RE-PURPOSING DEPLETED OIL AND GAS FIELDS FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN THE APPALACHIAN BASIN

One of the major costs of developing geothermal energy is drilling wells. Existing, depleted oil and gas wells in the Appalachian Basin can be re-entered and modified for geothermal energy production at a lower cost than drilling new wells. Recent developments in geothermal production technology, including enhanced or engineered geothermal, advanced geothermal, and solar-assisted geothermal energy can make these resources accessible. Geothermal utilization technology such as lower temperature organic Rankine-cycle electricity generation and deep direct use for district heating could provide significant amounts of carbon-free energy to offset fossil fuel use. The northern Appalachian Basin has many depleted oil and gas fields within short distances of population centers like Pittsburgh, Erie, Youngstown, Cleveland, and elsewhere to provide markets for district heating and electricity. Marginal or abandoned wells near existing thermoelectric power plants could be modified to provide high temperature, solar-assisted geothermal energy to replace coal or gas burners with a geothermal hot loop, decarbonizing fossil fuel power plants on site while maintaining existing generating and transmission infrastructure including tie-ins to the electrical grid. Creating a new life for depleted oil and gas wells as geothermal resources will provide clean energy and turn a legacy environmental concern into an asset.