Studies confirm geothermal hot dry rock reserves in Shandong and Hebei, China
QingDao, Shandong, China (source: flickr/ Birger Hoppe, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
24 Jul 2019
Geological work in China indicates large geothermal hot dry rock potential in China's provinces of Shandong and Hebei.
As reported from China, geological work in east China’s Shandong Province has confirmed four reserves of hot dry rock, which equal about 18.8 billion tonnes of standard coal, local authorities reported.
A geological team managed to dig into the rock in the cities of Rizhao and Weihai, according to the Shandong Bureau of Coal Geology.
Covering an area of 1,500 square km, the rocks can be used in fields such as power generation, heating and oil exploitation.
Similar news were reported earlier this month from China’s Hebei Province, where a geological team managed to dig into the hot, dry rocks that are at a temperature of 150 degrees Celcius and a depth of 3,965 meters in Matouying Township of Tangshan City, according to the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Coal Geology. Beginning in 2018, the team started survey work on hot dry rock (HDR) resources in the city of Tangshan.
According to experts, the rocks cover an area of 80 square km at a depth of 4,000 meters and at least 500 square km at a depth of 5,000 meters. The rocks equal tens of billions of tonnes of standard coal. The resources can be applied in power generation, heating and plantation, among others, said Zhang Guishuang, with the bureau. They could also help optimize the energy structure in Hebei.
Hot dry rock is a kind of geothermal energy that contains no water or steam. It is usually found 3 km to 10 km below the earth’s surface, with temperatures higher than 180 degrees Celcius.
The renewable and pollution-free resource, with rich reserves and stable output, is believed to have great potential to replace fossil fuels in the future, according to the bureau.
Source: Xinhuanet (Shandong), Xinhuanet (Hebei)
