USE OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES IN THE AZORES ISLANDS: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENCY OF A

REMOTE AND ISOLATED REGION

SEMINÁRIO REDES ENERGÉTICAS DO FUTURO:

desafios para a Macaronésia

Ribeira Grande, 13 de Dezembro de 2011

COMPANY PROFILE SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores

Started its activity in 1990, following the work of previous regional government institutions in the development of geothermal projects

Capital share of 17,8 M€ owned by EDA, the power utility of the region, 50,1% still owned by the regional government

Results in 2010 > turnover of 15,4 M€; net income 6,9 M€

COMPANY PROFILE SOGEO - Sociedade Geotérmica dos Açores

Focuses its activity on geothermal power generation, exploration of high-temperature resources and provision of water-well drilling services

Produced over 173,5 GWh, in 2010, which represents a growth of 7,3% over the previous year

Contributed with 38,8% of the power production of São Miguel island, corresponding to 20,4% of power production in The Azores

GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Origin of geothermal energy

AZORES ISLANDS Geotectonic setting – triple junction

Source: Gaspar (1996)

Main tectonic structures in the Azores region: CMA – Mid Atlantic Ridge; ZFNA – Northern Azores Fault Zone; ZFEA – Eastern Azores Fault Zone; RT – Terceira Rift; FG – GLÓRIA Fault

AZORES ISLANDS Volcanoes and geothermal manifestations

Source: GEO-DOE

GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Model of a hydrothermal reservoir

AZORES ISLANDS Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field

Cachaços-Lombadas sector

Pico Vermelho sector

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Field

Caldeiras sector

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Drilling Geothermal Wells

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant

Phase A (1994)

Installed capacity 2 x 2,5 MW

Geothermal wells CL1 and CL2

Phase B (1998)

Installed capacity 2 x 4,0 MW

Wells CL1, CL2, CL5, CL6 and CL7

Injection of effluent the in well CL4

CL4 CL6

Phase A

2 X 2,5 MW

Phase B

2 X 4,0 MW

CL5 CL2 CL1 CL7

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Ribeira Grande Geothermal Plant

PV5 PV7 PV4 PV3 PV2 PV6

10 MW

One generation unit,

binary cycle, air-cooled

condensing system

Geothermal fluid provided

by five production wells Injection in two geothermal

wells

PV8

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT New Pico Vermelho Geothermal Plant

GEOTHERMAL PROJECT IN SÃO MIGUEL Generation technology

PUMP

AIR-COOLED CONDENSER

PREHEATER

TURBINE ALTERNATOR

INJECTION WELL PRODUCTION WELL

VAPORIZER

AIR

SEPARATOR

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Production results

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1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Pro

du

cti

on

(G

Wh

)

Ribeira Grande

Pico Vermelho

Ribeira Grande Phase A

Pico Vermelho Ribeira

Grande Phase B

Geothermal1,3%

Hydro4,2%

Oil72,6%

Diesel21,8%

Wind0,1%

Geothermal

20,4%

Hydro

3,7%

Oil

63,6%

Diesel

8,3%Wind

4,0%

1990 2010

AZORES ISLANDS Contribution by source of energy

Power production in the Azores still relies mainly on oil. The penetration of renewable sources grew more than five times in the last 20 years, as the result of the strategic options considered for the energy policy of the region.

In the last two decades, the geothermal source represented most of the effort to support the growth of the demand. With the expansion of the geothermal project, the new wind farm and the contribution from the hydro plants, renewable sources will attain clearly the majority of the generation.

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1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Pro

du

ce

d P

ow

er

(G

Wh

)

38,8%

55,5%

5,7%

Hydro

Oil

Geothermal

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Evolution of the contribution

GEOTHERMAL POWER GENERATION Sustainable development

“Geothermal plants provide long-term, stable, well-

paying jobs, produce nearly zero air emissions and

associated health impacts, and supply millions of euros

to local and state economies through decades of

reliable, secure, domestic, renewable energy

production.”

Adapted from “A Handbook on the Externalities, Employment, and Economics of Geothermal Energy”

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Consistent operational results

The average annual output of the Pico Vermelho plant has been approximately 15% greater than its contractual capacity. Over 15 years of consistent production provided the attribute of guaranteed power to geothermal.

Key factors:

Highly productive wells;

Excess of production capacity available at the wellheads;

Successful application of scale inhibition.

Indicator Unit 2009 2010

Actual Forecast Actual

Production GWh 98.7 95.5 100.5

Average output MW 11.3 10.9 11.5

Availability % 99.2 99.5 99.4

Load factor(1) % 112.6 109.0 114.8

(1) Compared to the contracted power output

Operating statistics for the Pico Vermelho power plant

Pico Vermelho geothermal plant

Production monthly results (2010)

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J F M A M J J A S O N D

Availa

bilit

y &

Load

Factor (

%)

Prod

uced

En

erg

y (M

Wh

)

Production Forecast (MWh) Production (MWh) Availability (%) Load Factor (%)

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT High reliability and availability

The total stoppage time of the Pico Vermelho plant has been, in average, about 50 hours per year.

Hydro

Oil

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20

30

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60

0:00 2:00 4:00 6:00 8:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00 22:00 0:00

Pow

er (M

W)

Geothermal

São Miguel island

Sunday, 16th of January, 2011

56%

38%

6%

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Base-load source of energy

Source: EDA (2011)

Geothermal

46,8%

Hydro

7,1%

Oil

45,9%

Diesel

0,2%APRIL, 2011

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Recent production records

In the month of April 2011, the contribution from the geothermal source attained two historical records: was the highest ever reached and for the first time it surpassed generation from fossil fuels.

91

599

893955

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200

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1200

Geothermal Natural Gas Oil Coal

CO

2E

mis

sio

ns (

g C

O2/

kW

h)

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly

Source: Bloomfield et al. (2003)

In São Miguel, a total of 160 thousand tones of CO2 emissions are avoided every year. Native vegetation grows within the sites of the geothermal plants, showing their compatibility with the environment.

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Environmentally friendly

SÃO MIGUEL GEOTHERMAL PROJECT Self-sufficiency comparable to references

Source: Compiled by Earth Policy Institute with data from different sources

27,1%26,0%

23,4%

20,1%

15,0%

12,4%

8,9%

7,2%

5,2%4,6%

2,7%1,9% 1,6%

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20,7%

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10%

15%

20%

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GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS IN THE AZORES CONCLUSIONS

The geothermal project in the Azores is an extremely succeeded demonstration of the advantages of the use of geothermal resources: creates high-skilled jobs, generates business locally, avoids importation of fossil fuel and is environment-friendly.

For the overall Azores region, the geothermal contribution of about 23% is comparable to the results observed in geothermal-rich countries such as Iceland, where geothermal contributes 25% to the power system.

Based on the excellent production results achieved in the last decade, it is a considered the main vector of the government policy of maximizing the utilization of renewable energy sources: 50% in 2015 is the objective.