Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report

Publicly accessible License 

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

TY - DATA AB - 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. AU - Steely, Alex A2 - Forson, Corina A3 - Cladouhos, Trenton A4 - Swyer, Mike A5 - Davatzes, Nicholas A6 - Anderson, Megan A7 - Ritzinger, Brent A8 - Glen, Jonathan A9 - Peacock, Jared A10 - Schermerhorn, William A11 - Burns, Erick A12 - Stelling, Pete DB - Geothermal Data Repository DP - Open EI | National Renewable Energy Laboratory DO - KW - geothermal KW - energy KW - washington KW - play fairway KW - exploration KW - investigation KW - site KW - characterization KW - geophysic KW - pfa KW - washington state KW - geospatial data KW - velocity KW - grid files KW - strain KW - favorability LA - English DA - 2017/12/20 PY - 2017 PB - Washington Geological Survey T1 - Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report UR - https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994 ER -
Export Citation to RIS
Steely, Alex, et al. Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report. Washington Geological Survey, 20 December, 2017, Geothermal Data Repository. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994.
Steely, A., Forson, C., Cladouhos, T., Swyer, M., Davatzes, N., Anderson, M., Ritzinger, B., Glen, J., Peacock, J., Schermerhorn, W., Burns, E., & Stelling, P. (2017). Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report. [Data set]. Geothermal Data Repository. Washington Geological Survey. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994
Steely, Alex, Corina Forson, Trenton Cladouhos, Mike Swyer, Nicholas Davatzes, Megan Anderson, Brent Ritzinger, Jonathan Glen, Jared Peacock, William Schermerhorn, Erick Burns, and Pete Stelling. Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report. Washington Geological Survey, December, 20, 2017. Distributed by Geothermal Data Repository. https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994
@misc{GDR_Dataset_994, title = {Washington Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis Technical Report}, author = {Steely, Alex and Forson, Corina and Cladouhos, Trenton and Swyer, Mike and Davatzes, Nicholas and Anderson, Megan and Ritzinger, Brent and Glen, Jonathan and Peacock, Jared and Schermerhorn, William and 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. }, url = {https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994}, year = {2017}, howpublished = {Geothermal Data Repository, Washington Geological Survey, https://gdr.openei.org/submissions/994}, note = {Accessed: 2025-04-25} }

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

Share

Submission Downloads