geothermal development and research in iceland - Orkustofnun

More documents

Recommendations

Info

5.2 Iceland GeoSurvey Iceland GeoSurvey is a research institution providing specialist services to the Icelandic power industry, the Icelandic government and foreign companies with regard to the field of geothermal sciences and utilization. The staff is comprised of about 50 people, most of whom have academic degrees and varied experience in geothermal research and training. Geothermal exploration and exploitation involves several disciplines such as geology, geophysics, geochemistry, reservoir physics and engineering. Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR) is a self-financed, non-profit government institution that operates on the free market like a private company. It gets no direct funding from the government but operates on a project and contract basis. The annual turnover is approximately $6 million. It is expected that about 20% of Iceland GeoSurvey’s turnover will come from government contracts, and the remainder from contracts with various energy companies, utilities and municipalities. Each geothermal field is different from the others and exploration methods as well as modes of utilization need to be tailored to conditions at individual sites in order to get optimal information. Thus Iceland GeoSurvey specialists usually work in project teams covering all the expertise needed to perform the research as efficiently as possible. Groups of specialization include: computerized GIS mapping, geological mapping, hydrogeology, borehole geology, geophysical exploration, marine geology, geochemistry, corrosion and deposition, environmental sciences and monitoring, well design, well logging, well testing and stimulation, reinjection, reservoir modeling, resource management, drilling engineering and geothermal utilization. Iceland GeoSurvey sites exploration and production wells, and evaluates their geothermal characteristics and production capacity. The results are integrated into a conceptual model of the geothermal reservoir, which forms a basis for numerical modeling of the reservoir to assess the production capacity of the field. Iceland GeoSurvey has service contracts with electric utilities, and district heating services around the country. These involve monitoring of reservoirs and chemical composition of geothermal fluids. It also advises developers on cold water supplies and on disposal of effluent water. The company has specialized research equipment, laboratories and computer software developed for the processing and interpretation of various types of data. The staff takes an active part in international geothermal workshops and conferences, provides course work and lectures for specially tailored training seminars and the United Nations Geothermal Training Program. Iceland GeoSurvey has about 50 years experience in geothermal research, services and consultancy abroad. This includes most categories of geothermal research and utilization. Among the countries involved: Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Georgia, Germany, Portugal, Guadeloupe, Greece, Turkey, USA, Indonesia, Philippines, El Salvador, Costa- Rica, Nicaragua and China. 30
5.3 The United Nations University Geothermal Training Program The Geothermal Training Program of the United Nations University (UNU-GTP) was established in Iceland in 1978 when the National Energy Authority (NEA) became an Associated Institution of the UNU. Since 1979, a group of professional scientists and engineers from the developing and transitional countries have come to Iceland each spring to spend six months in highly specialized studies, research, and on-the-job training in geothermal science and engineering. All of them are university graduates with practical experience in geothermal work and permanent positions at energy agencies/utilities, research organizations or universities in their home countries. The UNU Fellows have full access to the research facilities and the multidisciplinary research environment of the NEA and the Iceland GeoSurvey. There is an excellent library specializing in energy research and development (in particular geothermal and hydropower) with some 12,000 titles and subscriptions to 140 journals. Most of the teaching and research supervision of the UNU-GTP has been conducted by geothermal specialists of the Geoscience Division of NEA. This division was separated from the NEA in 2003 to become a new government-owned institution, Iceland GeoSurvey. The integration of the UNU Fellows with the specialists and the research atmosphere will continue as in previous years. The UNU-GTP closely cooperates with the University of Iceland (UI). Staff members of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering have been among the key lecturers and supervisors of the UNU Fellows. In May 2000, a cooperation agreement was signed between the UNU-GTP and the UI on MSc studies in geothermal science and engineering. This is designed for UNU Fellows who have already completed the traditional six-month courses at the UNU-GTP, which constitute 25% of the MSc program. Specialized training is offered at the UNU-GTP in geological exploration, borehole geology, geophysical exploration, borehole geophysics, reservoir engineering, chemistry of thermal fluids, environmental studies, geothermal utilization, and drilling technology. The aim is to assist developing countries and Central and Eastern European countries with significant geothermal potential to build groups of specialists that cover most aspects of geothermal exploration and sustainable development. All trainees are selected by private interviews with UNU-GTP representatives as they visit the countries concerned to become acquainted with geothermal UNU-Fellows during field training Ingvar Birgir Friðleifsson 31
Page 1: GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH
Page 4 and 5: Orkugardur, Grensasvegur 9 108 Reyk
Page 6 and 7: 1. Introduction Iceland is a countr
Page 8 and 9: 2. Sustainable Utilization of Geoth
Page 10 and 11: 3. The Nature of Geothermal Resourc
Page 12 and 13: From Reykjadalir in the Torfajokull
Page 14 and 15: Reykjavik Energy 4.1 Space Heating
Page 16 and 17: Fig. 4. Relative share of energy re
Page 18 and 19: 4.1.8 The government’s role in de
Page 20 and 21: Fig. 7. Generation of electricity u
Page 22 and 23: service. It was one of the first of
Page 24 and 25: Helga Bardadottir 4.3 Other Utiliza
Page 26 and 27: paprika, etc.) and flowers for the
Page 28 and 29: Oddur Sigurðsson Oddur Sigurðsson
Page 32 and 33: Fig. 10. Distribution of UNU Fellow
Page 34 and 35: Iceland Drilling In Uganda, ICEIDA
Page 36 and 37: 6. References 6.1 Publications Arno
Page 40: 40 April 2006

geothermal development and research in iceland - Orkustofnun

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?