New Edition of Geothermal Power Generation Published

Elsevier has published the second edition of its comprehensive book Geothermal Power Generation: Developments and Innovation, available at:

https://shop.elsevier.com/books/geothermal-power-generation/dipippo/978-0-443-24750-7

ISBN: Hardback, 9780443247507; eBook, 9780443247514

The original edition, published in 2016, was edited by Ronald DiPippo; the new one was edited by DiPippo along with Luis C.A. Gutiérrez-Negrín and Andrew Chiasson. The book comprises 28 chapters written by 40 authors from 12 countries, namely, Chile, Costa Rica, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, United Kingdom and United States. There is also an appendix with data on installed geothermal power plants across the world showing trends and projections for the near-term.

In the eight years following the first edition, geothermal power has continued to be a steady and reliable source of electricity to nearly 70 million people around the world. The number of countries served by geothermal power plants has risen from 24 in 2015 to 32, with another 11 poised to join the geothermal club of nations. In 2015, about 12 GW of geothermal power was installed, whereas now the total exceeds 16 GW, representing nearly 4% annual growth.

The book is organized into four sections:

Part One - Resource Exploration, Characterization, and Evaluation

Part Two - Energy Conversion Systems

Part Three - Design and Economic Considerations

Part Four - Case Studies

The first three sections follow the typical chronological order in the development of a resource, from the beginning of exploration through to the options for engineering a power plant, including environmental, economic, social and cultural considerations.

The chapters are descriptive while giving enough analytical material to allow readers to apply scientific principles to understand the design and performance of various plants. The last section includes eight chapters describing actual plants operating around the world, from the earliest ones in Italy, now over 120 years ago, to recent developments in Kenya, and several other countries and regions.

Throughout the book, color photographs and diagrams are used to convey the nature of geothermal resources and a physical sense of different power plant designs, including dry steam, single-, double-, and triple-flash, to a variety of binary and hybrid plants. Extensive reference lists and bibliographies accompany each chapter for further in-depth reading and research.

The second edition includes several new chapters dealing with developments in the Philippines, Central America and the Caribbean, Chile, and Kenya. Another new chapter presents a case study of the large geothermal field at Cerro Prieto in Mexico that has been in continuous operation for over 50 years since 1973.

Innovations and emerging technologies include Advanced Deep Drilling (ADD) and Mineral Recovery (MR) from geothermal brines. While neither of these emerging technologies has been brought to the commercial stage, they promise results in the near term. So far, ADD has demonstrated that existing productive fields can be enhanced, but no power plant has been developed solely by using ADD techniques. Likewise, mineral recovery, in particular the recovery of lithium, has been demonstrated in laboratory tests using simulated brines, and pilot demonstration plants have been designed, however extending the concepts to full-scale operation at a real power plant, or as a stand-alone mineral recovery plant, has so far proven highly challenging.

The following is excerpted from a book review by Susan Fox Hodgson, California Div. of Oil, Gas and Geothermal, retired.

Geothermal Power Generation: Developments and Innovation, Second Edition, includes 958 pages of first-rate geothermal information emphasizing advanced energy technologies. The exceptionally well-organized text is backed by a 30-page index. The front and back covers show geothermal power plants sited in naturally green areas, environmentally in sync with the "green" nature of geothermal power production.

Some chapters touch on geothermal history. An example is Chapter 21, titled “Larderello, Italy: The Oldest Geothermal Field in Operation in the World.” The chapter begins with a Prologue, “...an historical outline, beginning in Prehistory, of Italian geothermal development up to 1960, with particular reference to the Boraciferous Region.” The Prologue, by Raffaele Cataldi, is followed by technical information from authors, Roberto Parri, Franco Lazzeri, and Alessandro Lenzi. The issues they discuss include “...studies and pilot tests on new materials and/or alloys for turbines and auxiliary equipment.”

It doesn't matter if you work in geothermal or don't know the first thing about it. The book is for you. If you are unfamiliar with geothermal power plants, someday you may need a few geothermal facts. Say out of the blue, a developer suggests building a geothermal power plant in your area. You and other residents want to understand the project. Reading through the chapter titles can help guide you to the information you need. Geothermal developers will find the book useful, as well. Talking to (or teaching) community groups about geothermal energy and answering their questions is part of the job.