The average cost to build a geothermal power plant is $2,000-$5,000 per kWh. With an "average" plant size of 38 MW, you could expect to pay about $2,000-$2,500 or $7.6-9.8 million. The smaller the plant, the more costs per kWh will be. For example, costs for a 1 mWh plant are estimated at around $5, Contact online >>
The average cost to build a geothermal power plant is $2,000-$5,000 per kWh. With an "average" plant size of 38 MW, you could expect to pay about $2,000-$2,500 or $7.6-9.8 million. The smaller the plant, the more costs per kWh will be. For example, costs for a 1 mWh plant are estimated at around $5,000 per kWh.
This detailed model is used for supply curve analyses, assessing the current economic feasibility and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of hydrothermal geothermal systems and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and evaluating the potential impact of advanced geothermal technologies.
When examining the costs of geothermal power, the most common resources available are analyses of the "levelized cost" of different technologies. This report looks at three recent reports, all published in
2024 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) data for geothermal are shown above. The Base Year hydrothermal costs are derived from data from actual geothermal power plants. Near-term enhanced geothermal system (EGS) costs are predictions based on reported improvements in a package of technologies currently being field demonstrated.
Recent Public Geothermal Power Purchase Agreement Pricing
* Only PPAs with pricing information are included. Other signed PPAs with undisclosed pricing information can be found in(Robins et al., 2021);(DOE, 2024).
The three scenarios for technology innovation are as follows:
Hybrid plants, or a combination of binary and flash systems, are used in some locations but are not modeled in the ATB.
Examples using these plant types in each of the three resource categories (hydrothermal, NF-EGS, and deep EGS) are shown in the ATB visualization.
Geothermal Potential Resource and Cost Characteristics
* Same for both identified and undiscovered hydrothermal resources.
For current total capacity estimations, the original USGS resource potential estimates for hydrothermal are updated with the following modifications:
Map of Identified Hydrothermal Sites and Favorability of Deep EGS in the United States(Roberts, 2018)
Summary of Technology Innovation by Scenario (2035)
Technology Description: Drilling efficiency improvements (e.g., using mechanical specific energy with polycrystalline diamond compact bits and limiting bit dysfunction leads to longer bit life) result in minor decreases in drilling costs and little to no timeline reduction.
Justification: Substantial increases in drilling ROP are unlikely without wider adoption of oil and gas technologies and new bit innovations.
Technology Description: Current well stimulation techniques do not consistently generate adequate economic flow rates of sustained flow from unsuccessful wells, which lead to little to no improvement of drilling success rate or CAPEX reduction.
Justification: Stimulation is cost-prohibitive and lacks zonal isolation. Both the precision and scale of stimulation must improve.
Technology Description: ROP and bit life are doubled. Timelines and consumption of drilling materials are reduced.
Justification: Cost modeling of drilling improvements along with limited successful field demonstrations and abundant oil and gas experience confirm this level of advancement is achievable(Lowry et al., 2017a);(Lowry et al., 2017b);(Hackett et al., 2020);(El-Sadi et al., 2024);(Dupriest and Noynaert, 2024).
Technology Description: As in the Conservative Scenario, although stimulation success has progressively improved, stimulation techniques remain cost-prohibitive.
Justification: To remain consistent with the GeoVision report(DOE, 2019), cost modeling for stimulation technology has yet to be performed for a Mid Case scenario. In addition, successful deployment of EGS technology is modeled as coupled with significant drilling advancements because lower drilling costs and improved directional drilling in hard rock environments will likely help enable EGS reservoir development.
Technology Description: ROP and bit life are increased fourfold over the Conservative Scenario. Wells are constructed as monobore wells using expandable casing. The increased speeds result in significantly shorter timelines and lower consumption of drilling-related materials.
Justification: Ongoing Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, Sandia National Laboratories, NREL, and other research (e.g., laser drilling, millimeter wave, and electric pulse research) are directed at reducing the cost and duration of well drilling. Growing interest from the oil and gas sector is leading to knowledge transfer. Monobore wells are already being drilled in that sector.
Technology Description: Stimulation success rate, control, and sustained flow rate advance to economic levels. EGS power plants are built with 100 MW of capacity. Permitting timelines are reduced to reflect anticipated permit streamlining effects of a National Renewable Energy Coordination Office, as created in the Energy Act of 2020.
Justification: EGS Collab, FORGE initiative, and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office-sponsored research are demonstrating stimulation techniques in hard rock environments, including hydraulic shearing, zonal isolation, and other techniques. Also, EGS developments are not resource-constrained, so larger plants will be more economical to build and operate.
Several EGS assumptions have also been updated in the Geothermal Electricity Technology Evaluation Model (GETEM), including the following:
Updated GETEM Input Assumptions for EGS
About Geothermal power plant cost breakdown
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