Development of Resource Metrics For High and Low Temperature Fields

Reykjavík Energy (OR) is the largest geothermal energy company in Iceland. Through its subsidiaries, Veitur utilities and ON Power, the company provides about 70% of Icelandic homes with district heating and about 50% with electricity. ON Power and Veitur utilities operate three high temperature fields which provide 423 MWe and 560 MWth and and 19 low temperature fields that provide hot water for space heating. Good reservoir management and a monitoring plan for the key parameters of the resources are vital to ensure long term usage of the resources and the right planning for future resources. Status, productivity and the health of each reservoir is of high importance as it, together with the forecasted need for more capacity, affects the need to invest in increased resource capacity. OR has developed resource metrics that take into account the most important parameters for each resource. The metrics are different for low and high temperature fields as the important parameters are not the same. The resource metrics are updated twice a year and are key to summarize the status of each of the resource areas in use The resource metrics have been updated twice a year since 2015 and during that time they have been developed and refined. Better definition of the metrics has been applied, subjective evaluation has been eliminated as much as possible, the appearance has changed, and parameters have been added or removed. Updating the metrics has proven to be valuable for resource scientists to formally discuss the status of the resources and to create a simplified tool to talk about the status of our resources with internal and external stakeholders. Updating the resource metrics supports the best prioritization of projects and puts focus on the right projects to secure successful geothermal utilization for future generations.