1. Injection well

An injection well is drilled into hot basement rock that has limited permeability and fluid content. All of this activity occurs considerably below water tables and at depths greater than 1.5 kilometre. This particular type of geothermal reservoir represents and enormous potential energy resource.

2. Injecting water

Water is injected at sufficient pressure to ensure fracturing or open existing fractures within the developing reservoir and hot basement rock.

3. Hydro-fracture

Pumping of water is continued to extend fractures and reopen old fractures some distance from the injection wellbore and throughout the developing reservoir and hot basement rock. This is a crucial
step in the EGS process.

4. Production

A production well is drilled with the intent to intersect the stimulated fracture system created in the previous step and circulate water to extract the heat from the basement rock with improved permeability.

5. Additional production

Additional production wells are drilled to extract heat from large volumes of hot basement rock to meet power generation requirements. Now a previously unused but large energy resource is available for clean, geothermal power generation.

Source: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) , US Department of Energy.

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