Industrial Division

The Core Concept

Hydrostatic System for a Large-Scale Geothermal Power Plant

The plant that Atlantic Geothermal envisions uses ocean water to power the turbines for making electricity. We recognize that our plan is ambitious but given today’s drilling technology, far from impossible. Simply put, the plan is to bore a tunnel (heat canal) from the ocean inland at a depth of about three or four miles. Geologic maps of coastal New England show that at this depth the temperature reaches at least 300º F. We calculate that a heat canal 16 feet in diameter, and some 80 to 100 miles long, would be needed to produce enough constant heat to generate a massive amount of electricity–1,600 megawatts of electricity per hour–nearly as much as that produced at the giant Hoover Dam that currently outputs 1,731 megawatts hourly. Indeed, our project will rival the Hoover Dam in its potential to produce electricity.

The over all project will potentially require an $8 billion (US) investment; we estimate that $80 million will be spent to create the actual hydrostatic system. There is tremendous growth potential for technology that will reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and that potential for growth will last long after all the oil has run out. We are confident that if companies like yours take a serious look at what is to be gained from new innovations like this, a brighter future will be realized and a new golden age of prosperity could be realized through the development of large-scale geothermal power production. (See the Appendix for a detailed description of the hydrostatic system.)

Recent Developments

For the past ten years Atlantic Geothermal has largely focused on the technical design of a deep heat canal and hydrostatic system to deliver an unlimited amount of water for geothermal power. In March of 2007 the company filed patent applications with the United States Patent Office for the hydrostatic system/canal.

With provisional patents in place, Atlantic Geothermal has begun contacting major construction and tunneling corporations to engage them in the process of building this major power plant. The responses from corporations to these initiatives have been very positive, with several leaders in the energy construction sector indicating their willingness to evaluate and submit bids for the construction and implementation of Atlantic Geothermal’s design. In addition, legislators from the state of New Hampshire have begun working to facilitate the building of the plant in their state. Leading members of the scientific and engineering communities have expressed an interest in the project. Most notably, MIT’s Professor Jefferson Tester, the acknowledged expert on geothermal power, and Anne Robertson-Tait, a leading geothermal geologist at GeothermEx Corporation, have reviewed the design concepts, and have agreed to participate further.

Atlantic Geothermal's initial proposal envisioned a large-project for a 1,600 MGW plant. While we believe such a plant may well prove technologically and economically viable in the future, a more modest pilot project is clearly needed to encourage investment. We, therefore, propose to construct as a prototype the 160MW plant outlined above. This plant would necessitate a heat canal almost 10 miles long, 16 feet in diameter at a depth of approximately 30,000 feet. We calculate that such a canal, transporting and heating ocean water would generate 160 megawatts of electricity per hour, for a total estimated construction cost of $700 Million.

The feasibility study will be designed to determine the following

• The technical feasibility of mechanized boring a horizontal ten-mile tunnel, 16 feet in diameter, at a depth of 30,000 feet beneath the earth’s surface.
• The amount of heat that could potentially be generated by a geothermal radiator system situated at this depth of 30,000 feet, and the amount of energy that could be produced from this heat.
• The type of hydrostatic system necessary for maintaining a constant pressure within the tunnel and radiator system
• The environmental impact of such a geothermal system.
• The economic viability of the project, with calculations of building costs, energy savings, job creation, and return on investment.

 

Commercial & Residential Divisions