Time frames for geothermal project development

Geothermal development can generally be broken down into distinct phases: Exploration and Leasing; Project Development And Feasibility Studies; Well Field Development; Project Finance, Construction and Start-up Operations; and Commercial Operations. Each phase represents different levels of cost and risk and different types of management teams that are needed to assess and manage the project and associated risk. Orderly transitions of management at each major phase are needed. Exploration programs are largely science based, the primary focus of the science based investigations should be to: secure the lease position, and develop sufficient information to identify and characterize an economical geothermal resource. Project development specialists build on the exploration data to: pull together a project design, develop a detailed cost estimate; prepare an environmental assessment; and collect all data needed for project financing. Construction specialist build from the development phase to: develop detailed engineering, procure equipment and materials, schedule and manage the facilities construction programs, and start and test the power plant. Operations specialists take over from construction during start-up and are responsible for sustainable and reliable operations of the resource and power generation equipment over the life of the project