WVU is building on its previously conducted feasibility study exploring year-round, deep-direct use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling on campus.
In this new phase, WVU will drill an exploratory well near Morgantown, West Virginia, with a full logging and coring program critical to developing geothermal energy in the area. The team will evaluate shallow reservoirs for energy storage. Additionally, WVU will engineer and design a surface plant for WVU and conduct techno-economic analyses of individual building demands and requirements.
As identified in DOE’s GeoVision study, improved technologies in these areas could help increase geothermal power generation nearly 26-fold by 2050—reaching 60 gigawatts of always-on, baseload energy capacity. This research could enhance direct-use heating and cooling solutions for military installations, hospital complexes, and U.S. homes and businesses.
Research
- drilling and sampling of a deep exploratory and scientific well to a depth of 15,000 feet, along with a full logging and coring program to evaluate the geothermal gradient, petrophysics, geochemistry, and drilling parameters at the proposed site;
- evaluation of the multiple stacked potential geothermal energy supply and storage reservoirs and development of selection criteria;
- assessment of campus building energy loads and building equipment for hot water versus steam utilization; and
- techno-economic assessment of building retrofit costs for hot water systems versus steam systems, including air-handling equipment and identification of potential steam requirements.