is so little support for the industry here."
Is it me or do we have a globally unique, all-Canadian oxymoron here; a corporate welfare bum and a die-hard entrepreneur are one and the same?

Clarifications

The article and the posts raise a few points that need clarification.

First off, as the editor's note points out, the article does not speak to heat pumps for domestic use. The geothermal energy the article discusses comes from super-heated water or steam from deep underground sources which is then converted to electricity.

Secondly, the statement "Your car will be powered by a Mr. Fusion device long before large scale geothermal becomes viable" is not technically correct. Italy, Iceland, USA and the Phillipines all have large scale geothermal energy projects. Unfortunately, the statement is probably true if it references the chances of large scale development in BC.

And there has been government support for geothermal energy development in BC. The federal government studied the geothermal potential in the Meager Creek area during the 1970s and this initial work was followed by the drilling of three deep (~10,000 feet) wells by BC Hydro. BC Hydro abandoned the project and the wells were acquired by a private developer. The private company has drilled two additional wells but has yet to identify a reservoir that is large enough to support a commercial project.

However, the usual opposition to any form of resource development in BC has helped to inhibit geothermal work. Drilling in the Meager Creek area has been opposed by First Nations and government biologists. A proposed project at Lakelse was killed by resistance from people who use the area for recreation.

YCSTS

You have answered your own question with this:

Do you think for an instant that anyone who has a "lock" on conventional energy gives a rat's a$$ about cutting costs to the general public - about the "good of the community"?

As for everyone here who posts stats after stats showing the problems with alternative energy, just keep in mind that 100 years ago, if the oil companies hadn't paid off Ford to produce a gasoline engine instead of a diesel engine, there wouldn't be an overwhelming dependence on petroleum for energy. That's how the "real world" (ie the US & Canada) operate.

RickW

I do not understand your point about the use of imported oil for energy in Hawaii. Hawaii is actively searching for alternative energy precisely because it does not have any domestic oil supplies. They have tried wind (check out the early installation at South Point) - hopefully the more recent installations will prove to be more successful. There is a large experimental energy project near Kona that is trying to make use of the differing temperature layers in the ocean for power production. And yes, they are using some geothermal but, like in BC, a large project was killed by preservationists. Alternative energy will come into wide spread use when its price and availability is better than oil.

RickW, that's why Hawaii BLOCKADES Nuclear Power but OK w Geoth.

Geothermal Building HEAT & HOT WATER works good in Iceland, because it's heating needs are year round and heat requires a low-grade heat source whereas Electricity requires a high-grade heat source. So Iceland is 89% Hydro-electricity. Geothermal would be good for Heat in cold areas near Geothermal Hot Spots. This is, like all renewables, going to be a BIT Player, OK in a tiny fraction of locations, won't ever amount to a hill of beans, worldwide.

Get Real Folks, we are approaching a Peak Oil/Global Warming Catastrophe and the Ruling Class bloody well knows it. And they also know that a rapid buildout of Nuclear is THE ONLY SOLUTION. They don't want those disasters prevented. So Nuclear is blockaded. And MICKEY MOUSE Hyped up Renewables SCAMS are promoted in its place.

The USA built 40,000 heavy bombers during WWII. Each one is the equivalent of a 25MWe, 70MWth Small Modular Reactor, like the Hyperion. Except the SMR is FAR Safer and simpler - easy to SCRAM a Nuclear Reactor - any problem - shutdown, you can't do that with an aircraft. So 40,000 SMR's are 1000 GW of clean, green Nuclear Power vs current USA Electricity production of 420 GW. And 2.8 TWth of Heat production vs total USA of 3.3 TWth. So just duplicate WWII aircraft production with Factory produced Nuclear and the USA is Carbon Free. Worldwide is actually quite easy & straightforward. Big Oil/NG, Big Coal, Big Banking and the Ruling Elite DON'T WANT this problem solved. So the obvious sensible Nuclear solution is Kiboshed.

Face Reality Folks, we are being setup for the BIG CRASH, and Renewable Energy is just a Bait-and-Switch SCAM to pretend something is being done to prevent the CRASH, while the Political Stooges do the bidding of their wealthy benefactors, i.e. No Real Solutions Allowed. Bilderberg Campbell, Bilderberg McGuinty and Bilderberg Mike Harris are perfect examples of Energy Sleazoids.

samuidave, YCSTS, reallife, et al

Read The Artificial Ape
http://www.amazon.ca/Artificial-Ape-Technology-Changed-Evolution/dp/0230617638
We are dependant on technolgy/energy for our physical survival. It is the form of this technology that determines whether we live as relatively independent entities, or in thrall to (as YCSTS puts it) the "Ruling Class".

geothermal for homeowners

Most detached, semi-detached, condos and apts. can provide their owners with savings of up to 75% if solar hot water and geothermal heating/cooling are employed. Straight geothermal Payback on retrofitting is often about 6-13 years. Payback on new construction is usually less.

Where I live, most family homes cost their homeowners $2000-$5000 per year to heat and light. Over 10 years, expenses of $20,000 to $50,000 allow one to see that it would not take long to recover the cost of a geothermal system. This is especially true if energy costs continue to rise. All new homes I design, employ a dual system - geothermal forced air and radiant floor heat. The plenum has the added ability to have electric heating coild added as a backup shold the pumps malfunction.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump

Thanks for the book reference

it certainly appears to be something of philosophical interest to me. There is a line of analysis over the ages which can be summarized as the 'human farm' theory.

That is, man has always been enslaved by the rulers but as technology and politics changed (farming, empire, feudalism, industrial revolution, human rights movement), the chains have been slackened BUT ONLY because it was economically advantageous to the rulers/owners, not on merciful grounds.

Anyhow, thanks for the link.

Greenie Religion Newspeak

SharingisGood your Wikipedia article admits that a Ground Source Heat Pump is NOT Geothermal. I have a big problem with how Greenie Religious Zealots, try to REDEFINE Science to suit their fundamentalist dogma. So Ground Source Heat Pump lacks a Greenie Code word, so they have to label it Geothermal, though it ISN'T Geothermal. The average Geothermal Heat Flow through the Earth is 0.06 watts per sq meter or 600 watts from ONE HECTARE of land. Avg Solar Insolation is 4,200X that. So you ain't going to Heat ZIP with avg Geothermal Heat flows. The heat removed from the Earth in the Winter by the Heat Pump is entirely replenished by Air conditioning heat returned to the Earth in the Summer and Solar Heating during the Spring/Summer/Fall. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_gradient

Likewise, the Greenie Religion DEFINES Biomass & Biofuels as ZERO GHG Emissions - although they certainly aren't - not even close.

And, large Hydro is defined as NON-RENEWABLE, whereas small Hydro is "Renewable Energy". Each Greenie group chooses what the magic number is that divides Renewable micro-Hydro from Non-Renewable large Hydro. Curious the corrupt Vermont Governor, trying to shutdown Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, in order to replace some of the power with Quebec Hydro - Quebec demanded & got a commitment to redefine Quebec Hydro as "Renewable Energy" in Vermont.

Another Code Word is “Sustainable”. Again scientific analysis is rejected here. Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Tidal & micro-Hydro are DEFINED to be Sustainable. Whereas Nuclear and large Hydro are not. Whereas in fact, full lifecycle analysis shows Nuclear is far more sustainable that any of the above. No resource is 100% sustainable – and the degree of sustainability is largely determined by Technological development.

Another curious development in the Greenie Religion is the partnership with Big Oil’s NG subsidiary, which supplies a large portion of the Greenie Groups Funding. So NEW Code Word: “Clean Energy”. Includes NG. Since almost all renewables require backup with NG (which supplies the large majority of the Renewable/NG system energy), NG had to be DEFINED as Clean Energy. The radioactive emissions of NG, like Radon, the GHG emissions, the Destructive Fracking Pollution is all ignored by the Greenie Religious Zealots. And they always declare NG has 50% the GHG emissions of Coal, ignoring the Methane Leakage inherent to NG production, especially Fracking, which has 70X the GHG effect of CO2, with leakage rate from 2-10%. But Nuclear Energy doesn’t get to be called “Clean Energy”. Even though it releases 1% of the GHG emissions of NG, 1% of the radioactive emissions of NG, and an environmental footprint far lower than NG. The EU ExternE study puts the external environmental cost of NG power as 5-10X that of GenII Nuclear. And Greenie Fave – Biomass Power – as much as 20X Nuclear.

from the aforementioned

Wikipedia article:

"Utilizing geologically hot rocks to heat some type of liquid or gas which is pumped up to be used to heat a building is often called "geothermal heating"."

Call it what you like YCSTS, that's what I'm doing with two wells I just had drilled through solid granite to about 250 feet. It is not geothermal power, it is geothermal heating, as described in the Wiki article. Once I complete the low speed, high torque, external heat engine I have been designing to go with the warm water, I will have geothermal power.

True Geothermal Heating is NOT a Ground Source Heat Pump.

Yep, that could be Geothermal Heating or Geothermal Power (which does not mean Electricity - Power=rate of change of energy), only if you have some sort of fissure that is transporting heat from the mantle. These are available in some areas - and that is certainly Geothermal Energy.

That is NOT a normal Ground Source Heat Pump. And I hope you do have a substantial heat conduit to hot magma or steam, because otherwise your effort will fail. With avg heat flow of 0.06 watts per sq. meter through granite, even if you have hot rocks you will quickly deplete the stored energy. And a heat engine has terrible efficiency if your temperature is not Very Hot.

Actually, YCSTS,

I am pumping realtively warm (54 F) water from a fissure - Flow rate of about 12 IGPM from one hole - extracting the heat from it with a 3ton unit and running it down another that will accept about 9 GPM. The water from the ground will be agumented with hot water preheat tank that utilizes roof-mounted solar water heaters. Eventually there will be a roof-mounted horizontal helical wind turbine connected to a generator as well. I am hopeful that within 5 years PV panels can take advantage of the new carbon nanotube solar antenae discovered/researched/being developed at MIT. Carbon nanotube researchers are working to modify PV thin film printing processes to buildup these antenae cheaply and efficiently, just as they have learned to print other PV material. If they succeed, then it will make perfect sense in the geographical location of the house to add PV to the mix and I may never need to finish my low temperature, low-speed, high-torque, heat engine.

Personally, I like the idea of generating my own electricity as greenly as I can.

I don't believe small ROR nor large hydro is particularly green as long as water is diverted and fish and their food sources are either stopped dead by a filter or run through a turbine. I do like using helical submersed turbines and floating paddlewheel generators on water with reasonable flow. They aren't for powering up whole cities, but they will do nicely for self-sufficient, organic/aquaponic gardening, no-nuthin', country bumpkins like me who don't really care whether the heat that they take from the ground comes indirectly from the sun or from the mantle. We are so stupid, that we don't even care what you want to call this energy or that, 'cause if'n it comes straight from the ground, we like the name geo; and if'n it comes straight from the sun we like the name solar.