Overview
Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy
'Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy'
Overview
The Utah FORGE project is located in southwestern Utah in Beaver County near the town of Milford.
The FORGE site is located 250 km south of Salt Lake City and 16 km north of Milford, a small community with a population of 1400. The site is unpopulated and covers an area of about 5 km2. It is situated within Utah’s Renewable Energy Corridor adjacent to a 306 MWe wind farm, a 240 MWe solar array, and PacifiCorp Energy’s 36 MWe Blundell geothermal power plant at Roosevelt Hot Springs. Blundell was commissioned in 1984 as a traditional flash steam plant with production wells tapping 250°–270°C (~ 500°F) water in naturally fractured granitic rock at 1–2 km (3000–6000 ft) depth. A binary power plant was commissioned in 2006 to generate additional power from the separated water prior to being reinjected. The cooled waste water is reinjected in several wells to the east and north of the production borefield to help sustain the reservoir pressure.
A very large volume of hot (~250°C at ~3 km depth) unfractured rock surrounds the Blundell production borefield. The quantity of heat stored in this low-permeability rock has a power potential many times greater than the generation capacity of the naturally fractured rock volume at Roosevelt Hot Springs (hundreds of MW).
The highest purpose of Utah FORGE is to bring EGS to commercial viability and visibility. An EGS involves the creation of a fracture network in hot, low-permeability rock so that water can be circulated through the rock, sweeping out the heat for power generation. The project creates a controlled environment where the most creative minds in the field can develop and optimize EGS technologies. The Utah FORGE laboratory will function as a venue for technical interaction and public education to support the widespread adoption of EGS as an energy source. The project R&D plan encourages collaboration and involvement of geoscientists and engineers of all affiliations to achieve the most rapid progress.
Since its inception in 2015, the project has produced significant achievements in geology, geophysics, and well engineering. To date there have been six wells drilled including 58-32, a deep vertical well and 16A(78)-32, a highly deviated deep well, and wells 68-32, 78-32, 78-32B, and 56-32 which are deep seismic monitoring wells. Stimulation tests and fracture modeling have been accomplished on 58-32 and 16A(78)-32. Seismicity has been monitored throughout the drilling and testing programs with only negligible events occurring. More detailed information can be found by clicking on the appropriate buttons below.
For additional overview information please download this presentation given by Dr. Joseph Moore at the 2019 ARMA conference:
Utah FORGE Overview Slides:
Well 58-32 Well 78-32 Well 78B-32 Well 68-32 Well 56-32 Well 16A(78)-32 Well 16B(78)-32 Wells General