Techno-economic optimization of enhanced geothermal systems with multi-well fractured reservoirs via geothermal economic ratio

Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) shows vast potential for exploiting deep geothermal energy sources, although its techno-economic feasibility remains uncertain. The current research challenge lies in the absence of a reliable tool to rapidly evaluate the economic gains associated with the design of geothermal reservoirs. This study aims to develop an evaluation metric to assess the geothermal economic ratio of EGS. The efficacy, practicality, and simplicity of the proposed metric were demonstrated through its application to reservoir cases involving six fracture structures and four influencing parameters. The geothermal economic ratio of the system was enhanced through the augmentation of injection mass and the expansion of production well spacing. However, it was reduced by higher injection temperatures and wider primary fracture apertures. Using response surface design, the optimal parameters were found to be an injection temperature of 24 °C, an injection mass of 30 kg/s, a primary fracture aperture of 6.192 mm, and a production well spacing of 200 m. These parameters facilitated a reservoir heating efficiency of 0.322, a reservoir flow efficiency of 0.514, and a geothermal economic ratio of 1.026 × 10−20. The proposed metric and results would offer a concise and informative analysis of the market potential of EGS.