The Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) funds geothermal research and development projects through competitive solicitations known as funding opportunities. (View current funding opportunities.) GTO’s Wells of Opportunity (WOO): Amplify II & ReAmplify funding opportunity will help establish the commercial viability of geothermal energy production from existing hydrocarbon fields. This funding will help scientists and engineers unlock the full potential of geothermal power to achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a carbon-free grid by 2035.
On Jan. 12, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the selections of the following projects to receive up to $8.4 million. Award and cost share amounts are subject to change pending negotiations. If you have questions, please email DOE.Geothermal@ee.doe.gov.
Selectees
GEOTHERMIX, LLC
Project Title: Thermoelectric Power Generation from Hot Oilfield Fluids: A Field Demonstration in the Austin Chalk in Texas
Location: Austin, Texas
DOE Award: $2.5 million
Cost share: $663,000
Project Summary: The project will conduct a field demonstration of a novel method to generate electrical power from fluids produced at existing oil and gas facilities. The project’s goal is to demonstrate the use of thermoelectric generators that can utilize low quality heat, that is currently wasted, to produce commercial quantities of electrical power to be used locally or transmitted to the grid with a near-zero carbon footprint. The successful development and implementation of this technology could have a transformational impact on the energy recovery rate in oil and gas installations.
ICE THERMAL HARVESTING
Project Title: Zero-emission Power Generation from Oil and Gas Production Streams
Location: Houston, Texas
DOE Award: $1.7 million
Cost share: $472,000
Project Summary: The project will characterize 11 wells to evaluate thermal energy available for harvesting from produced fluids from the Elk Hills field near Bakersfield, California. The project team will engineer, integrate, install, and commission ICE’s heat-to-power electrical generation package, as well as optimize the ICE package and develop plan to scale technology across basins.
TRANSITIONAL ENERGY
Project Title: Geothermal Coproduction at Blackburn Oil Field, Nevada
Location: Aurora, Colorado
DOE Award: $2.5 million
Cost share: $1.7 million
Project Summary: This project, which will take place at Blackburn field, aim to generate at least 1 megawatt from existing oil and gas wells through a pilot that will provide a roadmap for co-production and oil field transition in capital-efficient manner, share hourly production data and findings to the public, create a transition roadmap for oilfield workers, and support grid resilience.
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Project Title: Intelligent Repurposing of Hydrocarbon Wells System to Harness the Geothermal Potential of Oklahoma Sedimentary Basin
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
DOE Award: $1.7 million
Cost share: $748,000
Project Summary: This project will evaluate and demonstrate the viability of geothermal production (producing minimum 1 MWe) from an Oklahoma hydrocarbon field and providing energy for two facilities, including a local elementary and middle school, using innovative injection/production well patterns and data-driven smart well completion technologies to optimize energy production.