SEMINÁRIO
REDES ENERGÉTICAS DO FUTURO:
desafios para a Macaronésia
Ribeira Grande, 13 de Dezembro de 2011
USE OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN THE
AZORES ISLANDS: A CONTRIBUTION TO
THE ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF A
REMOTE AND ISOLATED REGION
COMPANY PROFILE
SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores
 Started its activity in 1990,
following the work of previous
regional government institutions in
the development of geothermal
projects
 Capital share of 17,8 M€ owned
by EDA, the power utility of the
region, 50,1% still owned by the
regional government
 Results in 2010 > turnover of
15,4 M€; net income 6,9 M€
COMPANY PROFILE
SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores
 Focuses
its
activity
on
geothermal
power
generation,
exploration of high-temperature
resources and provision of waterwell drilling services
 Produced over 173,5 GWh, in
2010, which represents a growth of
7,3% over the previous year
 Contributed with 38,8% of the
power production of São Miguel
island, corresponding to 20,4% of
power production in The Azores
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION
Origin of geothermal energy
AZORES ISLANDS
Geotectonic setting – triple junction
Main tectonic structures in the Azores region: CMA – Mid Atlantic Ridge; ZFNA – Northern
Azores Fault Zone; ZFEA – Eastern Azores Fault Zone; RT – Terceira Rift; FG – GLÓRIA Fault
Source: Gaspar (1996)
AZORES ISLANDS
Volcanoes and geothermal manifestations
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION
Model of a hydrothermal reservoir
Source: GEO-DOE
AZORES ISLANDS
Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field
Pico Vermelho sector
Caldeiras sector
Cachaços-Lombadas sector
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Drilling Geothermal Wells
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant
Phase A (1994)
Phase A
 Installed capacity 2 x 2,5 MW
2
 Geothermal wells CL1 and CL2
X
2,5 MW
Phase B
2
X
4,0 MW
Phase B (1998)
 Installed capacity 2 x 4,0 MW
 Wells CL1, CL2, CL5, CL6 and CL7
 Injection of effluent the in well CL4
CL1
CL2
CL5
CL6
CL7
CL4
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant
One generation unit,
binary cycle, air-cooled
condensing system
10 MW
Geothermal fluid provided
by five production wells
PV2
PV3
PV4
Injection in two geothermal
wells
PV7
PV8
PV5
PV6
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant
GEOTHERMAL PROJECT IN SÃO MIGUEL
Generation technology
AIR
PUMP
AIR-COOLED CONDENSER
SEPARATOR
PREHEATER
TURBINE
VAPORIZER
PRODUCTION WELL
INJECTION WELL
ALTERNATOR
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Production results
Production (GWh)
200
180
Ribeira Grande
160
Pico Vermelho
140
120
Ribeira
Grande
Phase B
Pico
Vermelho
Ribeira
Grande
Phase A
100
80
60
40
20
0
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
AZORES ISLANDS
Contribution by source of energy
1990
Diesel
21,8%
Wind
0,1%
Geothermal
1,3%
Hydro
4,2%
Diesel
8,3%
Wind
4,0%
2010
Geothermal
20,4%
Hydro
3,7%
Oil
72,6%
Oil
63,6%
Power production in the Azores still relies mainly on oil.
The penetration of renewable sources grew more than five
times in the last 20 years, as the result of the strategic
options considered for the energy policy of the region.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Evolution of the contribution
500
Produced Power (GWh)
450
400
350
300
250
Oil
5,7%
200
150
100
50
0
55,5%
Hydro
Geothermal
38,8%
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
In the last two decades, the geothermal source represented
most of the effort to support the growth of the demand.
With the expansion of the geothermal project, the new wind
farm and the contribution from the hydro plants, renewable
sources will attain clearly the majority of the generation.
GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION
Sustainable development
“Geothermal plants provide long-term, stable, wellpaying jobs, produce nearly zero air emissions and
associated health impacts, and supply millions of euros
to
local and
reliable,
state economies through decades of
secure,
domestic,
renewable
energy
production.”
Adapted from “A Handbook on the Externalities,
Employment, and Economics of Geothermal Energy”
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Consistent operational results
Key factors:
 Highly productive wells;
 Excess of production capacity available at the wellheads;
 Successful application of scale inhibition.
Operating statistics for the Pico Vermelho power plant
Indicator
Unit
Production
2009
2010
Actual
Forecast
Actual
GWh
98.7
95.5
100.5
Average output
MW
11.3
10.9
11.5
Availability
%
99.2
99.5
99.4
%
112.6
109.0
114.8
Load factor(1)
(1) Compared to the contracted power output
The average annual output of the Pico Vermelho plant has
been approximately 15% greater than its contractual
capacity. Over 15 years of consistent production provided
the attribute of guaranteed power to geothermal.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
High reliability and availability
12000
120
10000
100
8000
80
6000
60
4000
40
2000
20
0
Availability & Load Factor (%)
Produced Energy (MWh)
Pico Vermelho geothermal plant
Production monthly results (2010)
0
J
F
M
A
Production Forecast (MWh)
M
J
J
Production (MWh)
A
S
O
Availability (%)
N
D
Load Factor (%)
The total stoppage time of the Pico Vermelho plant has
been, in average, about 50 hours per year.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Base-load source of energy
60
São Miguel island
Sunday, 16th of January, 2011
50
Power (MW)
40
Oil
38%
Hydro
6%
30
20
Geothermal
56%
10
0
0:00
2:00
4:00
6:00
8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00
Source: EDA (2011)
0:00
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Recent production records
Diesel
0,2%
APRIL, 2011
Geothermal
46,8%
Oil
45,9%
Hydro
7,1%
In the month of April 2011, the contribution from the
geothermal source attained two historical records: was the
highest ever reached and for the first time it surpassed
generation from fossil fuels.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Environmentally friendly
CO2 Emissions (g CO2/kWh)
1200
1000
893
955
800
599
600
400
200
91
0
Geothermal
Natural Gas
Oil
Coal
Source: Bloomfield et al. (2003)
In São Miguel, a total of 160 thousand tones of CO2
emissions are avoided every year. Native vegetation grows
within the sites of the geothermal plants, showing their
compatibility with the environment.
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Environmentally friendly
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Environmentally friendly
SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT
Self-sufficiency comparable to references
30%
27,1%
26,0%
23,4%
20,7%
20,1%
20%
15,0%
15%
12,4%
10%
8,9%
7,2%
5,2%
5%
4,6%
2,7%
1,9% 1,6%
0,4%
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Share of geothermal source
25%
Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute
with data from different sources
GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS IN THE AZORES
CONCLUSIONS
The geothermal project in the Azores is an extremely
succeeded demonstration of the advantages of the use of
geothermal resources: creates high-skilled jobs, generates
business locally, avoids importation of fossil fuel and is
environment-friendly.
For the overall Azores region, the geothermal contribution
of about 23% is comparable to the results observed in
geothermal-rich
countries
such
as
Iceland,
where
geothermal contributes 25% to the power system.
Based on the excellent production results achieved in the
last decade, it is a considered the main vector of the
government policy of maximizing the utilization of
renewable energy sources: 50% in 2015 is the objective.