Notwithstanding Dicko and Juke's excellent insights and obviously superior technical knowledge, if I can just address the concerns I think you were raising more directly:
"So I think you need either a really high temperature OR really high pressure (or preferably both) to get a decent energy output."
My understanding is you need some combination of a really high temperature or a really high flow rate to get a decent energy output, but the flow rate is not used to directly extract the energy (as in spinning a turbine) but to allow more heated brine to pass the heat extractor (in this case the binary plant). Therefore, unlike a hydro model where the natural flow rate is all important and pumping to increase the flow rate would defeat the purpose, some energy can be used to pump the brines. If there is a naturally overpressured area, the extent of the natural flow rates will assist to require less pumping. It appears PTR are currently assessing the characteristics of this naturally overpressured system which is currently flowing at 1-6 L/sec (and as discussed above this appears currently reduced by controlled choking of the wellhead). I believe the limitation of the flow rate is more a matter of the porosity/permeability of the rocks in the reservoir which will cap the amount of heat you can draw over time no matter how hard you pump.
Watching with interest.
Cheers all.
PTR Price at posting:
9.5¢ Sentiment: None Disclosure: Not Held
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