GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: THE ENERGY-WATER NEXUS

Building upon a life cycle assessment (LCA) of geothermal systems, this paper examines the energywater interactions and potential challenges faced by a growing geothermal industry. A process LCA approach was used to estimate water consumption for a range of geothermal plant designs. The life cycle water consumption values were then used to explore geothermal growth scenarios to estimate potential regional water demands for new geothermal development. These water demands were then compared with metrics for water availability to identify areas where water related challenges are most likely to occur.