Hydrothermal commercialization baseline for state of Wyoming

Wyoming does have numerous hot springs; but there has been little development effort in geothermal energy, since the state's primary interests are in coal, gas and oil. The hot springs of Thermopolis are among the largest in the world. Recent data from the central portion of the state indicate the potential for electric power generation from geothermal energy. Oil and gas wells (about 70,000) have been drilled in the state and some have geothermal waters that can be utilized for direct applications. The Madison Aquifer extends into the northeastern quadrant of the state and offers considerable potential for geothermal energy. Leasing activity is very limited. Geothermal legislation is basically non-existent, but the State Engineer has the responsibility for protecting the thermal springs. This handbook provides a synopsis of various aspects of the geothermal program in Wyoming. The section on Basic State Data (Section 2) lists government personnel (both legislative and executive branches) who are most directly involved with geothermal development. Some basic demographic data are also included. The various hydrothermal resources and the pertinent geology are summarized in Section 3. Activities (ranging from leases to operational systems) that lead to commercialization are described in Section 4. Plans for various developments are summarized in Section 5, while government assistance to Wyoming projects is list4ed in Section 6. The section on energy use patterns (Section 7) summarizes existing energy use and identifies counties and industries likely to be impacted most by geothermal energy. The section on leasing and permitting policies (Section 8) deals with legal and institutional considerations and includes a time table of institutional procedures for a typical resource to show the interrelationships among various organizations involved in development and regulation of the resource

Removal of the Materials Test Reactor overhead working reservoir

Salient features of the removal of an excessed contaminated facility, the Materials Test Reactor (MTR) overhead working reservoir (OWR) from the Test Reactor Area to the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory are described. The 125-ton OWR was an overhead 160,000- gallon-capacity tank approximately 193 feet high which supplied cooling water to the MTR. Radiation at ground level beneath the tank was 5 mR/hr and approximately 600 mR/hr at the exterior surface of the tank. Sources ranging from 3 R/hr to in excess of 500 R/hr exist within the tank. The tank interior is contaminated with uranium, plutonium, and miscellaneous fission products. The OWR was lowered to ground level with the use of explosive cutters. Dismantling, decontamination, and disposal were performed by Aerojet Nuclear Company maintenance forces. (auth

Geothermal Direct Use Program Opportunity Notice Projects Lessons Learned Final Report

The use of geothermal energy for direct-use applications was aided through the development of a number of successful field experiment projects funded on a cost-shared basis by the US Department of Energy, Division of Geothermal Technology. This document provides a summary of the projects administered by the US Department of Energy's Idaho Operations Office and technically monitored through the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (EG and G Idaho, Inc.). An overview of significant findings and conclusions is provided, as are project descriptions and activities, resource development, design, construction, and operational features. Legal and institutional considerations are also discussed

Geothermal Direct Use Engineering and Design Guidebook Available for an Expanding Market

The Geothermal direct use industry potential, growth trends, needs, and how they are being met, are addressed. The high potential for industry growth, coupled with a rapidly expanding use of geothermal energy for direct use, and concerns over the greenhouse effect is the setting in which a new engineering and design guidebook is being issued to support the growth of the geothermal direct use industry. Recent investigations about the current status of the industry and the identification of technical needs of current operating district heating systems provide the basis upon which this paper and the guidebook is presented. The guidebook, prepared under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, attempts to impart a comprehensive understanding of information important to the development of geothermal direct use projects. The text is aimed toward the engineer or technical person responsible for project design and development. The practical and technical nature of the guidebook answers questions most commonly asked in a wide range of topics including geology, exploration, well drilling, reservoir engineering, mechanical engineering, cost analysis, regulations, and environmental aspects

State geothermal commercialization programs in seven Rocky Mountain states. Semiannual progress report, January-July 1981

The activities and findings of the seven state commercialization teams participating in the Rocky Mountain Basin and Range commercialization program are described. For each state (Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North and South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming), prospect identification, area development plans, site specific development analyses, time-phased project plans, the aggregated prospective geothermal energy use, and institutional analyses are discussed. Public outreach activities are also covered, and findings and recommendations are given for each state. Some background information about the program is provided. (LEW

Economic review of the geopressured-geothermal resource with recommendations

This report presents the results of an economic study conducted by the INEL under DOE Contract No. AC07-76ID01570 to evaluate the breakeven price to market energy from a geopressured-geothermal resource. A breakeven price is a minimum, per unit charge required for the developer to recover all direct and indirect costs and a rate of return sufficient to compensate the developer for depreciation, the time value of money, and the risk of failure. The DOE Geopressured-Geothermal Research Program and the DOE well testing and operations at three locations in the Gulf Coast region provide the bulk of resource and economic characteristics for this study. A menu-driven model was developed in LOTUS-123 to calculate the breakeven price to market gas and electricity from a geopressured-geothermal resource. This model was developed using the present value methodology and conservative assumptions. Assuming present well constraints and current off-the-shelf conversion technology, the breakeven price for electricity is about $0.26/kWh using only the thermal energy from a Hulin-type resource. Assuming identical resource and technology constraints, the breakeven price is reduced to about$0.15/kWh when using all available energy forms (methane, hydraulic, and thermal). Assuming the use of available advanced technologies, the breakeven price is reduced to about $0.10/kWh. Assuming the higher quality resource (with higher temperature and gas content) in the South Texas cases, the breakeven cost is about$0.095/kWh. Using advanced technology, this cost is further reduced to about $0.05/kWh. Both costs are within program goals. The results of this study suggest that the future direction of the Geopressured-Geothermal Program emphasize (a) selection of higher quality resource, (b) advanced energy conversion technology, and (c) total energy utilization

Language Models as Informative Goal Priors in a Bayesian Theory of Mind

Bayesian models of theory of mind (ToM) have been successful in explaining how humans infer goals from the actions of other agents. However, they have typically been limited to small and fixed sets of possible goals specified in advance by the modeler, leaving open the question of how spontaneous goal inference occurs in rich and complex environments. To address this question, we posit that people are guided by informative, context-specific goal priors and proposals when making inferences about others. As proxies for these informed priors, we make use of context-conditioned large language models (LLMs) and integrate them into a Bayesian inverse planning framework. We find that LLMs can serve as usefully informative priors and proposals over goals compared to a structural baseline prior, allowing them to be used as models of the learned statistical knowledge that humans bring to bear in their inferences about others' goals