On Earth, the deep subsurface biosphere of both the oceanic and the continental crust is well known for surviving harsh conditions and environments characterized by high temperatures, high pressures, extreme pHs, and the absence of sunlight. The microorganisms of the terrestrial deep biosphere...

A comparison of ten models for computing the cost of hydrothermal energy is presented. This comparison involved a detailed examination of a number of technical and economic parameters of the various quantitative models with the objective of identifying the most important parameters in the...

Findings are presented from two separate studies: a preliminary study of leaders of the geothermal industry and a second study of a ten percent representative sample of other firms. The studies are intended to determine if a need still exists for a federal grant-assisted geothermal demonstration...

The methodologies used for computing levelized busbar costs of electricity from geothermal (hydrothermal) resources used by 16 organizations active in the geothermal area are discussed. The methodologies are compared by (a) comparing the results obtained by using two standard data sets, (b) a...

The most important factors affecting the economics of geothermal electricity production are the wellhead temperature or enthalpy, the well flow rate, and the cost of the wells. The capital cost of the powerplant is significant, but not highly sensitive to these resource characteristics. The...

The analysis and modeling of investment behavior in the development of hydrothermal electric power facilities are reported. This investment behavior reflects a degree of sensitivity to public policy alternatives concerning taxation and regulation of the resource and its related energy conversion...