WVGES::Geothermal Information for West Virginia

Geothermal Energy Research in West Virginia

Renewable Energy for the Mountain State

FUN FACTS: Hot Spring? Warm Spring? Thermal Spring?

According to the American Geosciences Institute's Glossary of Geology:

Thermal Spring: A spring whose water temperature is appreciably higher than the local mean annual atmospheric temperature. A thermal spring may be a hot spring or warm spring.
Hot Spring: A thermal spring whose temperature is above that of the human body.
Warm Spring: A thermal spring whose temperature is appreciably above the local mean annual atmospheric temperature, but below that of the human body.

Heat is generated within the Earth. Generally, the deeper the hotter, with the core of the Earth being as hot as the sun's surface (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Geothermal Explained). This heat makes its way close to the Earth's surface in some places, as with the thermal springs in Appalachia, the Old Faithful Geyser at Yellowstone National Park, the spreading center at Iceland, and many other examples. Harnessing this heat and using it to warm us and generate electricity is a hot topic (pun intended) of research in the United States, as discussed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on its Geothermal Basics web page. The Department of Energy is specifically looking at Enhanced Geothermal Systems and Hydrothermal Resources, as well as Low-Temperature and Coproduced Resources.

Temperatures in the Eastern U.S. at 9.5 km depth
(Blackwell et al., 2011)

Geothermal Energy in West Virginia

Researchers at Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory received a grant from Google.org to update their Geothermal Map of North America. Their results for West Virginia show the Mountain State is a relative hot spot in the Eastern U.S. and has subsurface temperatures high enough for geothermal energy generation on a commercial scale. The findings are detailed in the report: Blackwell, David, Richards, Maria, Frone, Zachary, Batir, Joe, Ruzo, Andrés, Dingwall, Ryan, and Williams, Mitchell, 2011, Temperature-At-Depth Maps for the Conterminous U.S. and Geothermal Resource Estimates: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, Geothermal Resources Council 2011 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, (United States), 24-27 Oct 2011, GRC Transactions, Vol 35,pp. 1545-1550, URL: http://pubs.geothermal-library.org/lib/grc/1029452.pdf

The City of Morgantown is located near this West Virginia geothermal hot spot (Blackwell et al., 2011), and WVGES is part of a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored project assessing the possibility of replacing an existing fossil-fuel-fired power plant with geothermal energy for the West Virginia University campus. At the surface, the Silurian Tuscarora Sandstone forms some of West Virginia's most impressive peaks, including the iconic Seneca Rocks in Pendleton County, where the white, super-mature, quartz sandstone is thrust almost vertically. In the subsurface, formation water in the deeply buried Tuscarora is a potential geothermal reservoir. Working with DOE in coordination with the West Virginia University Energy Institute on the Feasibility of Deep Direct Use Geothermal on the West Virginia University Campus - Morgantown, WV project, WVGES helped investigate the geothermal potential of the Tuscarora Sandstone, located approximately 10,000 feet beneath Morgantown. As part of this assessment, WVGES geologists collected over 2,200 permeability and porosity measurements from Tuscarora cores stored in the WVGES core holdings. WVGES presented a scientific poster discussing these measurements and their results.

The WVGES interactive geothermal map shows preliminary geothermal maps (not based on a basin-corrected model) along with WVGES well data and other geologic and basic data. Our Geographic Information Systems REST Service includes all of the WVGES geothermal map web services associated with the interactive geothermal map.

Data and Maps

Please note: temperature varies with depth and many of these maps are for a specific depth.

WVGES Interactive Geothermal Map, a way to access our geothermal web services interactively online.
WVGES GIS REST, Geothermal Services, a list of all geothermal map services available from WVGES. Shapefiles are available upon request (webmaster@wvgs.wvnet.edu).
Southern Methodist University Geothermal Lab's web site, with links to maps, publications, and other research conducted since the lab was established in 1970.
Geothermal Maps from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Geothermal Data System (NGDS), a catalog of documents and datasets that provide information about geothermal resources located primarily within the United States. Data for West Virginia was contributed, at least in part, by WVGES.
Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Geothermal Data Repository containing contributions from all states, including West Virginia and WVGES, to the State Geothermal Data Project, organized by the AASG with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The State Geothermal Data Project (see above) contributes data it collects to the National Geothermal Data System.

Reference

Blackwell, David, Richards, Maria, Frone, Zachary, Batir, Joe, Ruzo, Andrés, Dingwall, Ryan, and Williams, Mitchell, 2011, Temperature-At-Depth Maps for the Conterminous U. S. and Geothermal Resource Estimates: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Geothermal Technologies Office, Geothermal Resources Council 2011 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, (United States), 24-27 Oct 2011, GRC Transactions, Vol 35,pp. 1545-1550, URL: http://pubs.geothermal-library.org/lib/grc/1029452.pdf

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Links to Other Resources

News and Report Archives

Geothermal Energy News, U.S. Department of Energy , Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
Today in Energy, Geothermal News, U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration
West Virginia Is Hot Bed for Geothermal Resources: Green Energy Source in Coal Country
10/4/2010, Dallas, TX, Southern Methodist University
Research by Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory, funded by a grant from Google.org, suggests that the temperature of the Earth beneath the state of West Virginia is significantly higher than previously estimated and capable of supporting commercial baseload geothermal energy production.
West Virginia Is a Geothermal Hot Spot
10/4/2010, Eli Kintisch, Science Magazine
Researchers have uncovered the largest geothermal hot spot in the eastern United States. According to a unique collaboration between Google and academic geologists, West Virginia has geothermal "hot spots" as warm as 200°C and as shallow as 5 kilometers. If engineers are able to tap the heat, the state could become a producer of green energy for the region.
Reports Archive
- The Future of Geothermal Energy: Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century ( PDF, 14.06 MB, 372 pages)
  2006, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Idaho National Laboratory, D.O.E. Contract DE-AC07-05ID14517
- 2017 Annual Report Geothermal Technologies Office ( PDF, 5.5 MB)
  2017, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)
- Geothermal Direct Use Technology & Marketplace Workshop Summary ( PDF, 13.29 MB, 113 pages)
  2015, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
  Workshop sponsored by EERE and NETL with the aim of exploring the potential for geothermal direct use applications in the eastern United States.
- Repurposing Trenton-Black River Gas Fields as Low-Temperature Geothermal Reservoirs in New York State ( PDF, 2.7 MB, 32 pages)
  2015, Adapted from oral presentation given at American Association of Petroleum Geologists Eastern Section 44th Annual Meeting