Introduction to geothermal energy 

Geothermal energy is an emerging trend in the energy industry, but it has been around for more than a century. The first-ever geothermal plant was commissioned in Tuscany, Italy, and harvested dry steam coming out of the earth. As of December 2023, the U.S. has an installed geothermal capacity of ~3.9 GW. The U.S. currently accounts for around 25% of the total global installed capacity, with a target of 60 GW by 2050. 

What is geothermal energy? 

Geothermal energy is primarily a blend of hydrothermal energy and falls under the category of ‘renewable’ sources of energy. Geothermal plants can be broadly classified under three categories: 

• Dry steam plants: Use steam directly from a geothermal reservoir to turn generator turbines.

• Flash steam plants: Take high-pressure hot water from deep within the earth and convert it into steam that drives generator turbines.

• Binary-cycle power plants: Transfer the heat from geothermal hot water to another liquid, which gets converted into steam and drives a turbine. 

What makes geothermal energy a neccessary ingredient of the energy mix? 

• High efficiency at ~54–63%, compared to other renewables.
• Non-polluting as no fossil fuels are burnt.
• Required a setup somewhat similar to conventional thermal plants. 
• Low operating cost. 

Overlaps between Oil & Gas facilities and Geothermal plants 

Oil and gas, as well as geothermal plants, differ in their energy sources but are similar in structural, technical, and operational aspects. These overlaps develop avenues for adaptation of best practices and mutual learning.

Here are the key commonalities:

• Similar equipment: This includes wells, reservoirs, pipes, turbines, pumps, and heat exchangers. 
• Similar challenges: Corrosion, condition monitoring over large areas, inaccessible assets, large volume of asset and maintenance data, environmental and HSE concerns
• Similar processes: For non-destructive testing, compliance, maintenance management 
• Similar resources: Engineering, procurement, maintenance, inventory, operations 

Why Asset Management Matters in Geothermal Plants 

Geothermal plants operate in harsh and unique conditions—corrosive fluids, high temperatures, and constant pressure fluctuations. Key assets such as production wells, reinjection pipelines, turbines, heat exchangers, and control systems endure relentless wear and tear.

An integrated asset management will lead to:

• Optimum Equipment Lifespan: Scheduled inspections and predictive maintenance are necessary for ensuring effective utilisation of the equipment over its entire lifecycle.

• Operational Efficiency: Timely maintenance minimizes downtime and avoids costly unplanned outages.

• Safety and Compliance: Asset monitoring reduces the risk of high-pressure failures, toxic leaks, or blowouts, keeping staff and the environment safe.
• Cost Control: Preventive maintenance is far more cost-effective than reactive fixes and equipment replacement.
• Sustainable Output: Optimally managed assets help ensure a steady and efficient flow of geothermal power to the grid.

How Hofintech Can Help

Robust data foundation: Hofintech has more than four decades of experience in building a robust data foundation. We build accurate and reliable data for assets, materials, vendors, and for various compliances.

Operational Excellence: We help asset-intensive organizations achieve operational excellence through our consulting services and tech solutions.

Optimized cost of maintenance: We have proven solutions which help asset-heavy enterprises meet their safety and productivity goals at a minimum cost of maintenance.

Higher uptime: Our clients report higher uptime and better responsiveness to unexpected situations and downtimes.

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Reach out to us at info@hofintech.com to learn more about our asset management and maintenance related services.

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