First Magma-Enhanced Geothermal System In The World Developed In Iceland

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/01/31/first-magma-enhanced-geothermal-system-world-developed-iceland/



Flow test of the IDDP-1 well at Krafla. Note the transparent superheated steam at the top of the rock muffler.

First Magma-Enhanced Geothermal System In The World Developed In Iceland

The University of California — Riverside provides more info:

In 2009, a borehole drilled at Krafla, northeast Iceland, as part of the Icelandic Deep Drilling Project (IDDP), unexpectedly penetrated into magma (molten rock) at only 2100 meters depth, with a temperature of 900-1000 C. The borehole, IDDP-1, was the first in a series of wells being drilled by the IDDP in Iceland in the search for high-temperature geothermal resources.
…
Accordingly, a steel casing, perforated in the bottom section closest to the magma, was cemented into the well. The hole was then allowed to heat slowly and eventually allowed to flow superheated steam for the next two years, until July 2012, when it was closed down in order to replace some of the surface equipment.

“Drilling into magma is a very rare occurrence anywhere in the world and this is only the second known instance, the first one, in 2007, being in Hawaii,” explained Wilfred Elders, a professor emeritus of geology at the University of California, Riverside, and also a co-author on three of the new research papers, along with Icelandic colleagues. “The IDDP, in cooperation with Iceland’s National Power Company, the operator of the Krafla geothermal power plant, decided to investigate the hole further and bear part of the substantial costs involved.”

“In the future, the success of this drilling and research project could lead to a revolution in the energy efficiency of high-temperature geothermal areas worldwide,” Elders continued. “Essentially, the IDDP-1 created the world’s first magma-enhanced geothermal system. This unique engineered geothermal system is the world’s first to supply heat directly from a molten magma.”