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So the article doesn't really go into what the innovation is here (from hydraulic fracturing). It's actually just a driling technique invented for fracking call
by jmyeet 2y ago
So the article doesn't really go into what the innovation is here (from hydraulic fracturing). It's actually just a driling technique invented for fracking called horizontal drilling. Some detail here [1]. A primer on horizontal drilling in fracking is here [2].
Basically, current geothermal designs are built on vertical wells and I believe they are paired (but I'm not 100% sure about this) so you drop water down one, the heated rock boils it into steam and the steam comes out the other to turn a generator and generate electricity.
Detail is light here so I'm speculating that perhaps geothermal hotspots aren't uniform with depth in a lot of places so you can drill horizontally to get more heat generation. Or maybe a geothermal plant can use this to access a wider area of hotspots?
What's not clear to me is how you'd move water (and steam) through horizontal wells. Oil drilling has a whole process for doing this that I don't think applies.
I'm favor of trying whatever this is though. Sure, why not? I still think solar is our future but I'm happy to be wrong.
[1]: https://time.com/6302342/fervo-fracking-technology-geothermal-energy/ https://time.com/6302342/fervo-fracking-technology-geotherma...
[2]: https://oerb.com/environment-innovation/horizontal-drilling-101/ https://oerb.com/environment-innovation/horizontal-drilling-...
- ralfd 2y agoThe economist has a graphic: https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/09/13/geothermal-energy-could-outperform-nuclear-power https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/09/13/... Archive: https://archive.ph/k1qZ9 https://archive.ph/k1qZ9 It is still two paired wells. But I think the trick is that water can be injected more targeted.
- mastax 2y agoHorizontal drilling is one thing, but also literally fracking - creating fractures in rock underground with high pressure. These fractures vastly increase the surface area of contact between the water and the rock as it flows between the two wells.