Identifying Candidate Geothermal Well Locations Near Volcanoes

Developing electrical power from geothermal energy Utah State Universityally requires using wells to convey hot water or steam from deep underground to the ground surface. Energy production potential is greatest in areas of tectonic and volcanic activity. Even in those areas however, wells must tap subsurface locations that can sustainably provide an adequate rate of sufficiently high temperature fluid. Intersecting such locations is challenging. The process involves hydrothermal, geophysical, magmatic, hydrogeologic, and water supply evaluations. For a South American site, this involved a large multi-disciplinary team. The team recommended five general locations and then refined those based upon access, constructability, avalanche, and flood vulnerability