Mining the Earth's Heat: Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xviii

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2. Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy: History and Potential of the Newest and Largest Renewable Energy Resource

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Serendipity—A Brief History of Events Leading to the Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy Program at Los Alamos

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 3-16

   3. The Enormous Potential for Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 17-40

3. First Demonstration of the Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy Concept: Development of the Phase I Reservoir at Fenton Hill

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 41-41

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   2. Phase I Drilling and Initial Attempts to Establish Hydraulic Communication

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 43-150

   3. Phase I Reservoir Development—Redrilling and Flow Testing

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 151-234

4. Engineering the HDR System: Development and Testing of the Phase II Reservoir at Fenton Hill

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 235-235

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5. Engineering the HDR System: Development and Testing of the Phase II Reservoir at Fenton Hill

   1. Planning and Drilling of the Phase II Boreholes

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 237-312

   2. Attempts to Create a Deeper Reservoir, Redrilling of EE-3, and Completion of the Phase II Reservoir

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 313-422

   3. Initial Flow Testing of the Phase II Reservoir, Redrilling of EE-2, and Static Reservoir Pressure Testing

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 423-472

   4. The Surface Plant for the Long-Term Flow Test

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 473-492

   5. Long-Term Flow Testing of the Phase II Reservoir

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 493-558

6. Future Outlook for Hot Dry Rock

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 559-559

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   2. The Future of Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy

      • Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

      Pages 561-569

7. Back Matter

   Pages 571-657

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Mining the Earth's Heat: Hot Dry Rock Geothermal Energy describes the work carried out by the Los Alamos National Laboratory to turn an idealistic concept - that of drawing useful amounts of energy from the vast underground store of hot rock at reachable depths - into a practical reality. This book provides comprehensive documentation of the over two decades of experiments carried out at the test site at Fenton Hill, New Mexico, where the feasibility of accessing and extracting this vast natural resource was finally demonstrated. It also discusses the numerous technical, administrative, and financial hurdles that had to be overcome along the way. This publication will no doubt prove invaluable to researchers around the world as they strive to move this now-proven technology toward commercial viability. In addition, it is a valuable source of relevant information for anyone interested in the world energy outlook for the 21st century and beyond.

• MS D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos NM, USA

  Donald W. Brown, David V. Duchane, Grant Heiken, Vivi Thomas Hriscu

Donald W. Brown was instrumental in the establishment, in 1971, of the very successful 

Hot Dry Rock (HDR) Geothermal Energy Program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory 

in New Mexico. He directed the early geological and geophysical reconnaissance work 

in the Jemez Mountains, directed the drilling and testing program in the first deep exploratory 

well, and in late 1973 selected Fenton Hill (36 km west of Los Alamos) as the Laboratory's 

HDR Test Site. Don was the HDR Project Manager through the difficult period from 1983 to 

1985, when the deeper (4000-m) reservoir at Fenton Hill was first created by hydraulic 

stimulation and then tested as a closed-loop circulating system. He subsequently served 

as the lead reservoir engineer for the HDR Project from 1992 through 1995, a time that covers 

the successful flow testing of the deeper HDR reservoir at Fenton Hill.

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