Geothermal energy in Turkey: the sustainable future

Turkey is an energy importing nation with more than half of our energy requirements met by imported fuels. Air pollution is becoming a significant environmental concern in the country. In this regard, geothermal energy and other renewable energy sources are becoming attractive solution for clean and sustainable energy future for Turkey. Turkey is the seventh richest country in the world in geothermal energy potential. The main uses of geothermal energy are space heating and domestic hot water supply, greenhouse heating, industrial processes, heat pumps and electricity generation. The district heating system applications started with large-scale, city-based geothermal district heating systems in Turkey, whereas the geothermal district heating centre and distribution networks have been designed according to the geothermal district heating system (GDHS) parameters. This constitutes an important advantage of GDHS investments in the country in terms of the technical and economical aspects. In Turkey, approximately 61,000 residences are currently heated by geothermal fluids. A total of 665 MW_t is utilized for space heating of residential, public and private property, and 565,000 m² of greenhouses. The proven geothermal heat capacity, according to data from existing geothermal wells and natural discharges, is 3132 MWt. Present applications have shown that geothermal energy is clean and much cheaper compared to the other fossil and renewable energy sources for Turkey.     

Coefficient of performance (COP) analysis of geothermal district heating systems (GDHSs): Salihli GDHS case study

The purpose of this survey is about to analyze the heating coefficient of performance (COP) of geothermal district heating systems. Actual system data are taken from the Salihli GDHS, Turkey. The collected data are quantified and illustrated in tables, particularly for a reference temperature for comparison purposes. In this study, firstly energy and COP analysis of the GDHSs is introduced and then Salihli GDHS coefficient of performance results is given as a case study. Moreover, this paper offers an interesting empirical study of certain geothermal systems.     

Low-temperature geothermal energy use in Iceland

The results are given of a recent survey of the utilization of geothermal energy produced in low-temperature areas in Iceland. About 70% of Icelanders enjoyed geothermal district heating in 1979 and in the next 3–5 years this percentage should increase to about 80%. Most of the district heating systems receive hot water from low-temperature (reservoir temperature less than 150°C) geothermal areas. In late 1980 the thermal power above 15°C used for district heating amounted to 850 MW while the total low-temperature use was about 950 MW-thermal.     

Thermal analysis of indirect geothermal district heating systems

Low- and moderate-temperature geothermal resources have been discovered in many areas of the world, and are being used increasingly for district heating. Due to the corrosive action of some geothermal waters, heat exchangers are used to avoid circulating the geothermal fluid directly through the district heating systems, in what are called Indirect Geothermal District Heating Systems (IGDHS). In this case, the geothermal water acts as a heat source directly heating the network fluid through a heat exchanger. However, it is different from that of conventional systems in which hot water from a fossil fuel boiler is used directly. In the former (IGDHS), the geothermal water is regarded as a heat source with constant temperature, and in the latter the boiler is considered a heat source with variable heat flux. This paper presents a thermal analysis of a simple IGDHS, and discusses the selection of heat exchangers and optimum operating conditions.     

Low-temperature geothermal utilization in Iceland – Decades of experience

Geothermal energy plays a key role in the economy of Iceland and it supplies about 89% of the space heating requirements. A large fraction of the country's district heating services (hitaveitas) use energy from low-temperature geothermal systems, which are mostly located outside the volcanic zone. Many of the geothermal district heating services have been in operation for several decades and much can be learned from their operation, in particular regarding long-term management of low-temperature geothermal resources. In most cases down-hole pumps are used, but there are examples of large-scale artesian flow still being maintained. The Reykjavík geothermal district heating service is the world's largest such service. It started operation on a small scale in 1930, and today it serves Reykjavík and surrounding communities, about 58% of the total population of Iceland. The Reykjavík district heating service utilizes three low-temperature systems. The production and response (pressure, chemistry, and temperature) histories of these systems and six other low-temperature geothermal systems are discussed. Four of the systems are very productive and reach equilibrium at constant production. Two are much less productive and do not attain equilibrium, while three are of intermediate productivity. Groundwater inflow has caused temperature decline and chemical changes in two of the systems. Several problems have faced the Icelandic low-temperature operations, such as excessive pressure drawdown caused by overexploitation, colder water inflow, and sea water incursion. None of the district heating systems has ceased operation and solutions have been found to these problems. The solutions include improving the energy efficiency of the associated heating systems, deeper and more focussed drilling (e.g., directional drilling), finding new drilling targets (even new drilling areas), and injection, as well as technical solutions on the surface. The long utilization case histories provide important information pertaining to sustainable management of geothermal resources.     

Energetic and economic evaluations of geothermal district heating systems by using ANN

This paper proposes an artificial neural network (ANN) technique as a new approach to evaluate the energy input, losses, output, efficiency, and economic optimization of a geothermal district heating system (GDHS). By using ANN, an energetic analysis is evaluated on the Afyon geothermal district heating system (AGDHS) located in the city of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Promising results are obtained about the economic evaluation of that system. This has been used to determine if the existing system is operating at its optimal level, and will provide information about the optimal design and profitable operation of the system. The results of the study show that the ANN model used for the prediction of the energy performance of the AGDHS has good statistical performance values: a correlation coefficient of 0.9983 with minimum RMS and MAPE values. The total cost for the AGDHS is profitable when the PWF is higher than 7.9. However, the PWF of the AGDHS was found to be 1.43 for the given values. As a result, while installing a GDHS, one should take into account the influences of the PWF, ambient temperature and flow rate on the total costs of the system in any location where it is to be established.     

The thermal effects of some control logics used in GDHS

The temperature of the water returning from the network affects greatly the efficiency of a geothermal district-heating system (GDHS). The temperature of the returning water depends on whether there is a heat exchanger between network flow and indoor circulation. The return temperature also depends on outdoor temperature and logic of the indoor temperature control system. In this paper, four control logics are defined depending on whether indoor circulation is separated from network circulation or not. Return temperature and circulation rate of network flow are calculated for these control logics. The results show that the flow rate of the network flow and annual consumption of the geothermal fluid could be decreased about 10% or over by using optimum control logic in district heating systems.     

Analysis of the impact of heat-to-power ratio for a SOFC-based mCHP system for residential application under different climate regions in Europe

In this paper, the ability of a micro combined heat and power (mCHP) system to cover the heat and electricity demand of a single-family residence is investigated. A solid oxide fuel cell based mCHP system coupled with a hot water storage tank is analyzed. The energy profiles of single-family households in different European countries are evaluated. The range of Heat-to-Power Ratio for the SOFC-based mCHP System of 0.5–1.5 shows good agreement with the hot water, space heating and electricity demand during the warm seasons across Europe. This suggests that the fuel cell system should be sized according to the summer energy demand. The winter energy demand shows a Heat-to-Power Ratio which cannot be covered by the mCHP unit alone. To ensure that the mCHP system meets both the thermal and electrical energy demand over the entire year, an auxiliary boiler and a hot water storage tank need to be coupled with the mCHP unit. It is further noted that the size of the auxiliary boiler should match the larger winter space heating demand. In contrast, the hot water tank volume should be sized according to the warm season space heating requirement, when space heating is not required but electricity and hot water are still in demand. This maximizes the running time of the fuel cell, and thus the economic and environmental benefit of the system, without wasting produced heat.     

Utilisation of geothermal energy in Iceland

The present and future uses of geothermal energy in Iceland are reviewed. The classification of geothermal areas is mentioned and their potential estimated. High temperature areas may be able to sustain the production of 20 MW/km² of electricity for at least 50 years. The potential of the 17 high temperature areas is almost 6000 MW, which is substantially greater than that of the 250 low temperature areas. However, practically all the hot water used for district heating and greenhouse farming is supplied by low temperature areas. About half the population of Iceland enjoys geothermal district heating at the cost of 35% that of comparable fuel oil heating. Utilisation of high temperature areas is relatively recent. Saturated steam from these areas is used for industrial purpose and a 60 MW geothermal power plant is being constructed.     

Experience in developing and utilizing geothermal resources in iceland

Geothermal energy plays a larger role in the energy economy of Iceland than in any other country-Iceland is The Geothermal Country. This development dates back to 1930, when the first district heating system was started in Reykjavik, and since then geothermal water and steam have been utilized for a broad range of applications. Iceland has seen an unprecedented activity of geothermal projects over the past decade; geothermal district heating systems being installed wherever possible in cities and rural areas, a 30 MW_e, electric power plant at Krafla, small scale production of salt and carbon dioxide, heat extracted from the newly erupted lava in the Westman Islands for district, heating, increased use in industry and agriculture, and now recently an explosive development in fish farming. For a number of years the investment in geothermal projects represented 1.5% of the gross national product of Iceland.The largest use of geothermal energy in Iceland is for space heating and domestic use. At the moment 85% of all houses in the country are heated with geothermal water. This is of great importance in a country where heating is required practically throughout the year. The climate is rather temperate ranging from −15 to +20°C, and with the building codes now in effect that call for double and triple glazing and 150–200 mm of roof insulation, heating demand is 20 W/m³ and the annual usage 60–80 kWh/m³. Heating of greenhouses, industrial drying, fish farming, swimming pools, chemical production and electric power generation also make use of this energy source.This development has on the whole been very successful from the economic and technical standpoint, and has contributed to the wellbeing of the population of some 240,000 persons.This review paper will focus on some of the engineering experience gained in harnessing this “unconventional” energy source.     

Utilization of geothermal energy in Russia

At present geothermal energy is utilized in Russia mostly for space and district heating, and for industrial and agricultural purposes. Six towns whith a total population of about 100,000 use geothermal district heating systems. The total area of geothermally heated greenhouses is about 700,000 m². Electric energy generated at geothermal power stations remains negligible: the installed capacity of the only operating Pauzhetskaya station (Kamchatka) is 11 MW_e. Another station at the Mutnovsky geothermal field is currently under construction and is expected to have 70 MW_e, installed by 1995 and 210 MW_e, by 2000. The proven geothermal resources in Russia provide hope for a significant increase in the utilization of the earth's deep heat and a significant contribution to the power budget in the near future.     

Geothermal space heating

The use of geothermal resources for space heating dominates the direct use industry, with approximately 37% of all direct use development. Of this, 75% is provided by district heating systems. In fact, the earliest known commercial use of geothermal energy was in Chaudes-Aigues Cantal, France, where a district heating system was built in the 14th century. Today, geothermal district space heating projects can be found in 12 countries and provide some 44,772 TJ of energy yearly. Although temperatures in excess of 50 °C are generally required, resources as low as 40 °C can be used in certain circumstances, and, if geothermal heat pumps are included, space heating can be a viable alternative to other forms of heating at temperatures well below 10 °C.     

Direct heat utilization of geothermal resources

Direct utilization of geothermal energy consists of various forms for heating and cooling instead of converting the energy for electric power generation. The major areas of direct utilization are (1) swimming, bathing and balneology, (2) space heating and cooling including district heating, (3) agriculture applications, (4) aquaculture applications, (5) industrial processes, and (6) heat pumps. Major direct utilization projects exploiting geothermal energy exist in about 38 countries, and the estimated installed thermal power is almost 9,000 MWt utilizing 37,000 kg/s of fluid. The world-wide thermal energy used is estimated to be at least 108,100 TJ/yr (30,000 GWh/yr) - saving 3.65 million TOE/yr. The majority of this energy use is for space heating (33%), and swimming and bathing (19%). In the USA the installed thermal power is 1874 MWt, and the annual energy use is 13,890 TJ (3,860 GWh). The majority of the use (59 %) is for heat pumps (both ground coupled and water source), with space heating, bathing and swimming, and fish and animal farming each supplying about 10%.     

Geothermal energy technology and current status: an overview

Geothermal energy is the energy contained as heat in the Earth’s interior. This overview describes the internal structure of the Earth together with the heat transfer mechanisms inside mantle and crust. It also shows the location of geothermal fields on specific areas of the Earth. The Earth’s heat flow and geothermal gradient are defined, as well as the types of geothermal fields, the geologic environment of geothermal energy, and the methods of exploration for geothermal resources including drilling and resource assessment.Geothermal energy, as natural steam and hot water, has been exploited for decades to generate electricity, and both in space heating and industrial processes. The geothermal electrical installed capacity in the world is 7974 MW_e (year 2000), and the electrical energy generated is 49.3 billion kWh/year, representing 0.3 % of the world total electrical energy which was 15,342 billion kWh in 2000. In developing countries, where total installed electrical power is still low, geothermal energy can play a significant role: in the Philippines 21% of electricity comes from geothermal steam, 20% in El Salvador, 17% in Nicaragua, 10% in Costa Rica and 8% in Kenya. Electricity is produced with an efficiency of 10–17%. The geothermal kWh is generally cost-competitive with conventional sources of energy, in the range 2–10 UScents/kWh, and the geothermal electrical capacity installed in the world (1998) was 1/5 of that from biomass, but comparable with that from wind sources.The thermal capacity in non-electrical uses (greenhouses, aquaculture, district heating, industrial processes) is 15,14 MW_t (year 2000). Financial investments in geothermal electrical and non-electrical uses world-wide in the period 1973–1992 were estimated at about US$22,000 million. Present technology makes it possible to control the environmental impact of geothermal exploitation, and an effective and easily implemented policy to encourage geothermal energy development, and the abatement of carbon dioxide emissions would take advantage from the imposition of a carbon tax. The future use of geothermal energy from advanced technologies such as the exploitation of hot dry rock/hot wet rock systems, magma bodies and geopressured reservoirs, is briefly discussed. While the viability of hot dry rock technology has been proven, research and development are still necessary for the other two sources. A brief discussion on training of specialists, geothermal literature, on-line information, and geothermal associations concludes the review.     

New energy and exergy parameters for geothermal district heating systems

This paper introduces four new parameters, namely energetic renewability ratio, exergetic renewability ratio, energetic reinjection ratio, and exergetic reinjection ratio for geothermal district energy systems. These parameters are applied to Edremit Geothermal District Heating System (GDHS) in Balikesir, Turkey for daily, monthly and yearly assessments and their variations are studied. In addition, the actual data are regressed to obtain some applied correlations for practical use. Some results follow: (i) Both energetic and exergetic renewability ratios decrease with decreasing temperature in heating season and increasing temperature in the summer. (ii) Both energetic and exergetic reinjection ratios increase with decreasing temperature for heating season and increase with increasing temperature for summer season.     

A key review on performance improvement aspects of geothermal district heating systems and applications

This paper deals with a comprehensive analysis and discussion of geothermal district heating systems and applications. In this regard, case studies are presented to study the thermodynamic aspects in terms of energy and exergy and performance improvement opportunities of three geothermal district heating systems, namely (i) Balcova geothermal district heating system (BGDHS), (ii) Salihli geothermal district heating system (SGDHS), and (iii) Gonen geothermal district heating system (GGDHS) installed in Turkey. Energy and exergy modeling of geothermal district heating systems for system analysis and performance evaluation are given, while their performances are evaluated using energy and exergy analysis method. Energy and exergy specifications are presented in tables. In the analysis, the actual system operational data are utilized. In comparison of the local three district heating systems with each other, it is found that the SGDHS has highest energy efficiency, while the GGDHS has highest exergy efficiency.     

Energy and cost analysis of a solar-hydrogen combined heat and power system for remote power supply using a computer simulation

A simulation program, based on Visual Pascal, for sizing and techno-economic analysis of the performance of solar-hydrogen combined heat and power systems for remote applications is described. The accuracy of the submodels is checked by comparing the real performances of the system’s components obtained from experimental measurements with model outputs. The use of the heat generated by the PEM fuel cell, and any unused excess hydrogen, is investigated for hot water production or space heating while the solar-hydrogen system is supplying electricity. A 5 kWh daily demand profile and the solar radiation profile of Melbourne have been used in a case study to investigate the typical techno-economic characteristics of the system to supply a remote household. The simulation shows that by harnessing both thermal load and excess hydrogen it is possible to increase the average yearly energy efficiency of the fuel cell in the solar-hydrogen system from just below 40% up to about 80% in both heat and power generation (based on the high heating value of hydrogen). The fuel cell in the system is conventionally sized to meet the peak of the demand profile. However, an economic optimisation analysis illustrates that installing a larger fuel cell could lead to up to a 15% reduction in the unit cost of the electricity to an average of just below 90 c/kWh over the assessment period of 30 years. Further, for an economically optimal size of the fuel cell, nearly a half the yearly energy demand for hot water of the remote household could be supplied by heat recovery from the fuel cell and utilising unused hydrogen in the exit stream. Such a system could then complement a conventional solar water heating system by providing the boosting energy (usually in the order of 40% of the total) normally obtained from gas or electricity.     

Factors influencing greenhouse heating and geothermal heating systems

Low profits, stagnation and other negative consequences of the energy crisis of the early '70s gave renewed impetus to research and development programs in the European countries in an attempt at reducing the energy demand of the rural sectors and discovering new sources of energy. The results of these efforts can be summarized as follows: (1) The specific energy demand in agriculture has been reduced in a number of European countries. New, so-called “energy-saving” technologies have been developed and introduced in plant cultivation and animal husbandry. (2) Renewable resources have been re-discovered and are under exploration or commercial utilization: solar and wind, biomass, industrial waste, geothermal. But the significance of these resources in energy terms is not determined only by the amount consumed and the amount of other resources saved, but also by their role within the economy of the country and the effects on the trade balance. The alternative energies were therefore very much a question of policy, of assessing the influence on more productive sectors and on energy consumption on the whole. These were the factors that determined the different approaches taken in the European nations, and the different results achieved, rather than the availability of the resources. Geothermal energy could make a contribution to the energy requirements of most European countries, for the following reasons: (1) high enthalpy resources can be found in some countries (e.g. Turkey); (2) large quantities of low enthalpy resources at temperatures of 30–80°C can be found in aquifers in most European countries; (3) the rational utilization of low grade heat in district heating, agriculture and process heating could lead to considerable savings of imported fuels, since these sectors account for 40–60% of the total heat demand in Europe; (4) great progress has been made in the last few years in know-how and technology for utilizing different temperature ranges of geothermal fluids in agriculture, animal husbandry, food processing and other applications. It is difficult to assess the future of geothermal energy in agriculture in Europe, in the current world energy market. The factors influencing our assessment vary from country to country, depending on the development stage, short- and long-term policy for resource development and utilization, economic climate, investments available, etc. It is therefore equally difficult to compare the validity of the investment of the various countries in geothermal development and utilization. Much depends on the quality and quantity of the technical, technological and economical information required to reach an accurate estimate. For this reason the first target of the collaboration of scientists from different European countries is to collect all the information available in Europe, then select and reorganize this data in such a way that it can be used by different countries with different local circumstances for different types of assessment. At the present level of technology, there are many possible applications of geothermal energy. The limits change continually with advances in technology. In greenhouse heating, for example, nearly all the temperature ranges required for hot beds and hot water irrigation are actually available, which explains why the most widely developed application of geothermal resources is in agriculture, food processing and greenhouse heating. Many projects in European countries are successful, showing profits. However, the main drawback is the relatively high investment costs compared to conventional heating systems. Some technical problems have also to be solved in order to achieve the specific light, ventilation and other conditions required in greenhouse systems. An important factor in low-temperature installations is location of the installation, which affects climatization and heat transfer. This paper will discuss the different aspects of this problem.     

Feasibility study of a district energy system with seasonal water thermal storage

In this paper, performance of three types of district heating/cooling and hot water supply system with natural and unused energy utilization were examined by using system simulation. An area zoned for both commercial and residential buildings was chosen for this study. The first system is the conventional system in which an electric driven turbo chiller and a gas-fired boiler are installed as the heat source. This is considered as the reference system. Two alternative systems utilize waste heat from space cooling and heating. One is designed based on short-term heat recovery and the other employs the concept of an annual cycle energy system (i.e. seasonal heat recovery). All of the three systems use solar thermal energy for hot water supply to the residential zone. The index for evaluation is the coefficient of performance of the overall system, based on primary energy. As a result, it was found that the seasonal storage system could decrease the energy consumption by about 26% and the short-term heat recovery system could decrease it by about 16% compared with the reference system. In designing the heat recovery system, a balance of cooling/heating demand is an important factor. Therefore a sensitivity analysis of performance of the overall system and the seasonal thermal storage for several load patterns was performed. From these results, it was found that if the amount of heating/cooling demand were well balanced, an improvement of energy performance could be achieved and the utilization factor of the seasonal tank would become higher. Furthermore, the volume of the seasonal storage tank could be reduced.     

The USA geothermal country update

Geothermal energy is used for electric power generation and direct utilization in the United States. The present installed capacity (gross) for electric power generation is about 2020 MWe, with 1902 MWe net delivering power to the grid, producing approximately 16,000 GWh per year for a 96% capacity factor. Geothermal electric power plants are located in California, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii. The two largest concentrations of plants are at The Geysers in northern California and the Imperial Valley in southern California. The latest development at The Geysers, due to recent declines in steam output, is the injection of recycled wastewater from two communities into the reservoir, which has at present permitted the recovery of 70 MWe of power generation. The direct utilization of geothermal energy includes the heating of pools and spas, greenhouses and aquaculture facilities, space heating and district heating, snow melting, agricultural drying, industrial applications and ground-source heat pumps. The installed capacity is about 4350 MWt and the annual energy use is 22,250 TJ, or 6181 GWh. The largest application is that of ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps (60% of the energy use), and the largest direct-use is that of aquaculture pond and raceway water heating. Direct utilization is increasing at about 6% per year, whereas electric power plant development is almost static. The energy savings from electric power generation, direct uses and ground-source heat pumps amount to 6.6 million tonnes of equivalent fuel oil per year and represents a reduction in air pollution of 5.8 million tonnes of carbon annually (compared to fuel oil).