FGEM: Flexible Geothermal Economics Modeling tool

M.J. Aljubran and R.N. Horne

Applied Energy, 2024, vol. 353, issue PA, No S0306261923014897

Abstract: Flexible energy resources are key for a reliable power supply in a decarbonized grid with a significant fraction of variable power sources. Whereas the development of fossil fuel resources has dominated the supply for dispatchable capacity, this trend is slowing down due to climate change concerns and the rapidly ongoing transition to renewable resources. Geothermal energy has always been an economic resource for baseload power and district heating. With the decline of fossil fuel plants, geothermal facilities have been expanding beyond baseload to supply flexible heat and electricity. There exist several software tools available for evaluating the techno-economic feasibility of geothermal projects. Whereas these tools offer valuable capabilities for assessing baseload geothermal projects, they do not allow for modeling the operations of flexible geothermal systems. Hence, we present a novel, open-source tool called FGEM for Flexible Geothermal Economics Modeling, specifically designed for the techno-economic analysis of flexible geothermal power generation. FGEM incorporates a wide range of parameters, including resource assessment, plant design, operational strategies, and market dynamics, to provide a holistic analysis of the economic viability of geothermal projects. The objective of this article is to highlight the key features and capabilities of FGEM, and demonstrate its utility through case studies of a geothermal project that is operated flexibly with various dispatch strategies: wellhead throttling, battery energy storage, and thermal energy storage.

Keywords: FGEM; Flexible; Geothermal; Economic; Modeling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261923014897
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:353:y:2024:i:pa:s0306261923014897

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.122125

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().