Schematic cross section showing examples of chemical, mechanical, and thermal geologic energy storage methods in potential underground settings in a sedimentary basin. This illustration is a higher resolution version of figure 2 of USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3084.
Storing Excess Energy
Natural gas, compressed air, pumped hydroelectric, and geothermal; Subsurface natural gas storage in the Hutchinson Salt Member in Reno County, Kansas
Mapping Potential Subsurface Energy Storage Locations
Taum Sauk pumped storage hydroelectric powerplant in Reynolds County, Missouri
The United States (U.S.) domestic energy supply increasingly relies on natural gas and renewable sources; however, their efficient use is limited by supply and demand constraints. For example, a) in summer, natural gas production may outpace home heating fuel demand and b) in daytime, wind and solar electricity production may outpace industrial power requirements. Storing rather than dumping excess energy for later demand is more efficient and may become more cost effective when given a better understanding of available geologic storage resources.
Geologic Energy Storage
Subsurface energy storage options including natural gas storage, compressed air storage, pumped hydroelectric storage, and geothermal storage; each requiring additional geologic investigations and potential future assessments of available storage resources.
Subsurface energy storage options include natural gas storage, compressed air storage, pumped hydroelectric storage, and geothermal storage. Each geologic storage option requires additional subsurface characterization to better understand the potential storage resources that are available for use by the U.S. energy industry.
The purpose of this research is to develop a better understanding of the geologic screening criteria needed to develop a potential future U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) methodology to assess domestic geologic basins for subsurface energy storage resources.
The initial research goal is to compile a report containing recommendations on the geologic datasets needed and the key process steps required to build a probabilistic assessment methodology to assess various geologic subsurface energy storage options.
The second research goal will focus on developing maps of potential subsurface energy storage locations (including salt domes, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, and subsurface formations amenable to geothermal storage).
Motivation
The USGS has historically compiled resource assessment methodologies for technically recoverable hydrocarbons (conventional and continuous) and carbon dioxide (CO2) storage and utilized these methodologies to conduct probabilistic resource size assessments. Advancing this expertise to develop and conduct a geologic energy storage assessment is a reasonable next step.
In addition, a recent National Academy of Science report suggested that the USGS should work on such an assessment: "Assessing the [subsurface energy] storage potential for various basins in the United States could become a new and strategically important priority for the [USGS].”
Slide Sets
Geologic energy storage research at the USGS – Finding space underground for the energy transition [.pdf] [3.79 MB]
Questionnaire
To address outstanding questions on storage options and geologic parameters, we invite input from the engineering and scientific community. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey below. Your responses can be emailed directly to the 'Contact' on this webpage, Marc Buursink (buursink@usgs.gov):
QUESTIONS (Note: Responses will only be used internally for this project and will not be shared nor posted online.)
- What is your background in energy storage? (Briefly in one or two sentences is much appreciated.)
- What geologic energy storage option(s) do you foresee as most valuable?
- For each option listed, what do you see are some key geologic screening criteria (e.g. minimum or maximum depth, reservoir spacing, subsurface pressure regime, geothermal gradient, porosity cutoff) that should be considered when conducting a resource assessment?
- For each option listed, what do you see are some dominant risks (geologic and/or economic) that should be considered when conducting a resource assessment?
- May we contact you for additional insights and/or to serve on an advisory panel? If so, please share your preferred contact information.
- Do you have colleagues working on geologic energy storage that we should contact? If so, would you please share their contact information or forward this questionnaire to them?
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Carbon and Energy Storage, Emissions and Economics (CESEE)
Economics of Energy Transitions
Assessing Emissions from Active and Abandoned Coal Mines
Induced Seismicity Associated with Carbon Dioxide Geologic Storage
Geologic Carbon Dioxide and Energy-related Storage, Gas Resources, and Utilization
Methodology Development and Assessment of National Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential
Below are data publications associated with this project.
Optimization simulations to estimate maximum brine injection rates in the Illinois Basin
Schematic cross section showing examples of chemical, mechanical, and thermal geologic energy storage methods in potential underground settings in a sedimentary basin. This illustration is a higher resolution version of figure 2 of USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3084.
Typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods
linkFigure 3 from USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3082. Graph of typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods. Oval sizes are estimated based on current technology. Modified from Crotogino and others (2017) and Matos and others (2019).
Typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods
linkFigure 3 from USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3082. Graph of typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods. Oval sizes are estimated based on current technology. Modified from Crotogino and others (2017) and Matos and others (2019).
The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can prolong the productivity of many oil reservoirs and increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource volume.
The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can prolong the productivity of many oil reservoirs and increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource volume.
A residual oil zone (ROZ) assessment methodology with application to the central basin platform (Permian Basin, USA) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and long-term geologic CO2 storage
Reconnaissance survey for potential energy storage and carbon dioxide storage resources of petroleum reservoirs in western Europe
Geologic energy storage
Introduction As the United States transitions away from fossil fuels, its economy will rely on more renewable energy. Because current renewable energy sources sometimes produce variable power supplies, it is important to store energy for use when power supply drops below power demand. Battery storage is one method to store power. However, geologic (underground) energy storage may be able to retain
Assessing global geologic carbon dioxide storage resources
Dynamic estimates of geologic CO2 storage resources in the Illinois Basin constrained by reinjectivity of brine extracted for pressure management
The United States (U.S.) domestic energy supply increasingly relies on natural gas and renewable sources; however, their efficient use is limited by supply and demand constraints. For example, a) in summer, natural gas production may outpace home heating fuel demand and b) in daytime, wind and solar electricity production may outpace industrial power requirements. Storing rather than dumping excess energy for later demand is more efficient and may become more cost effective when given a better understanding of available geologic storage resources.
Geologic Energy Storage
Subsurface energy storage options including natural gas storage, compressed air storage, pumped hydroelectric storage, and geothermal storage; each requiring additional geologic investigations and potential future assessments of available storage resources.
Subsurface energy storage options include natural gas storage, compressed air storage, pumped hydroelectric storage, and geothermal storage. Each geologic storage option requires additional subsurface characterization to better understand the potential storage resources that are available for use by the U.S. energy industry.
The purpose of this research is to develop a better understanding of the geologic screening criteria needed to develop a potential future U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) methodology to assess domestic geologic basins for subsurface energy storage resources.
The initial research goal is to compile a report containing recommendations on the geologic datasets needed and the key process steps required to build a probabilistic assessment methodology to assess various geologic subsurface energy storage options.
The second research goal will focus on developing maps of potential subsurface energy storage locations (including salt domes, depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs, and subsurface formations amenable to geothermal storage).
Motivation
The USGS has historically compiled resource assessment methodologies for technically recoverable hydrocarbons (conventional and continuous) and carbon dioxide (CO2) storage and utilized these methodologies to conduct probabilistic resource size assessments. Advancing this expertise to develop and conduct a geologic energy storage assessment is a reasonable next step.
In addition, a recent National Academy of Science report suggested that the USGS should work on such an assessment: "Assessing the [subsurface energy] storage potential for various basins in the United States could become a new and strategically important priority for the [USGS].”
Slide Sets
Geologic energy storage research at the USGS – Finding space underground for the energy transition [.pdf] [3.79 MB]
Questionnaire
To address outstanding questions on storage options and geologic parameters, we invite input from the engineering and scientific community. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey below. Your responses can be emailed directly to the 'Contact' on this webpage, Marc Buursink (buursink@usgs.gov):
QUESTIONS (Note: Responses will only be used internally for this project and will not be shared nor posted online.)
- What is your background in energy storage? (Briefly in one or two sentences is much appreciated.)
- What geologic energy storage option(s) do you foresee as most valuable?
- For each option listed, what do you see are some key geologic screening criteria (e.g. minimum or maximum depth, reservoir spacing, subsurface pressure regime, geothermal gradient, porosity cutoff) that should be considered when conducting a resource assessment?
- For each option listed, what do you see are some dominant risks (geologic and/or economic) that should be considered when conducting a resource assessment?
- May we contact you for additional insights and/or to serve on an advisory panel? If so, please share your preferred contact information.
- Do you have colleagues working on geologic energy storage that we should contact? If so, would you please share their contact information or forward this questionnaire to them?
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Carbon and Energy Storage, Emissions and Economics (CESEE)
Economics of Energy Transitions
Assessing Emissions from Active and Abandoned Coal Mines
Induced Seismicity Associated with Carbon Dioxide Geologic Storage
Geologic Carbon Dioxide and Energy-related Storage, Gas Resources, and Utilization
Methodology Development and Assessment of National Carbon Dioxide Enhanced Oil Recovery and Associated Carbon Dioxide Storage Potential
Below are data publications associated with this project.
Optimization simulations to estimate maximum brine injection rates in the Illinois Basin
Schematic cross section showing examples of chemical, mechanical, and thermal geologic energy storage methods in potential underground settings in a sedimentary basin. This illustration is a higher resolution version of figure 2 of USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3084.
Schematic cross section showing examples of chemical, mechanical, and thermal geologic energy storage methods in potential underground settings in a sedimentary basin. This illustration is a higher resolution version of figure 2 of USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3084.
Typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods
linkFigure 3 from USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3082. Graph of typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods. Oval sizes are estimated based on current technology. Modified from Crotogino and others (2017) and Matos and others (2019).
Typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods
linkFigure 3 from USGS Fact Sheet 2022-3082. Graph of typical energy storage capacity compared to typical discharge duration for various geologic and nongeologic energy storage methods. Oval sizes are estimated based on current technology. Modified from Crotogino and others (2017) and Matos and others (2019).
The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can prolong the productivity of many oil reservoirs and increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource volume.
The use of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) can prolong the productivity of many oil reservoirs and increase the U.S. hydrocarbon recoverable resource volume.
A residual oil zone (ROZ) assessment methodology with application to the central basin platform (Permian Basin, USA) for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and long-term geologic CO2 storage
Reconnaissance survey for potential energy storage and carbon dioxide storage resources of petroleum reservoirs in western Europe
Geologic energy storage
Introduction As the United States transitions away from fossil fuels, its economy will rely on more renewable energy. Because current renewable energy sources sometimes produce variable power supplies, it is important to store energy for use when power supply drops below power demand. Battery storage is one method to store power. However, geologic (underground) energy storage may be able to retain