CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

ORGANIZERS

  • Harvey Thorleifson, Chair
    Minnesota Geological Survey
  • Carrie Jennings, Vice Chair
    Minnesota Geological Survey
  • David Bush, Technical Program Chair
    University of West Georgia
  • Jim Miller, Field Trip Chair
    University of Minnesota Duluth
  • Curtis M. Hudak, Sponsorship Chair
    Foth Infrastructure & Environment, LLC

 

Paper No. 9
Presentation Time: 10:30 AM

NATIONAL GEOTHERMAL DATA SYSTEM


ANDERSON, Arlene F.1, CUYLER, David1, SNYDER, Walter2, ALLISON, M. Lee3, BLACKWELL, David D.4 and WILLIAMS, Colin F.5, (1)U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Geothermal Technologies Program, 1000 Independence Ave, Washington, DC 20585, (2)GSA Geoinformatics Division, 1910 University Drive, MS 1535, Boise, ID 83725, (3)Arizona Geological Survey, 416 W. Congress, #100, Tucson, AZ 85701-1381, (4)Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist Univeristy, PO Box 750395, Dallas, TX 75275, (5)U.S. Geological Survey, MS 973, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, Arlene.Anderson@ee.doe.gov

The goal of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Geothermal Data System is to design, build, implement, deploy and populate a national, sustainable, distributed, interoperable network of data and service (application) providers. These providers will develop, collect, serve, and maintain geothermal-relevant data that operates as an integral component of NGDS. As a result the geothermal industry, the public, and policy makers will have access to consistent and reliable data, which in turn, reduces the amount of staff time devoted to finding, retrieving, integrating, and verifying information. With easier access to information, the high cost and risk of geothermal power projects (especially exploration drilling) is reduced.

Five separate NGDS projects provide the data support, acquisition, and access to cyber infrastructure necessary to reduce cost and risk of the nation’s geothermal energy strategy and US DOE program goals focused on the production and utilization of geothermal energy. The U.S DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Geothermal Technologies Program is developing the knowledge and data foundation necessary for discovery and development of large-scale energy production while the Buildings Technology Program is focused on other practical applications such as direct use and residential/commercial ground source heat pumps.

The NGDS provides expanded reference and resource data for research and development activities (a subset of the US DOE goals) and includes data from across all fifty states and the nation’s leading geothermal research centers. Thus, the project incorporates not only high-temperature potential but also moderate and low-temperature locations incorporating US DOE’s goal of adding more geothermal electricity to the grid. The program, through its cyberinfrastructure, will help lead to innovative exploration technologies through increased data availability on geothermal energy capacity. Finally, the project will contribute new data from previously unexplored locations.

NGDS is being built using the US Geoscience Information Network (US GIN) data integration framework to promote interoperability across the Earth sciences community and with other emerging data integration and networking efforts.

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