Click here to view .pdf of W.Va. geothermal map.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The largest geothermal hot spot in the eastern United States can be found deep beneath the mountains of eastern West Virginia, according to research produced by Southern Methodist University's Geothermal Laboratory.

SMU researchers estimate that the 7,200-square-mile area, most of it underlying Tucker, Pocahontas, Greenbrier and Randolph counties, is capable of producing more electricity from geothermal sources than is now being produced in the state by coal-fired generators.

"The temperatures are high enough to make this the most attractive area for geothermal energy development in the eastern one-third of the country," according to an abstract of the research.

SMU's discovery comes from a follow-up survey of a 2004 effort by the Texas institution to map North America's geothermal resources. During the earlier mapping effort, only four West Virginia data points were used. The new research incorporates temperature data recorded by state oil, gas and water well drillers to add 1,455 additional thermal data points.

"They used bottom hole temperatures, which oil and gas companies typically measure when they reach the bottoms of  the wells they are drilling," said State Geologist Michael Hohn, who also serves as director of the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey.

Hohn said he was surprised by the SMU discovery, given the absence of volcanic or other significant tectonic activity in the state.

"When you think of geothermal energy, you think of a place like Iceland," he said. "There was no strong evidence of this anomaly being here. We're not exactly sitting on top of Old Faithful here, but what we've been learning is rather exciting."

According to the SMU study, temperatures of 300 degrees -- hot enough for commercial geothermal power production -- are found starting at depths of 4.5 kilometers, or about 15,000 feet in West Virginia's geothermal zone.

"That's at or beyond the limits of the deeper wells that are now being drilled," Hohn said. To tap into the source, engineers will have to develop new techniques to deal with pressures and temperatures encountered at such depths, he said.

West Virginia's geothermal resources could be tapped by using an enhanced geothermal system, in which fluid is pumped into the hot rock area through a pipe looped from one well bore to another.

"Basically, you would use the heat exchange process to heat a liquid, probably one with a lower boiling point than water, and use it to power a turbine," Hohn said.

"Geothermal is an extremely reliable form of energy, and it generates power 24/7, which makes it a baseload source like coal or nuclear," said David Blackwell, professor of geophysics at SMU and director of the university's Geothermal Laboratory. 

Assuming only a 2 percent thermal recovery rate, West Virginia has the potential to produce nearly 19,000 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources, according to the SMU researchers. The state currently produces about 16,300 megawatts from all sources, with coal accounting for most of the power.

"The proximity of West Virginia's large geothermal resource to East Coast population centers has the potential to enhance U.S. energy security, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and develop high-paying clean energy jobs in West Virginia," Blackwell said.

The SMU study was conducted with funding from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the search engine giant.

"The early West Virginia research is very promising," said Blackwell, "but we still need more information about local geological conditions to refine estimates of the magnitude, distribution and commercial significance" of the state's geothermal resources.

"We need to get a closer look at the rock types and strata in the geothermal area and learn more about their thermal conductivity," Hohn said. "We need a more precise definition of the potential that's out there. ... It's exciting, as geologists, to be able to research this. It's something you hope to be able to do over the course of your career."

More information on the SMU study is available at the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey's Website at www.wvgs.wvnet.edu.

Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelham...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5169.