Maria Richards of the SMU Geothermal Lab will be addressing the Resource Management Commission meeting on May 15th, at 6:30 PM in the Boards and Commissions Room at Austin City Hall. Please come view her presentation with the Commission and find out more about this sustainable energy that may be useful to Austin's future.

Abstract:
Geothermal resources are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, making geothermal energy a base load technology. Geothermal energy can now be extracted from the well fluids as low as 165°F using newly designed compact binary fluid turbines to produce electrical energy. These systems are sized to fit a single well or multiple wells.

The SMU Geothermal Lab is researching for Austin Energy the geothermal potential for Matagorda County wells. Using the Frio reservoir as the starting point, the wells within this reservoir are under pressure with 8500 psi and temperatures at 245°F starting at 10,650 ft. Depending on fluid flow rates and cooling water temperatures, 225 kW can be produced on average per well.

If Austin Energy develops the geothermal energy resource this would be a renewable energy that is expected to be sustaining for 20+ years.

Contact Information:
Maria Richards
SMU Geothermal Lab
PO Box 75-0395
Dallas, TX 75275-0395
mrichard@smu.edu
214-768-1975
http://www.smu.edu/geothermal