The Washington Times: However, he said the MIT study, which was funded by the Department of Energy, serves as a basis for studying the idea further.
Major energy companies, including Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and American Electric Power, told the AP they are following the research but not investing in it.
“This is an interesting technology for Chevron, and we are currently evaluating its potential,” said spokesman Alexander Yelland.
In Basel, the first shaft was bored last year by a 190-foot-tall drilling rig towering above nearby apartment buildings. Water was pumped down the injection well in the test phase in December, and as expected, it heated to above 390 degrees Fahrenheit as it seeped through the layers of rock below.
But that’s where the water remains for the time being; it caused the rock layers to slip, causing the tremors and rumbles that spooked the townspeople.
Geopower Basel had forecast some rock slippage. In fact, it said the location on top of a fault line — the upper Rhine trench — was an advantage because it meant the heat was closer to the Earth’s surface.
But with $51 million already spent, drilling stopped and the official launch date was moved back from 2009 to 2012.
Still to be drilled are the two wells that would suck the pressurized, superheated water out of the cracks and up to the surface to create steam for driving a turbine and generating electricity. The water, having cooled to about 340 degrees Fahrenheit, would heat hospitals, public buildings and homes before being pumped back into the ground for another waste-free, gas-free cycle.