USE OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN THE AZORES ISLANDS: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF A
REMOTE AND ISOLATED REGION
SEMINÁRIO REDES ENERGÉTICAS DO FUTURO:
desafios para a Macaronésia
Ribeira Grande, 13 de Dezembro de 2011
COMPANY PROFILE SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores
Started its activity in 1990, following the work of previous regional government institutions in the development of geothermal projects
Capital share of 17,8 M€ owned by EDA, the power utility of the region, 50,1% still owned by the regional government
Results in 2010 > turnover of 15,4 M€; net income 6,9 M€
COMPANY PROFILE SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores
Focuses its activity on geothermal power generation, exploration of high-temperature resources and provision of water-well drilling services
Produced over 173,5 GWh, in 2010, which represents a growth of 7,3% over the previous year
Contributed with 38,8% of the power production of São Miguel island, corresponding to 20,4% of power production in The Azores
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Origin of geothermal energy
AZORES ISLANDS Geotectonic setting – triple junction
Source: Gaspar (1996)
Main tectonic structures in the Azores region: CMA – Mid Atlantic Ridge; ZFNA – Northern Azores Fault Zone; ZFEA – Eastern Azores Fault Zone; RT – Terceira Rift; FG – GLÓRIA Fault
AZORES ISLANDS Volcanoes and geothermal manifestations
Source: GEO-DOE
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Model of a hydrothermal reservoir
AZORES ISLANDS Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field
Cachaços-Lombadas sector
Pico Vermelho sector
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field
Caldeiras sector
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Drilling Geothermal Wells
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant
Phase A (1994)
Installed capacity 2 x 2,5 MW
Geothermal wells CL1 and CL2
Phase B (1998)
Installed capacity 2 x 4,0 MW
Wells CL1, CL2, CL5, CL6 and CL7
Injection of effluent the in well CL4
CL4 CL6
Phase A
2 X 2,5 MW
Phase B
2 X 4,0 MW
CL5 CL2 CL1 CL7
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant
PV5 PV7 PV4 PV3 PV2 PV6
10 MW
One generation unit,
binary cycle, air-cooled
condensing system
Geothermal fluid provided
by five production wells Injection in two geothermal
wells
PV8
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant
GEOTHERMAL PROJECT IN SÃO MIGUEL Generation technology
PUMP
AIR-COOLED CONDENSER
PREHEATER
TURBINE ALTERNATOR
INJECTION WELL PRODUCTION WELL
VAPORIZER
AIR
SEPARATOR
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Production results
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
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160
180
200
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Pro
du
cti
on
(G
Wh
)
Ribeira Grande
Pico Vermelho
Ribeira Grande Phase A
Pico Vermelho Ribeira
Grande Phase B
Geothermal1,3%
Hydro4,2%
Oil72,6%
Diesel21,8%
Wind0,1%
Geothermal
20,4%
Hydro
3,7%
Oil
63,6%
Diesel
8,3%Wind
4,0%
1990 2010
AZORES ISLANDS Contribution by source of energy
Power production in the Azores still relies mainly on oil. The penetration of renewable sources grew more than five times in the last 20 years, as the result of the strategic options considered for the energy policy of the region.
In the last two decades, the geothermal source represented most of the effort to support the growth of the demand. With the expansion of the geothermal project, the new wind farm and the contribution from the hydro plants, renewable sources will attain clearly the majority of the generation.
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Pro
du
ce
d P
ow
er
(G
Wh
)
38,8%
55,5%
5,7%
Hydro
Oil
Geothermal
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Evolution of the contribution
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Sustainable development
“Geothermal plants provide long-term, stable, well-
paying jobs, produce nearly zero air emissions and
associated health impacts, and supply millions of euros
to local and state economies through decades of
reliable, secure, domestic, renewable energy
production.”
Adapted from “A Handbook on the Externalities, Employment, and Economics of Geothermal Energy”
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Consistent operational results
The average annual output of the Pico Vermelho plant has been approximately 15% greater than its contractual capacity. Over 15 years of consistent production provided the attribute of guaranteed power to geothermal.
Key factors:
Highly productive wells;
Excess of production capacity available at the wellheads;
Successful application of scale inhibition.
Indicator Unit 2009 2010
Actual Forecast Actual
Production GWh 98.7 95.5 100.5
Average output MW 11.3 10.9 11.5
Availability % 99.2 99.5 99.4
Load factor(1) % 112.6 109.0 114.8
(1) Compared to the contracted power output
Operating statistics for the Pico Vermelho power plant
Pico Vermelho geothermal plant
Production monthly results (2010)
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40
60
80
100
120
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Availa
bilit
y &
Load
Factor (
%)
Prod
uced
En
erg
y (M
Wh
)
Production Forecast (MWh) Production (MWh) Availability (%) Load Factor (%)
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT High reliability and availability
The total stoppage time of the Pico Vermelho plant has been, in average, about 50 hours per year.
Hydro
Oil
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0:00 2:00 4:00 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 0:00
Pow
er (M
W)
Geothermal
São Miguel island
Sunday, 16th of January, 2011
56%
38%
6%
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Base-load source of energy
Source: EDA (2011)
Geothermal
46,8%
Hydro
7,1%
Oil
45,9%
Diesel
0,2%APRIL, 2011
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Recent production records
In the month of April 2011, the contribution from the geothermal source attained two historical records: was the highest ever reached and for the first time it surpassed generation from fossil fuels.
91
599
893955
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Geothermal Natural Gas Oil Coal
CO
2E
mis
sio
ns (
g C
O2/
kW
h)
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly
Source: Bloomfield et al. (2003)
In São Miguel, a total of 160 thousand tones of CO2 emissions are avoided every year. Native vegetation grows within the sites of the geothermal plants, showing their compatibility with the environment.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Self-sufficiency comparable to references
Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute with data from different sources
27,1%26,0%
23,4%
20,1%
15,0%
12,4%
8,9%
7,2%
5,2%4,6%
2,7%1,9% 1,6%
0,4%
20,7%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Icelan
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El S
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Philipp
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Nicar
agua
Ken
ya
Cos
ta R
ica
Papu
a New
Guine
a
New
Zea
land
Indo
nesia
Gua
tem
ala
Mex
ico
Italy
Ethiop
ia
Unite
d St
ates
Azo
res
Sh
are
of
geo
therm
al
so
urc
e
GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS IN THE AZORES CONCLUSIONS
The geothermal project in the Azores is an extremely succeeded demonstration of the advantages of the use of geothermal resources: creates high-skilled jobs, generates business locally, avoids importation of fossil fuel and is environment-friendly.
For the overall Azores region, the geothermal contribution of about 23% is comparable to the results observed in geothermal-rich countries such as Iceland, where geothermal contributes 25% to the power system.
Based on the excellent production results achieved in the last decade, it is a considered the main vector of the government policy of maximizing the utilization of renewable energy sources: 50% in 2015 is the objective.
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