Advancing Geothermal Operations with Digital Twin Technology: Proactive Monitoring and Optimization
conference paper
Efficient geothermal energy production is crucial to reduce costs, minimize environmental impacts, and
increase the reliability and lifespan of geothermal and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) plants.
Effective management of operations, such as careful monitoring of corrosion, scaling, and well performance, can significantly improve plant sustainability and operational performance. This paper presents the development of digital twin technology designed specifically to optimize operations and maintenance in geothermal plants. The presented digital twin approach provides real-time monitoring, standardized data management, automatic multi-objective control, and predictive models for equipment and processes. Demonstration projects conducted in the Netherlands successfully predicted production pump failures up to three months in advance. Moreover, injectivity monitoring techniques, such as calculating injectivity index, Hall plots and skin factors effectively identified potential issues like plugging. A unique feature of this work is the use of fully open-source tools, making digital twin technology affordable and accessible to geothermal operations globally.
increase the reliability and lifespan of geothermal and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) plants.
Effective management of operations, such as careful monitoring of corrosion, scaling, and well performance, can significantly improve plant sustainability and operational performance. This paper presents the development of digital twin technology designed specifically to optimize operations and maintenance in geothermal plants. The presented digital twin approach provides real-time monitoring, standardized data management, automatic multi-objective control, and predictive models for equipment and processes. Demonstration projects conducted in the Netherlands successfully predicted production pump failures up to three months in advance. Moreover, injectivity monitoring techniques, such as calculating injectivity index, Hall plots and skin factors effectively identified potential issues like plugging. A unique feature of this work is the use of fully open-source tools, making digital twin technology affordable and accessible to geothermal operations globally.
Topics
TNO Identifier
1015706
Source title
This paper was prepared for presentation at the SPE Europe Energy Conference and Exhibition held in Vienna, Austria, 10-12 June 2025.
Pages
1-11
Files
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