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Research institute to evaluate regional geothermal potential of GreenFire Energy’s closed loop technology

Research institute to evaluate regional geothermal potential of GreenFire Energy’s closed loop technology Coso well, California (source: GreenFire Energy)
Alexander Richter 13 Oct 2020

Electric Power Research Institute and GreenFire Energy Enter have signed an agreement under which the research institute is to evaluate geothermal resources and assess the techno-economic feasibility of GreenFire Energy’s closed-loop technology.

GreenFire Energy Inc. today announced that it has entered an agreement with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to evaluate a wide range of geothermal resources and assess the techno-economic feasibility of GreenFire Energy’s closed-loop technology for an interested EPRI member utility. EPRI participated in GreenFire Energy’s first field-scale demonstration of closed-loop geothermal technology and this agreement is the next step in assessing the potential for the technology in the member utility’s region.

GreenFire Energy GreenLoop (TM) is an advanced, closed-loop geothermal energy system that generates power from geothermal resources where conventional geothermal systems cannot operate due to lack of permeability, water or pressure. The demonstration of GreenLoop was performed at the Coso KGRA in California, USA in 2019. The project showed that GreenLoop can run successfully at field-scale, can retrofit idle geothermal wells to become productive, and validated the further development of the technology for use in hot, dry rock and other challenging geothermal resources.

“In this project, EPRI plans to review GreenFire Energy GreenLoop technology’s ability to produce safe, affordable, and environmentally responsible power from different types of geothermal resources. EPRI first learned about the potential of GreenFire Energy’s technology in collaboration with one of its members, performing an initial technical assessment of the technology in 2018. EPRI’s interest in GreenLoop further grew with its participation in GreenFire Energy’s field-scale pilot, which demonstrated the potential for its applicability. The next step is to evaluate specific geothermal applications and sites for GreenLoop power generation,” said Dr. Andrew Maxson, Program Manager, EPRI.

“We are again very pleased to be working with EPRI, a reknowned research institute providing independent, scientific research and development to member utilities worldwide. There is tremendous potential for geothermal worldwide and we believe that our GreenFire Energy GreenLoop technology can access the wide range of geothermal resources,” said Joseph Scherer, chief executive officer, GreenFire Energy Inc.

Source: release by email