Russian Geothermal Electric Power Industry: State and Development Prospects

-The article presents data on the resource base of Russia's geothermal steam-water fields located in the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands with the approved reserves of 285.5 kg/s and production in 2020 amounting to 13 million t. The prospective steam-water mixture reserves are estimated at up to 1100 MW according to the volume method and with the natural discharge of steam-hydrotherms. The results of studies accomplished by the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Geothermy and Renewable Energy Problems of the Joint Institute for High Temperatures, Russian Academy of Sciences, are given. The prospects of explorations on drilling wells at the foot of volcanoes in the Kamchatka Peninsula for obtaining fluids with supercritical parameters (above 450 degrees C and 25 MPa) are estimated. The activity conducted by AO Teplo Zemli (Heat of the Earth) on producing a steam-water mixture in the Kamchatka Peninsula is described. The chronology and description of technical solutions on geothermal power plants in Russia are given. The key technical characteristics, thermal process cycle diagrams, and operation results of the Pauzhetka, Verhkne-Mutnovsky, and Mutnovsky geothermal power plants (GeoPPs) with the total installed capacity equal to 74 MW and amount of electricity production in 2020 equal to 428 GW h are presented. The article analyzes the results of modern studies carried out in Russia on binary geothermal power units with a geothermal fluid having a temperature from 120 to 180 degrees C, on combining binary power units with hydrogen-assisted geothermal steam superheating and expanding the Mutnovsky GeoPP with direct-cycle and combined cycle power units with increasing the plant capacity by 50-63 MW. Proposals on increasing the target financial support, constructing experimental installations and demonstration facilities, and establishing a center for geothermal power engineering competences are suggested.