Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report

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An investment of $0.7M from the Geothermal Technology Office for Phase 2 of Play Fairway Analysis in Washington State improved existing favorability models and increased model confidence. New 1:24,000-scale geological mapping, 15 detailed geophysical surveys, 2 passive seismic surveys, and geochronology collected during this phase were coupled with updated and detailed structural modeling and have significantly improved the conceptual models of three potential blind geothermal systems/plays in Washington State, the St. Helens Shear Zone, Mount Baker, and Wind River Valley. Results of this analysis reveal the presence of commercially viable undiscovered geothermal resources in all three study areas. The analysis additionally provides a clear definition of the geothermal prospects in terms of the essential elements of a functioning geothermal system, the confidence in these assessments, and associated potential and risk of development.

This report also includes a proposal to validate the modeling results in highly favorable areas for two main reasons: (1) to develop confidence in the modeling approach that will encourage future development of geothermal resources in Washington State inside and outside of the Phase 2 study areas, and (2) to provide actionable results to the DOE, existing industry partners, newly identified developers, and other renewable-energy stakeholders. The proposed validation activities aim to collect new data that will further the understanding of geothermal resource potential in Washington, as well as substantiate the favorability, confidence, and risk models developed in Phases 1 and 2.

Citation Formats

Washington Geological Survey. (2017). Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report [data set]. Retrieved from https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994.
Export Citation to RIS
Steely, Alex, Forson, Corina, Cladouhos, Trenton, Swyer, Mike, Davatzes, Nicholas, Anderson, Megan, Ritzinger, Brent, Glen, Jonathan, Peacock, Jared, Schermerhorn, William, Burns, Erick, and Stelling, Pete. Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report. United States: N.p., 20 Dec, 2017. Web. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994.
Steely, Alex, Forson, Corina, Cladouhos, Trenton, Swyer, Mike, Davatzes, Nicholas, Anderson, Megan, Ritzinger, Brent, Glen, Jonathan, Peacock, Jared, Schermerhorn, William, Burns, Erick, & Stelling, Pete. Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report. United States. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994
Steely, Alex, Forson, Corina, Cladouhos, Trenton, Swyer, Mike, Davatzes, Nicholas, Anderson, Megan, Ritzinger, Brent, Glen, Jonathan, Peacock, Jared, Schermerhorn, William, Burns, Erick, and Stelling, Pete. 2017. "Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report". United States. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994.
@div{oedi_994, title = {Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report}, author = {Steely, Alex, Forson, Corina, Cladouhos, Trenton, Swyer, Mike, Davatzes, Nicholas, Anderson, Megan, Ritzinger, Brent, Glen, Jonathan, Peacock, Jared, Schermerhorn, William, Burns, Erick, and Stelling, Pete.}, abstractNote = {An investment of $0.7M from the Geothermal Technology Office for Phase 2 of Play Fairway Analysis in Washington State improved existing favorability models and increased model confidence. New 1:24,000-scale geological mapping, 15 detailed geophysical surveys, 2 passive seismic surveys, and geochronology collected during this phase were coupled with updated and detailed structural modeling and have significantly improved the conceptual models of three potential blind geothermal systems/plays in Washington State, the St. Helens Shear Zone, Mount Baker, and Wind River Valley. Results of this analysis reveal the presence of commercially viable undiscovered geothermal resources in all three study areas. The analysis additionally provides a clear definition of the geothermal prospects in terms of the essential elements of a functioning geothermal system, the confidence in these assessments, and associated potential and risk of development.

This report also includes a proposal to validate the modeling results in highly favorable areas for two main reasons: (1) to develop confidence in the modeling approach that will encourage future development of geothermal resources in Washington State inside and outside of the Phase 2 study areas, and (2) to provide actionable results to the DOE, existing industry partners, newly identified developers, and other renewable-energy stakeholders. The proposed validation activities aim to collect new data that will further the understanding of geothermal resource potential in Washington, as well as substantiate the favorability, confidence, and risk models developed in Phases 1 and 2. }, doi = {}, url = {https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994}, journal = {}, number = , volume = , place = {United States}, year = {2017}, month = {12}}

Details

Data from Dec 20, 2017

Last updated Jan 14, 2020

Submitted Dec 27, 2017

Organization

Washington Geological Survey

Contact

Alex Steely

360.902.1471

Authors

Alex Steely

Washington Geological Survey Department of Natural Resources

Corina Forson

Washington Geological Survey Department of Natural Resources

Trenton Cladouhos

AltaRock Energy Inc

Mike Swyer

AltaRock Energy Inc

Nicholas Davatzes

Temple University

Megan Anderson

Colorado College

Brent Ritzinger

United States Geological Survey

Jonathan Glen

United States Geological Survey

Jared Peacock

United States Geological Survey

William Schermerhorn

Western Washington University

Erick Burns

United States Geological Survey

Pete Stelling

Western Washington University

DOE Project Details

Project Name Geothermal Play-Fairway Analysis of Washington State Prospects

Project Lead Eric Hass

Project Number EE0006728

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