Type A: Magma-heated, Dry Steam Resource
Brophy Occurrence Models


Dry steam resources are the simplest and most ideal resources for geothermal development as they utilize pure steam as opposed to liquid. They are also some of the rarest geothermal resources found because of the specific geologic conditions they require to develop.
Famous dry steam resources include the first geothermal field ever exploited for electricity (Larderello, Italy in 1911) and the largest producing field of geothermal energy on Earth (The Geysers in Northern California). The only other currently exploited dry steam resources are the Darajat and Kamojang fields in Indonesia, the Travale field in Italy, and the Matsukawa field in Japan.
According to Brophy, dry steam resources typically have the following properties:
- Topography – Rugged to mountainous
- Climate – Variable
- Depth to resource – Usually deep (2500-4000m)
- Surface manifestations - Restricted
- Permeability – Low to moderate fracture permeability
Examples
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Geothermal Resource Area | Geothermal Region | Control Structure | Host Rock Age | Host Rock Lithology | Mean Capacity | Mean Reservoir Temp |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chena Geothermal Area | Alaska Geothermal Region | Fault Intersection Intrusion Margins and Associated Fractures | 90 Ma | Granitic Pluton | 0.4 MW400 kW <br />400,000 W <br />400,000,000 mW <br />4.0e-4 GW <br />4.0e-7 TW <br /> | 371.15 K98 °C <br />208.4 °F <br />668.07 °R <br /> |
Cove Fort Geothermal Area | Northern Basin and Range Geothermal Region | 25 MW25,000 kW <br />25,000,000 W <br />25,000,000,000 mW <br />0.025 GW <br />2.5e-5 TW <br /> | 475.15 K202 °C <br />395.6 °F <br />855.27 °R <br /> | |||
Geysers Geothermal Area | Holocene Magmatic | Pull-Apart in Strike-Slip Fault Zone | Mesozoic | metamorphosed sandstone | 1,585 MW1,585,000 kW <br />1,585,000,000 W <br />1,585,000,000,000 mW <br />1.585 GW <br />0.00159 TW <br /> | 551.15 K278 °C <br />532.4 °F <br />992.07 °R <br /> |
Mokai Geothermal Area | Taupo Volcanic Zone | Fault Intersection | Quaternary | Volcaniclastic | 112 MW112,000 kW <br />112,000,000 W <br />112,000,000,000 mW <br />0.112 GW <br />1.12e-4 TW <br /> | 568.15 K295 °C <br />563 °F <br />1,022.67 °R <br /> |
Ngatamariki Geothermal Area | New Zealand Geothermal Region | 82 MW82,000 kW <br />82,000,000 W <br />82,000,000,000 mW <br />0.082 GW <br />8.2e-5 TW <br /> | 553.15 K280 °C <br />536 °F <br />995.67 °R <br /> | |||
Ngawha Geothermal Area | New Zealand Geothermal Region | Greywackes | 25 MW25,000 kW <br />25,000,000 W <br />25,000,000,000 mW <br />0.025 GW <br />2.5e-5 TW <br /> | 503.15 K230 °C <br />446 °F <br />905.67 °R <br /> | ||
Rotokawa Geothermal Area | Taupo Volcanic Zone | Fault Intersection | Quaternary | Volcaniclastic | 167 MW167,000 kW <br />167,000,000 W <br />167,000,000,000 mW <br />0.167 GW <br />1.67e-4 TW <br /> | 573.15 K300 °C <br />572 °F <br />1,031.67 °R <br /> |
Soultz Geothermal Area | Upper Rhine Valley | 1.5 MW1,500 kW <br />1,500,000 W <br />1,500,000,000 mW <br />0.0015 GW <br />1.5e-6 TW <br /> | 441.15 K168 °C <br />334.4 °F <br />794.07 °R <br /> | |||
Travale-Radicondoli Geothermal Area | Italy Geothermal Region | Triassic | Dolostone; Metamorphic basement | 200 MW200,000 kW <br />200,000,000 W <br />200,000,000,000 mW <br />0.2 GW <br />2.0e-4 TW <br /> | 543.15 K270 °C <br />518 °F <br />977.67 °R <br /> |
References
- ↑ Colin F. Williams, Marshall J. Reed and Arlene F. Anderson. 2011. Updating the Classification of Geothermal Resources - Presentation. In: Thirty-Sixth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering; 2011/02/02; Stanford, California. Stanford, California: Stanford University; p. 23