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Meteorological aspects of geothermal energy development are first discussed in general terms. An instructive case study is then presented of a hypothetical 100 MW geothermal electrical generating plant at a site near Vale, Oregon. Long-term climate data from Ontario Airport near Ontario, Oregon, are used to describe meteorological characteristics of the Vale site and the effects of topography are discussed. Source data were taken from descriptions of similar plants. A simple Gaussian plume model is applied to the data to estimate typical visible plume lengths at different times of day and year, and fog inducement in terms of extra hours per year. A ballistic-type drift deposition model is used to analyze the impacts of cooling tower drift in terms of drift "rain" intensity and annual moisture deposition. Assumptions and approximations, made with the intention of presenting upper limits to predicted effects, are discussed. Comments and suggestions concerning the extension of the results to contaminant emissions and additional data that would be needed to perform a more detailed and conclusive study are included. / Graduation date: 1980

Graduation date: 1980

Thesis (M.S.)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2006. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William P. Inskeep. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-111).

Building upon work completed by the Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG) for the National Geothermal Data System (NGDS) this thesis develops a coherent strategy for assessing the value of geothermal resources for different regions within Texas. Valuing geothermal resources is difficult because energy output from a specified resource is predicated on the development strategy employed and the dynamic qualities of the reservoir being analyzed. To account for these factors a lumped parameter model is developed to provide a flexible means for assessing the value of different resources. The model is designed to quickly adapt to different reservoir geometries, provided by the NGDS, and account for the dynamic nature of geothermal resources, which will vary as a function of the development strategy employed. In this paper two development strategies for a field located in Hidalgo County have been modeled to illustrate the use of the model and explain how its structure allows for realistic and nuanced analysis. The two scenarios modeled have a sustainable outcome, where the geothermal resource produces a continual low amount of power, and an unsustainable outcome, where power generation is initially high but terminates before the expected life of the project. The outcomes from these two scenarios clearly illustrate the usefulness of using a lumped parameter model to assess the value of a geothermal resource with regards to a set of defined objectives. / text

Project Completion Report, OWRT Project No. A-054-ARIZ / Agreement No. 14-31-0001-5003 / Project Dates: July 1974 - August 1975 / Acknowledgement: The work upon which this report is based was supported by funds provided by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Water Research and Technology, as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1964. / Conventional geothermal water resources of Arizona are apparently limited to an east-west trending belt about 100 miles wide within the Basin-Range province of Arizona and closely following the Gila River. Hot-dry rock and magma-tap types of geothermal energy may also be present within this zone as well as outside it as for example, in the Flagstaff area. Numerous wells and springs with temperatures greater than 32 degrees C are found within the 100 mile-wide zone, and commonly their locations are coincident with linear features described by ERTS photographs. Application of geochemical geothermometers to these waters yields predicted reservoir temperatures up to 150 degrees C, although Tellier (1973) reports values up to 300 degrees C for waters from this region. Well logs, core, and outcroppings of basin fill deposits in Safford Basin suggest that thermal waters are contained in coarse sand and conglomeratic basin fill reservoirs and possibly in lava flows and tuff deposits under the sediments which fill the basin. Shallow lacustrine deposits of evaporites and clays probably function as cap rocks in this area preventing mixing of warm deeper waters with cooler surface waters. Igneous rocks of very recent age are consistently found within the zone containing the thermal waters. These bodies represent the most probable source of thermal energy, although in Safford Basin heat may originate from exothermic hydration reactions of anhydrite in lacustrine evaporite deposits.

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