An underground hydraulic system is disclosed, the system comprising an intake tunnel (2) connected to a body of water (1), a control unit (3) arranged to control flow of water from the body of water (1) into the intake tunnel (2), a distribution tunnel (5) connected to the intake tunnel (2), and at least one riser tunnel (6) connected at a lower end to the distribution tunnel (5), and arranged for receiving water from the distribution tunnel (5).

A system comprises a production well having an inlet in fluid communication with an underground reservoir, wherein the reservoir is at a first temperature and contains a native aqueous solution, a working fluid withdrawn from the reservoir into the inlet and through the production well. The working fluid comprises a non-water component and an aqueous component comprising a portion of the aqueous solution. The system further comprises a separation apparatus in communication with the production well configured to separate the aqueous component from the working fluid to provide a dewatered working fluid, wherein the aqueous component is from more than 0 wt. % to no more than a specified threshold of the dewatered working fluid. The system also includes an energy recovery system that comprises an expansion device through which the dewatered working fluid passes and produces work energy and a generator that converts the work energy to electricity.

Systems and techniques may be used for incorporating direct air carbon dioxide capture capabilities into a working fluid condensing process of a geothermal power plant. An example technique may include causing, using fans, air to flow across condenser coils of a condensing unit, through which power cycle working fluid is circulated, and through a direct air capture (DAC) filtration component, which separates carbon from the air, capturing heat from a geothermal working fluid, and using the heat as thermal energy input to the DAC filtration component or using electrical energy generated from the geothermal power plant as electrical energy input to power the condensing unit and the DAC filtration component. The example technique may include gathering the carbon separated from the air to be injected into a geothermal reservoir or repurposed for another industrial process.

A system and method of harvesting geothermal energy in a subterranean formation includes providing an injection wellbore that extends into the subterranean formation, positioning a plurality of selectively opening sleeves in the injection wellbore spaced apart the subterranean formation, providing at least one producing wellbore that extends into the subterranean formation in a predetermined location proximate to the injection wellbore, and fracturing the subterranean formation in a plurality of locations proximate to the plurality of selectively opening sleeves to enhance a fluid pathway between the injection wellbore and the at least one producing wellbore. Fluid is injected down the injection wellbore at a first temperature, and the fluid is produced from the at least one producing wellbore at a second temperature higher than said first temperature.

A system comprises an injection well for accessing reservoir at a first temperature; a production well in fluid communication with the reservoir; a working-fluid supply system providing a non-water based working fluid to the injection well at a second temperature lower than the first temperature, wherein exposure of the working fluid to the first temperature heats the working fluid to a third temperature and at least a portion of the working fluid at the third temperature is produced as a production fluid; and an energy recovery system that converts energy contained in the production fluid to electricity or heat, wherein the energy recovery system includes a waste heat recovery apparatus that recovers waste heat and uses it to heat the production fluid to a fourth temperature that is higher than the third temperature, wherein the waste heat is recovered from equipment of or a process stream.

A geothermal power plant related maintenance support system comprises: a thermodynamic calculation module for determining performance of specified geothermal power plant components; a plurality of. embedded sensors, each of which is embedded in a different geothermal power plant location and adapted to sense a corresponding real-time geothermal power plant parameter; a plurality of environmental sensors adapted to sense ambient conditions in the vicinity of the geothermal power plant; and a processor in data communication with each of said embedded sensors and environmental sensors.

Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a thin-bed hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) in geothermal energy generation applications. An example embodiment operates by pumping, via an extraction well, heated water from an extraction depth of an HSA. The HSA is identified based on a permeability satisfying a threshold permeability range and could even have a thickness equal to or less than about 100 meters. The example embodiment further operates by extracting, via a power generation unit, heat from the heated water to generate power and transform the heated water into cooled water. Subsequently, the example embodiment operates by injecting, via an injection well, the cooled water at an injection depth of the HSA. A first portion of the extraction well and a second portion of the injection well are disposed within the HSA.

A process for solution mining of minerals is disclosed. The process comprises injecting an unsaturated stream (150) at an injection pressure into a mineral formation (130) to dissolve the mineral and extracting a high concentration stream (110) containing said dissolved mineral. The process comprising converting latent osmotic energy present in said high concentration stream into an increase in the total pressure of said stream by passage through an osmotic power unit (200) and generating electricity and reducing to the injection pressure the total pressure of a reduced concentration output stream (150) by passage through a power generating device (250) and using the reduced concentration output stream (150) at the injection pressure as the unsaturated stream (150). A process for storing a fuel in an underground formation is also disclosed.

Disclosed herein are system, apparatus, article of manufacture, method and/or computer program product embodiments, and/or combinations and sub-combinations thereof, for using a hot sedimentary aquifer (HSA) in geothermal energy generation applications. An example embodiment operates by pumping, via multiple extraction wells, heated water from one or more extraction depths of an HSA. The HSA is identified based on a permeability satisfying a threshold permeability range. The example embodiment further operates by extracting, via a power generation unit, heat from the heated water to generate power and transform the heated water into cooled water. Subsequently, the example embodiment operates by injecting, via multiple injection wells, the cooled water at one or more injection depths of the HSA.

A system comprising a non-water working fluid feed stream, a compressor configured to compress the non-water based working fluid, to provide a compressed non-water based working fluid; and an energy recovery system configured to recover energy from the compressed non-water based working fluid, to provide a de-energized compressed non-water based working fluid, wherein the energy recovery system captures at least a portion of excess energy from the compressed non-water based working fluid and converts the captured excess energy to electricity, heat energy, or both electricity and heat energy.