Mt. Massive from Haik Kavookjian on Vimeo.
What a great day trip in Colorado!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Climbing Mt. Massive
In the summer of 2011 I climbed Mt. Massive, one of Colorado's famed "14ers" (over 14,000 ft) with a bunch of friends from college. Check out this video, made by my friend Haik on his Rebel T2i. A stylish tribute to our adventure:
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
The Electron Cowboy And A Glance Back On My Watson Fellowship
I sat, chin on fist, in a restaurant on the grubby periphery of Mercado Del Puerto in Montevideo, Uruguay. My mind had finally turned to a subject that I’d shoved under the rug several weeks ago: an email from the Watson Foundation titled “Final Presentation Details.” My brain struggled with this topic as my mouth delighted in some local delicacy of seared strips of chicken breast wrapped around cheese, ham, peppers, and spices. Grilled provolone with herbs accompanied – a decidedly high cholesterol affair, but definitely worth the approaching infarction.
How does one summarize a year, especially a year spread over four continents, dozens of jobs, hundreds of relationships, thousands of thoughts, struggles, successes, and failures? It’s the kind of question you’d rather avoid, really. But it’s also the kind of question that you know will be worth answering – the kind of question that could produce valuable introspection and mental consolidation. It’s also, incidentally, the kind of question that I’m contractually required to answer publicly next week.
First there was Iceland. Akureyri, Husavik, Reykjavik in that order. I lived in a fjord with a middle-aged couple, in a village with a young group of farmers, teachers, and whale watching guides, and then in the Salvation Army Guesthouse in Reykjavik (where I found nothing resembling salvation, unless of course salvation is actually an immortal sinus infection, a haunting Colombian fortune teller, a rotting-while-living elderly Viking, a pair of Nigerians cooking fatally spicy rice dishes, and a ghoulish Sicilian with expensive electronics).
Iceland’s isolationist and naturalist culture challenged my concepts of “progress” and “development,” and made me account for values beyond conventional economic metrics. I lived for three months in a national community – the only nation I’ve ever known where everyone seems connected to everyone else in a tight web. Iceland’s proverbial commons are slightly less tragic because it’s quite impossible to shirk social responsibilities in the island’s small population of 300,000. It’s a tiny community where everyone is your cousin or friend.
I noted how Icelanders pride themselves on their deep roots and shared history, on their traditions, their agrarian and fishing lifestyles, and their ruggedness. I also noted the pain and cultural damage caused by foreign companies, mainly aluminum smelters and banks, slowly overprinting Icelandic traditions with the seduction of greater material wealth and status.
I saw Icelanders pelt their own parliament with fireworks and rocks while politicians fled through underground passages after the total mismanagement of the nation’s financial system. Icelander’s felt afraid because outsiders seemed to own more and more of the country and its resources each day. Icelanders felt outraged when they woke up with the largest national debt as a proportion of GDP in the world, and they felt tricked when they learned that recovery plans centered around multinational firms damming waterfalls and paying minuscule prices for the power. Icelanders saw foreign banks financing the country’s largest construction projects, foreign firms buying the power for almost nothing, while Iceland seemed to be left holding the bag – fewer waterfalls, trampled ecosystems, and tainted landscapes.
Of course there are two sides to each story, and I saw the flip side while working with, for, and around those same multinational companies vilified by Iceland’s left wing. I found many great mentors and friends working in the power industry, and I can say with confidence that none of them felt that they were exploiting or undermining Iceland – they were developing businesses that they believed would create value.
I also saw firsthand the vital importance of economic incentives. Recovery depends on investment, and investment will flow to profit centers. Iceland’s government had a duty to attract investment, and cheap energy was an important tool in that mission. Many Icelanders saw unjustly low power prices for foreign industry, while businesses saw an incentive so set up shop, import technologies, and invest in Iceland’s infrastructure.
One of my greatest takeaways from the whole year was actually that humans are all very similar regardless of location and social strata – we’re all motivated by the same fears, hopes, worries, and dreams. We all want something a little better for our families and ourselves; we all want a little more security and a little less trepidation. I began to see patterns and repetitions of human characteristics and tendencies as I moved through my year abroad.
One of our shared human motives is the drive to create "value." I realized that the conflict arising between conservation-oriented Icelanders and pro-development business forces is simply a conflict over the meaning and definition of “value.” Consider the three prominent opinions about Iceland’s development choices, for example, damming rivers to build hydropower plants to power aluminum smelters (now Iceland’s largest industry):
1) One group of environmentalists argues that Iceland has the responsibility to build as many clean-powered aluminum smelters, data centers, and other energy-intensive industrial sites as possible, because doing so can replace coal-powered industry in other nations. Iceland’s “value” is its ability to offset and replace dirty industry abroad by offering cheap and clean electricity (100% hydro and geothermal powered electric grid). The fungible nature of commodities and the interconnectedness of global markets makes this a feasible argument.
2) A different breed of environmentalists argues that Iceland’s sensitive wetland ecosystems, bird sanctuaries, breeding grounds, and pristine landscapes contain inherent value, and should remain untouched to preserve that value. This argument claims that dams flood valuable ecological areas, and power lines destroy valuable vistas – untouched nature is “value.”
3) The pro-development faction argues that building out Iceland’s industry will dramatically raise the average standard of living, bring wealth and prosperity to the nation, and help it fight out from under a crushing national debt (the result of an irresponsibly privatized financial system). “Value,” then, is monetary and material.
Which is the right definition of value? This is a question for which I have no answer, and perhaps there is no single right answer. However, I do know that the winning perspective is generally the one that can mobilize the most support (voices and dollars), and that the third option generally has the advantage because promising money and material wealth plays on the power of greed, which is often more powerful than altruism.
Then an Icelandic farmer raised a fourth idea:
4) Why not just use less aluminum?
That seemed like a very obvious and elegant solution, until I went to China.
China impressed upon me the importance of population pressure in emerging economies. This century will be the story of population pressures, and I believe the story’s hallmark will be scarcity of resources in the face of unsustainably accelerating demand, combined with the destabilization and degradation of ecosystems that provide critical resources. I am not alone or extreme in this opinion, as virtually every important metric of macro ecosystem health, beginning with oceans and ending with topsoil, suggests that we are passing critical and sometimes irreversible tipping points. This century will be the struggle to sustain a lifestyle built on fleeting abundance - an abundance historically enjoyed by few, but now demanded by all.
China: 1 billion people with virtually nothing, and 1 billion people who want to live the consumption-fueled lifestyles of characters in American media – that’s the quandary of China, and that’s the nightmare we’re entering. India? Africa? South America? Same story.
In China, the vast population creates immense economic, social , and political pressures. The economic pressure is inflationary (see any recent article about Chinese real estate valuations or the P/E ratios of stocks). The social pressure is one of generational divide (children use computers and speak English while parents are first generation urban migrants) and accelerated consumerism (new wealth mixes with an influx of hyperefective western branding/marketing to create extreme consumerism). The political pressure is to somehow manage and direct this social-economic momentum by increasing liberties and freedoms without changing things so quickly that they become uncontrollable.
It’s easy for westerners to criticize the Chinese government from the outside, but go there and I guarantee your opinions will change. Experience the mania, energy, and barely-controlled chaos, and think about what you would do in Wen Jiabao’s shoes. I gained a new respect for China’s top politicians, and I fully believe that they have the toughest jobs in the world right now.
I also realized why we can’t “just use less aluminum” or oil, coal, steel, wood, water, or virtually any other commodity. Sure, Americans and Europeans could use less, but it’s awfully tough to tell someone with nothing at all to use less and to not desire more. The Chinese (Indians, Brazilians, etc) are racing towards development and away from poverty, and there’s no environmental campaign in the world that will stop a starving person from reaching for food, cars, houses, televisions, etc. The only real question is: how efficiently and responsibly will China develop?
Population pressure in a finite environment:
How does one summarize a year, especially a year spread over four continents, dozens of jobs, hundreds of relationships, thousands of thoughts, struggles, successes, and failures? It’s the kind of question you’d rather avoid, really. But it’s also the kind of question that you know will be worth answering – the kind of question that could produce valuable introspection and mental consolidation. It’s also, incidentally, the kind of question that I’m contractually required to answer publicly next week.
First there was Iceland. Akureyri, Husavik, Reykjavik in that order. I lived in a fjord with a middle-aged couple, in a village with a young group of farmers, teachers, and whale watching guides, and then in the Salvation Army Guesthouse in Reykjavik (where I found nothing resembling salvation, unless of course salvation is actually an immortal sinus infection, a haunting Colombian fortune teller, a rotting-while-living elderly Viking, a pair of Nigerians cooking fatally spicy rice dishes, and a ghoulish Sicilian with expensive electronics).
Iceland’s isolationist and naturalist culture challenged my concepts of “progress” and “development,” and made me account for values beyond conventional economic metrics. I lived for three months in a national community – the only nation I’ve ever known where everyone seems connected to everyone else in a tight web. Iceland’s proverbial commons are slightly less tragic because it’s quite impossible to shirk social responsibilities in the island’s small population of 300,000. It’s a tiny community where everyone is your cousin or friend.
I noted how Icelanders pride themselves on their deep roots and shared history, on their traditions, their agrarian and fishing lifestyles, and their ruggedness. I also noted the pain and cultural damage caused by foreign companies, mainly aluminum smelters and banks, slowly overprinting Icelandic traditions with the seduction of greater material wealth and status.
I saw Icelanders pelt their own parliament with fireworks and rocks while politicians fled through underground passages after the total mismanagement of the nation’s financial system. Icelander’s felt afraid because outsiders seemed to own more and more of the country and its resources each day. Icelanders felt outraged when they woke up with the largest national debt as a proportion of GDP in the world, and they felt tricked when they learned that recovery plans centered around multinational firms damming waterfalls and paying minuscule prices for the power. Icelanders saw foreign banks financing the country’s largest construction projects, foreign firms buying the power for almost nothing, while Iceland seemed to be left holding the bag – fewer waterfalls, trampled ecosystems, and tainted landscapes.
Of course there are two sides to each story, and I saw the flip side while working with, for, and around those same multinational companies vilified by Iceland’s left wing. I found many great mentors and friends working in the power industry, and I can say with confidence that none of them felt that they were exploiting or undermining Iceland – they were developing businesses that they believed would create value.
I also saw firsthand the vital importance of economic incentives. Recovery depends on investment, and investment will flow to profit centers. Iceland’s government had a duty to attract investment, and cheap energy was an important tool in that mission. Many Icelanders saw unjustly low power prices for foreign industry, while businesses saw an incentive so set up shop, import technologies, and invest in Iceland’s infrastructure.
One of my greatest takeaways from the whole year was actually that humans are all very similar regardless of location and social strata – we’re all motivated by the same fears, hopes, worries, and dreams. We all want something a little better for our families and ourselves; we all want a little more security and a little less trepidation. I began to see patterns and repetitions of human characteristics and tendencies as I moved through my year abroad.
One of our shared human motives is the drive to create "value." I realized that the conflict arising between conservation-oriented Icelanders and pro-development business forces is simply a conflict over the meaning and definition of “value.” Consider the three prominent opinions about Iceland’s development choices, for example, damming rivers to build hydropower plants to power aluminum smelters (now Iceland’s largest industry):
1) One group of environmentalists argues that Iceland has the responsibility to build as many clean-powered aluminum smelters, data centers, and other energy-intensive industrial sites as possible, because doing so can replace coal-powered industry in other nations. Iceland’s “value” is its ability to offset and replace dirty industry abroad by offering cheap and clean electricity (100% hydro and geothermal powered electric grid). The fungible nature of commodities and the interconnectedness of global markets makes this a feasible argument.
2) A different breed of environmentalists argues that Iceland’s sensitive wetland ecosystems, bird sanctuaries, breeding grounds, and pristine landscapes contain inherent value, and should remain untouched to preserve that value. This argument claims that dams flood valuable ecological areas, and power lines destroy valuable vistas – untouched nature is “value.”
3) The pro-development faction argues that building out Iceland’s industry will dramatically raise the average standard of living, bring wealth and prosperity to the nation, and help it fight out from under a crushing national debt (the result of an irresponsibly privatized financial system). “Value,” then, is monetary and material.
Which is the right definition of value? This is a question for which I have no answer, and perhaps there is no single right answer. However, I do know that the winning perspective is generally the one that can mobilize the most support (voices and dollars), and that the third option generally has the advantage because promising money and material wealth plays on the power of greed, which is often more powerful than altruism.
Then an Icelandic farmer raised a fourth idea:
4) Why not just use less aluminum?
That seemed like a very obvious and elegant solution, until I went to China.
China impressed upon me the importance of population pressure in emerging economies. This century will be the story of population pressures, and I believe the story’s hallmark will be scarcity of resources in the face of unsustainably accelerating demand, combined with the destabilization and degradation of ecosystems that provide critical resources. I am not alone or extreme in this opinion, as virtually every important metric of macro ecosystem health, beginning with oceans and ending with topsoil, suggests that we are passing critical and sometimes irreversible tipping points. This century will be the struggle to sustain a lifestyle built on fleeting abundance - an abundance historically enjoyed by few, but now demanded by all.
China: 1 billion people with virtually nothing, and 1 billion people who want to live the consumption-fueled lifestyles of characters in American media – that’s the quandary of China, and that’s the nightmare we’re entering. India? Africa? South America? Same story.
In China, the vast population creates immense economic, social , and political pressures. The economic pressure is inflationary (see any recent article about Chinese real estate valuations or the P/E ratios of stocks). The social pressure is one of generational divide (children use computers and speak English while parents are first generation urban migrants) and accelerated consumerism (new wealth mixes with an influx of hyperefective western branding/marketing to create extreme consumerism). The political pressure is to somehow manage and direct this social-economic momentum by increasing liberties and freedoms without changing things so quickly that they become uncontrollable.
It’s easy for westerners to criticize the Chinese government from the outside, but go there and I guarantee your opinions will change. Experience the mania, energy, and barely-controlled chaos, and think about what you would do in Wen Jiabao’s shoes. I gained a new respect for China’s top politicians, and I fully believe that they have the toughest jobs in the world right now.
I also realized why we can’t “just use less aluminum” or oil, coal, steel, wood, water, or virtually any other commodity. Sure, Americans and Europeans could use less, but it’s awfully tough to tell someone with nothing at all to use less and to not desire more. The Chinese (Indians, Brazilians, etc) are racing towards development and away from poverty, and there’s no environmental campaign in the world that will stop a starving person from reaching for food, cars, houses, televisions, etc. The only real question is: how efficiently and responsibly will China develop?
Population pressure in a finite environment:
Efficiency is a key to China’s story. China uses 4-6 times more energy per unit of GDP than developed western economies, so while China isn’t going to stop increasing its consumption, it can dramatically increase its efficiency. China could boost efficiency such that it could increase energy consumption while decreasing the amount of fuel used, the amount of pollution produced, and the amount of money spent on electricity. If China can find a responsible development strategy through new technologies and efficiency-oriented planning, then China can export that model to other developing nations.
I spent my working life in China learning how a waste heat recovery power plant develops, from soup to nuts. I went to cement and steel factories with wasted heat resources to be used as fuel, I spent days at the factories where metal sheets are rolled and welded into pressure vessels, I attended inspections, I toured assembly facilities, I met with clients and buyers of these systems, and I witnessed a highly publicized power plant commissioning. I became convinced that increasing efficiency is a major opportunity to align an environmental good with the human profit motive – a “value” that drives the majority of human activity, and the beginnings of a solution to problems like Iceland’s growing industrial-economic-environmental rift.
Following my four months in China I spent two months in Spain with wind farm financiers. During this experience I realized the following: the world’s affluent and corporations will pursue the next dollar for the same reasons as the impoverished Chinese laborer. The Chinese drive to improve and prosper is the same exact drive that the Spanish CFO takes into his boardroom. The profit motive is universal, highly powerful, and does not disappear with prosperity. This is another reason why we cannot “just use less aluminum,” because in all strata of life you will find large contingencies of people who are plainly addicted to “more.” That’s human, or so it seems. The human drive for more will often conflict for our collective preference for less (or at least less waste).
Then I went to Argentina, where I found opportunities to put all my learning together. I launched into multiple entrepreneurial pursuits. I hit the ground running as www.thinkgeoenergy.com published an interview article about me and I published my second piece through the International Geothermal Association. Those credentials allowed me to rebrand myself from student to project manager, and a number of groups appealed to me for help in that capacity.
First there was an early-stage 20MW biomass project in northern Argentina. The local promoters had developed all the plans, biomass supplier relationships, and financial models, and wanted me to help find financing for their project. I initiated a relationship with a massive power project developer/investor in the United States, pursued it aggressively, but ultimately the political thorns around Argentina scared investors away and the deal collapsed.
I spent my working life in China learning how a waste heat recovery power plant develops, from soup to nuts. I went to cement and steel factories with wasted heat resources to be used as fuel, I spent days at the factories where metal sheets are rolled and welded into pressure vessels, I attended inspections, I toured assembly facilities, I met with clients and buyers of these systems, and I witnessed a highly publicized power plant commissioning. I became convinced that increasing efficiency is a major opportunity to align an environmental good with the human profit motive – a “value” that drives the majority of human activity, and the beginnings of a solution to problems like Iceland’s growing industrial-economic-environmental rift.
Following my four months in China I spent two months in Spain with wind farm financiers. During this experience I realized the following: the world’s affluent and corporations will pursue the next dollar for the same reasons as the impoverished Chinese laborer. The Chinese drive to improve and prosper is the same exact drive that the Spanish CFO takes into his boardroom. The profit motive is universal, highly powerful, and does not disappear with prosperity. This is another reason why we cannot “just use less aluminum,” because in all strata of life you will find large contingencies of people who are plainly addicted to “more.” That’s human, or so it seems. The human drive for more will often conflict for our collective preference for less (or at least less waste).
Then I went to Argentina, where I found opportunities to put all my learning together. I launched into multiple entrepreneurial pursuits. I hit the ground running as www.thinkgeoenergy.com published an interview article about me and I published my second piece through the International Geothermal Association. Those credentials allowed me to rebrand myself from student to project manager, and a number of groups appealed to me for help in that capacity.
First there was an early-stage 20MW biomass project in northern Argentina. The local promoters had developed all the plans, biomass supplier relationships, and financial models, and wanted me to help find financing for their project. I initiated a relationship with a massive power project developer/investor in the United States, pursued it aggressively, but ultimately the political thorns around Argentina scared investors away and the deal collapsed.
Then another local promoter contacted me looking for help launching a 5MW geothermal project on existing boreholes in the Argentine Andes. I agreed to help, but quickly learned the following:
1) There is no geothermal law in Argentina, and all geothermal development must be achieved through expensive mining concessions (which this person did not have access to).
2) The state energy company is not a trusted purchaser of power, and investors will not support a project with a government power purchase agreement (PPA)
3) Based on #1 and #2, I concluded that the only viable strategy is for mining companies to use their existing leases to develop geothermal power plants near a mining operation, and “self-supply” the mine with that power instead of burning imported diesel. In other words, the consumer and producer must be the same entity before a bank will make a loan.
Those were valuable and righteous insights, and form the thesis of a new paper that I am co-authoring with a PhD geothermal researcher in Peru. Unfortunately those insights also crushed the hopes of my small developer friend. So, another optimistic dream died.
Then came my attempt to consult to a waste heat recovery startup. The CFO of this firm had just raised $5 million to launch a new WHR technology firm based on a package of international patents. I offered to use my contacts abroad to help the firm develop a supply chain and intellectual property defense strategy in China.
I spent a week working practically without stop. I didn’t leave my apartment except for once a day to grab a quick lunch and/or workout, and I’d work late into the nights. In one week I mobilized an international team of consultants including an Ex-McKinsey China/manufacturing specialist, an Ex-Accenture aerospace/mechanical engineer with a masters degree in renewable energy systems, and a fluent Mandarin speaker who has toured dozens of Chinese energy systems manufacturing facilities. I built financial models, schedules, a proposal with three different scopes and budgets, and most importantly, a 2-page list of contacts with expertise in manufacturing, IP protection in China, law, and transportation, as well as a list of specialized suppliers capable of manufacturing all the required heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and micro turbine-generator units.
The bulk of the preliminary planning was done, and I was having lawyers draft contracts when I got a simple 2-line email stating that the company's financial partners strongly preferred to not take the IP risk of manufacturing a new technology in China, and instead opted for a US manufacturing base. Although disappointing at the time, the experience now encourages me. I was able to accomplish a great deal and organize a large project quickly - something I certainly couldn't have mustered before my fellowship.
This summary of my year abroad clearly omits a mountain of details. There were thousands of beautiful, hilarious, depressing, shocking, and eye-opening experiences along the way. My most valuable learning probably happened outside of work experiences. I learned volumes about my self, others, and the way the world works. I learned to plan, adapt, connect, improvise, and negotiate, and I learned how to imagine solutions to strange and unfamiliar problems.
1) There is no geothermal law in Argentina, and all geothermal development must be achieved through expensive mining concessions (which this person did not have access to).
2) The state energy company is not a trusted purchaser of power, and investors will not support a project with a government power purchase agreement (PPA)
3) Based on #1 and #2, I concluded that the only viable strategy is for mining companies to use their existing leases to develop geothermal power plants near a mining operation, and “self-supply” the mine with that power instead of burning imported diesel. In other words, the consumer and producer must be the same entity before a bank will make a loan.
Those were valuable and righteous insights, and form the thesis of a new paper that I am co-authoring with a PhD geothermal researcher in Peru. Unfortunately those insights also crushed the hopes of my small developer friend. So, another optimistic dream died.
Then came my attempt to consult to a waste heat recovery startup. The CFO of this firm had just raised $5 million to launch a new WHR technology firm based on a package of international patents. I offered to use my contacts abroad to help the firm develop a supply chain and intellectual property defense strategy in China.
I spent a week working practically without stop. I didn’t leave my apartment except for once a day to grab a quick lunch and/or workout, and I’d work late into the nights. In one week I mobilized an international team of consultants including an Ex-McKinsey China/manufacturing specialist, an Ex-Accenture aerospace/mechanical engineer with a masters degree in renewable energy systems, and a fluent Mandarin speaker who has toured dozens of Chinese energy systems manufacturing facilities. I built financial models, schedules, a proposal with three different scopes and budgets, and most importantly, a 2-page list of contacts with expertise in manufacturing, IP protection in China, law, and transportation, as well as a list of specialized suppliers capable of manufacturing all the required heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and micro turbine-generator units.
The bulk of the preliminary planning was done, and I was having lawyers draft contracts when I got a simple 2-line email stating that the company's financial partners strongly preferred to not take the IP risk of manufacturing a new technology in China, and instead opted for a US manufacturing base. Although disappointing at the time, the experience now encourages me. I was able to accomplish a great deal and organize a large project quickly - something I certainly couldn't have mustered before my fellowship.
This summary of my year abroad clearly omits a mountain of details. There were thousands of beautiful, hilarious, depressing, shocking, and eye-opening experiences along the way. My most valuable learning probably happened outside of work experiences. I learned volumes about my self, others, and the way the world works. I learned to plan, adapt, connect, improvise, and negotiate, and I learned how to imagine solutions to strange and unfamiliar problems.
Lessons humbled me, and forced me to realize that I still have a huge amount to learn. The energy industry is so complex, and I’ll need a bit more patience and experience before I can learn to develop projects the way that I want to. Luckily I’ve found a great group of mentors, who I’ve already started working for. My first assignment was to present our technology to a geothermal training group from the United Nations in Iceland!
In Montevideo, during my Uruguayan layover en route to Santiago, people kept calling me “caballero,” or cowboy. I couldn’t help but feel like that fit. I’d been roaming the world homeless and alone, chasing random working opportunities on distant frontiers, surviving a range of conditions and lifestyles from the very best to the very worst, and adapting to new social and working environments over and over. I felt haggard, weary and a bit jaded, but also full of adventure and excitement. Those seem to be cowboy-like feelings and activities. So, for the remainder of my trip I considered myself to be an Electron Cowboy. Giddyup.
In Montevideo, during my Uruguayan layover en route to Santiago, people kept calling me “caballero,” or cowboy. I couldn’t help but feel like that fit. I’d been roaming the world homeless and alone, chasing random working opportunities on distant frontiers, surviving a range of conditions and lifestyles from the very best to the very worst, and adapting to new social and working environments over and over. I felt haggard, weary and a bit jaded, but also full of adventure and excitement. Those seem to be cowboy-like feelings and activities. So, for the remainder of my trip I considered myself to be an Electron Cowboy. Giddyup.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
What Is Geothermal Power Anyway?
Here is a great info-graphic from www.wellhome.com
You will see that Geothermal is divided into a number of technologies and applications. My main interest for the Watson Fellowship has been power generation (creating electricity), not the heating and cooling application offered by a ground source heat pump (bottom of the info-graphic). Enjoy!
You will see that Geothermal is divided into a number of technologies and applications. My main interest for the Watson Fellowship has been power generation (creating electricity), not the heating and cooling application offered by a ground source heat pump (bottom of the info-graphic). Enjoy!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Second IGA Article Set To Be Published
Dense? Yes. Esoteric? Yes. Interesting? Err...hopefully?
I took the opportunity to condense some new ideas and perspectives into another article, and was again lucky to have my work approved for publication by the International Geothermal Association. This article will appear in the 84th edition of the IGA's quarterly review. It details how the geothermal industry can cooperate with the oil and gas industry. I'm now beginning work on my third article, which will target collaborations with the mining industry here in South America. Enjoy:
Cully Cavness, Thomas J. Watson Fellow
The geothermal industry shares commonalities with many technically related, but otherwise disconnected industries. A non-exhaustive list of technically overlapping industries includes: oil and gas (drilling, reservoir engineering), waste heat recovery (heat exchanger thermodynamics), industrial corrosion and scaling management (piping and equipment protection), wind and solar power (financing and grid connection challenges), emissions abatement (H2S regulations in California or in Iceland, for example), and fossil fuel power plants (turbine-generator engineering, control systems, operations). This list could easily expand to include many other industries and professions that bear similarities to geothermal energy.
These industrial and technical synergies present a valuable opportunity for the geothermal industry – collaboration could easily increase efficacy and efficiency, reduce risk, and ultimately increase profitability. A previous article in the IGA Quarterly (Ed. #83) explored collaborative ventures and future possibilities between the geothermal industry and the Asian waste heat recovery industry. This follow-up article aims to deliver a similar analysis of developments and possibilities with the oil and gas industry.
Specifically, the cutting edge of geothermal development, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), can leverage the experience and technology of the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry. The O&G industry presents opportunities in directional drilling, reservoir stimulation, and fracture proppant. Additionally, oilfields present an interesting prospective market, as showcased by a case study in Colorado.
EGS is a frontier method of geothermal energy extraction. EGS proponents seek to drill into hot rock with low permeability and/or water levels insufficient for conventional geothermal development, then fracture the rocks and inject and recover a working fluid, thereby creating an artificial geothermal reservoir. EGS techniques and technologies are fraught with all the uncertainty and risk of newness, but the methods also promise to unlock boundless resources and opportunities if they can be mastered. The majority of the earth’s geothermal potential is trapped in areas that are not currently accessible to conventional geothermal methods, but which could be harnessed with the ideas of EGS.
Companies like AltaRock Energy, Geodynamics, Petratherm, Ormat, GeothermEx, as well as the American Department Of Energy and other international agencies all have interests in developing the highly prospective EGS industry. Success will depend on advances in a variety of techniques and technologies.
At the surface, developers must apply highly efficient heat exchangers and turbine-generator systems to optimize their power cycles for lower temperatures and/or flow rates. Rankine and Kalina Cycle technologies both offer this ability, with the latter being a particularly effective option for the low-temperature scenarios that typify current EGS development.
In aspects of drilling and reservoir engineering, success is largely contingent on the amount of surface area that can be accessed by circulating fluids. A combination of technologies developed by the oil and gas industry will be critical in this area.
Multistage hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling (both originated by the petroleum industry) will likely be fundamental technologies for EGS, as they allow for the targeting and expansion of artificial reservoirs. Once reservoirs have been created through hydraulic fracturing, the burden then becomes to maintain the productivity of those reservoirs. Reservoirs will become less volumetrically productive when either of the following occurs: porosity decreases (through chemical scaling or the physical collapse of pore space), or permeability decreases (when physical or chemical effects decrease the interconnectivity of pore space). Here, in porosity and permeability maintenance, through the use of proppants, for example, we may also find help from the Oil and Gas industry.
Beyond technologies and methodologies, the hydrocarbon industry may also provide an interesting market for geothermal power. Consider the fact that oil and gas fields consume massive amounts of power for their operations, often exist in remote locations far from transmission lines, and often generate power using purchased diesel or locally produced natural gas, which could otherwise be sold profitably into pipelines.
The above criteria form the exact backdrop of a scenario currently playing out in the Raton Basin, southern Colorado. Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc., an independent oil and gas company is developing a Coal Bed Methane (CBM) field in the Raton Basin. Raton not only boasts significant CBM resources, but also a curiously elevated geothermal gradient, which inspired the author’s thesis in geology, and led to ongoing collaboration between Pioneer Natural Resources, the Colorado School of Mines, the Institute of Earth Science and Engineering in New Zealand, and the Colorado Geological Survey in a study of the potential for an EGS development under the CBM field. . If successful, Pioneer would at least be able to substitute geothermal power for locally consumed natural gas, then sell the offset gas at a profit. Ultimately, however, the project could expand to provide regional power and demonstrate potential for other hot sedimentary basins, hugely expanding the applicability of geothermal energy.
Part of Pioneer’s attraction to the project is the tremendous overlap and synergy between the geothermal and O&G industries. Existing well bores provide exploration data to delineate the thermal anomaly, representing a dramatic cost savings to the high-risk frontend of geothermal development. Further synergies are offered by the technical expertise and infrastructure already in place at the gas field. Pioneer has drilling equipment and drilling teams, hydraulic fracture and well completion equipment, drill pads, offices, existing geophysical data and analysis, as well as experts in local geology and conditions. And, of course, Pioneer already owns land and subsurface mineral rights. Doubters only need to look at Chevron, the world’s largest producer of geothermal power, to understand how powerful these synergies can be. Origin Energy (an Australian Oil and Gas company) also recently purchased 40% of Energia Andina SA (a Chilean geothermal outfit), and provides another look at how petroleum and geothermal can marry.
To conclude, perhaps it is incorrect to view the “conventional energy” industries like oil and gas (or even coal) as diametrically opposed to the goals and purposes of geothermal energy. True, geothermal energy must compete on price against natural gas and coal, and there’s the pollution issue, but at the same time there are tremendous mutually beneficial opportunities to be harnessed from collaboration with hydrocarbon-based industries. After all, most of the drilling and power generation technologies that drive geothermal today were initially developed for hydrocarbon extraction or combustion. Perhaps the best approach is to embrace other industries like oil and gas, learn from their expertise, and potentially even develop new research, technologies, and projects together.
Cully Cavness is a Thomas J. Watson Fellow researching industrial synergies for the geothermal energy industry in Iceland, China, Spain, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. He is a geologist and native of Denver, Colorado, USA. He currently resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I took the opportunity to condense some new ideas and perspectives into another article, and was again lucky to have my work approved for publication by the International Geothermal Association. This article will appear in the 84th edition of the IGA's quarterly review. It details how the geothermal industry can cooperate with the oil and gas industry. I'm now beginning work on my third article, which will target collaborations with the mining industry here in South America. Enjoy:
Cully Cavness, Thomas J. Watson Fellow
The geothermal industry shares commonalities with many technically related, but otherwise disconnected industries. A non-exhaustive list of technically overlapping industries includes: oil and gas (drilling, reservoir engineering), waste heat recovery (heat exchanger thermodynamics), industrial corrosion and scaling management (piping and equipment protection), wind and solar power (financing and grid connection challenges), emissions abatement (H2S regulations in California or in Iceland, for example), and fossil fuel power plants (turbine-generator engineering, control systems, operations). This list could easily expand to include many other industries and professions that bear similarities to geothermal energy.
These industrial and technical synergies present a valuable opportunity for the geothermal industry – collaboration could easily increase efficacy and efficiency, reduce risk, and ultimately increase profitability. A previous article in the IGA Quarterly (Ed. #83) explored collaborative ventures and future possibilities between the geothermal industry and the Asian waste heat recovery industry. This follow-up article aims to deliver a similar analysis of developments and possibilities with the oil and gas industry.
Specifically, the cutting edge of geothermal development, Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), can leverage the experience and technology of the Oil and Gas (O&G) industry. The O&G industry presents opportunities in directional drilling, reservoir stimulation, and fracture proppant. Additionally, oilfields present an interesting prospective market, as showcased by a case study in Colorado.
EGS is a frontier method of geothermal energy extraction. EGS proponents seek to drill into hot rock with low permeability and/or water levels insufficient for conventional geothermal development, then fracture the rocks and inject and recover a working fluid, thereby creating an artificial geothermal reservoir. EGS techniques and technologies are fraught with all the uncertainty and risk of newness, but the methods also promise to unlock boundless resources and opportunities if they can be mastered. The majority of the earth’s geothermal potential is trapped in areas that are not currently accessible to conventional geothermal methods, but which could be harnessed with the ideas of EGS.
Companies like AltaRock Energy, Geodynamics, Petratherm, Ormat, GeothermEx, as well as the American Department Of Energy and other international agencies all have interests in developing the highly prospective EGS industry. Success will depend on advances in a variety of techniques and technologies.
At the surface, developers must apply highly efficient heat exchangers and turbine-generator systems to optimize their power cycles for lower temperatures and/or flow rates. Rankine and Kalina Cycle technologies both offer this ability, with the latter being a particularly effective option for the low-temperature scenarios that typify current EGS development.
In aspects of drilling and reservoir engineering, success is largely contingent on the amount of surface area that can be accessed by circulating fluids. A combination of technologies developed by the oil and gas industry will be critical in this area.
Multistage hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling (both originated by the petroleum industry) will likely be fundamental technologies for EGS, as they allow for the targeting and expansion of artificial reservoirs. Once reservoirs have been created through hydraulic fracturing, the burden then becomes to maintain the productivity of those reservoirs. Reservoirs will become less volumetrically productive when either of the following occurs: porosity decreases (through chemical scaling or the physical collapse of pore space), or permeability decreases (when physical or chemical effects decrease the interconnectivity of pore space). Here, in porosity and permeability maintenance, through the use of proppants, for example, we may also find help from the Oil and Gas industry.
Beyond technologies and methodologies, the hydrocarbon industry may also provide an interesting market for geothermal power. Consider the fact that oil and gas fields consume massive amounts of power for their operations, often exist in remote locations far from transmission lines, and often generate power using purchased diesel or locally produced natural gas, which could otherwise be sold profitably into pipelines.
The above criteria form the exact backdrop of a scenario currently playing out in the Raton Basin, southern Colorado. Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc., an independent oil and gas company is developing a Coal Bed Methane (CBM) field in the Raton Basin. Raton not only boasts significant CBM resources, but also a curiously elevated geothermal gradient, which inspired the author’s thesis in geology, and led to ongoing collaboration between Pioneer Natural Resources, the Colorado School of Mines, the Institute of Earth Science and Engineering in New Zealand, and the Colorado Geological Survey in a study of the potential for an EGS development under the CBM field. . If successful, Pioneer would at least be able to substitute geothermal power for locally consumed natural gas, then sell the offset gas at a profit. Ultimately, however, the project could expand to provide regional power and demonstrate potential for other hot sedimentary basins, hugely expanding the applicability of geothermal energy.
Part of Pioneer’s attraction to the project is the tremendous overlap and synergy between the geothermal and O&G industries. Existing well bores provide exploration data to delineate the thermal anomaly, representing a dramatic cost savings to the high-risk frontend of geothermal development. Further synergies are offered by the technical expertise and infrastructure already in place at the gas field. Pioneer has drilling equipment and drilling teams, hydraulic fracture and well completion equipment, drill pads, offices, existing geophysical data and analysis, as well as experts in local geology and conditions. And, of course, Pioneer already owns land and subsurface mineral rights. Doubters only need to look at Chevron, the world’s largest producer of geothermal power, to understand how powerful these synergies can be. Origin Energy (an Australian Oil and Gas company) also recently purchased 40% of Energia Andina SA (a Chilean geothermal outfit), and provides another look at how petroleum and geothermal can marry.
To conclude, perhaps it is incorrect to view the “conventional energy” industries like oil and gas (or even coal) as diametrically opposed to the goals and purposes of geothermal energy. True, geothermal energy must compete on price against natural gas and coal, and there’s the pollution issue, but at the same time there are tremendous mutually beneficial opportunities to be harnessed from collaboration with hydrocarbon-based industries. After all, most of the drilling and power generation technologies that drive geothermal today were initially developed for hydrocarbon extraction or combustion. Perhaps the best approach is to embrace other industries like oil and gas, learn from their expertise, and potentially even develop new research, technologies, and projects together.
Cully Cavness is a Thomas J. Watson Fellow researching industrial synergies for the geothermal energy industry in Iceland, China, Spain, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. He is a geologist and native of Denver, Colorado, USA. He currently resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Andean Hydropower, Ogres, and Lardy Dough
“Southern Argentina is a very dark and cold place at 5:00AM in May.” That was the only thought I managed to squeeze through my brain as I hauled my duffle up into the bed of Carlos’ pickup truck. By 6:00 we were on the road, heading west for two days of hard driving into the Andes. The sun would not rise for another three hours, yet I was not permitted to drift back into the pleasures of slumber. Instead I found myself enslaved as a mate brewer and server – the very traditional act of pouring hot water into a hollowed gourd full of a tree tea and sucking that juice through a filtered metal straw. Mate is the centerpiece of Argentine culture, and I have grown to dig it.
The preceding Saturday night was my first “milonga,” a large public dance with live tango band. I’d worked with Carlos’ tango dancers every night that week, and was ready to demonstrate my new abilities: rhythmically walking in a straight line while clumsily holding a woman. Harder than it looks. Later in the night, after loosening up with a bit of malbec, my confidence grew to the point of spinning and dipping bewildered, high heel-wearing females. Perhaps my form was not perfect, but it was very fun.
I returned to my cage-like hotel room at 3:30AM and dismayed at the narrow angle between the hour arm and the alarm arm on my radial clock. This insomnia was encouraged, however, because Carlos was the tango band’s bassist, and staunchly refused my early departure from the milonga when I proposed the idea at midnight.
These entertaining memories sustained me as I fumbled to pour crumbled tealeaves and hot water into a small gourd while bouncing down a dirt road. Carlos, or “Cokie” as he would have me call him, was driving us into “el campo,” the field. Cokie continued to explain the fundamentals of transmission systems, turbine-generators, electricity and magnetism, power plant development, and his extensive career, as he had done for the preceding week. He’d also given me a textbook, literally a layman’s guide to building micro-hydroelectric power plants, which I’d studied in between tutorials on using AutoCAD to plan and design transmission systems.
Our four days in the field would entail surveying terrain for the construction of a small hydroelectric power plant, which would power a remote alpine valley near the town of Chalten. “Chalten?” I wondered, “Why does that sound familiar?” I could not place the name, but knew that I’d heard it before.
Earlier in the week Cokie had driven me and the tango dancers to El Calafate, another name I vaguely recognized, but could not place until we arrived. When we arrived I remembered seeing a photo journalism piece about the site’s glaciers. We gawked at the Perrito Moreno Glacier, the ice-throwing monster that slides down from the Andes and occasionally calves house-sized blocks of ice into the surrounding lake. This World Heritage Site certainly deserves the credential. So, I wondered why Chalten sounded familiar, and if it was similarly spectacular.
As the sun rose (an it was a stunning moment, featured below), the horizon illuminated and exposed a far-away jaggedness – the mountains that would later envelop me. We drove for hours, initially on well-paved roads, then dilapidated blacktop, then eventually a dirt double track cutting through the desert. Our voyage was a virtual safari, and included continuous wildlife sightings. Flamingos, Guanaco (like a llama), horses, an emu-like flightless bird, condor, geese, rabbits (I accidentally ran one over during my driving shift), and multitudes of sheep.
Then a strange thing happened. I had been searching the horizon for greater resolution. What do these mountains really look like? I’ve always liked the idea of the Andes – the young, volcanic, impossibly long, and frequently deadly mountains that form a continental spine. I glanced down to prepare another mate gourd, and when I returned my gaze forward I was startled to see that the mountains were all around me now, and they were huge masses capped by knives of snow and ice.
“Did not bring adequate clothing,” I scrawled in my journal next to the words, “Intimidating, severe, ominous, harsher than the Himalayas, totally beautiful.”
“Welcome to the foothills,” said Cokie. “Foothills?” I asked, because surely he was mistaken and we had somehow teleported to the center of the range. “Yes, and here is where we must do our first work,” he replied. We turned off the dirt track next to a sign reading “Fundo Dos Hermanos,” or Two Brothers Ranch.
Fundo Dos Hermanos:
Moments later I was shaking the hand of a Chilean man with four fingers and enough gold in his teeth to make Lil’ Wayne jealous. This man, one of the Hermanos, wore a tattered black beret and a heavily frayed navy jump suit. He invited us inside, and regaled us with the graphic tale of killing a mountain lion to avenge a small lamb that was dragged away from the farm during the previous day. We had more hot tree juice before Cokie and I accompanied the Hermano up the valley behind his farm.
In the valley we crossed a bridge that Cokie had designed, and which was still being constructed - essentially a high wire with handles. We scrambled along the valley walls to the place where Cokie intended to build a small hydropower plant, which would power the farm and their textiles operation. I learned that Cokie and I would spend the day here making measurements, calculations, drawings, and plans. But first we retuned to the ranch. Cokie silently handed me an ornate silver knife in a leather sheath. I knew what I had to do… eat!
The following hour could easily constitute a cardiologist’s nightmare. We ambled back to the farmhouse where another gruff Chilean was slicing strips of meat from a freshly killed cow’s skeleton and frying the steaks in a deep skillet of brown oil. Adjacent to the meat on the wood stove was a pan of frying onions covered in herbs. There was also dough being deep-fried in melted lard, and eggs, which were not only fried, but literally spooned over with additional coatings of grease.
We sat down at a sturdy wooden bench, and, as has become customary after months in food obsessed cultures, I was stuffed to the point of begging for mercy.
Following this feast I labored my way back up the valley with Cokie and spent several hours working with a Total Station (not the gas company, but a highly sensitive surveying tool). Total Stations require two people – one mans a device that fires low intensity lasers, while the other person stands up to two kilometers away with a prism that receives the lasers. The result is a highly accurate gridding of points in 3D space, which can be used to create drawings and engineering models. This system requires the prism holder to trudge around and intermittently stand very still while one hundred lasers per second fire into the glittering sphere fastened to the top of a pointed shaft. The other person remains still and manipulates various dials and controls to aim the laser gun into the prism (and not the eye ball).
After hours of surveying, Cokie and I went to inspect a turbine-generator that had broken down nearby. We had to cross the sophisticated and sturdy bridge featured below, then spent some time assessing the turbine situation and how Cokie would proceed to re-power the site. Subsequently we packed up our gear and continued driving. Apparently this was only an appetizer project, and the big gig remained ahead.
Cokie, you see, is a very dear, kind, and gentle soul. He is a mechanical engineer, an electrical engineer, a passionate musician, a dancer, and a lover of the outdoors. As an outdoorsman, he enjoys working as a consultant on projects that demand frequent and arduous fieldwork in beautiful settings. I was beginning to realize what a sweet life he had carved out for himself. At one moment he spontaneously exclaimed, “I love my job!” I had to agree – I loved his job too.
Hours of night driving later we arrived at Chalten. We immediately drove to the restaurant of Cokie’s friend, where we would eat for the following three nights, and where they serve absurdly large and perfectly prepared steaks (most of Argentina does this, actually). We talked and laughed and ate with Cokie’s local friends, and merriment abounded. I felt comfortable with my Spanish.
In the morning I again awoke hours before sunrise and was promptly filled with coffee and mate and shoved into a freezing truck and again found myself bouncing down a dirt track and struggling to pour dry leaves into a small hole. When the sun rose it illuminated none other than the Fitz Roy and Cero Torres – two of the most famous, deadly, and iconic peaks in the mountaineering world. This is why I knew the name Chalten, the base camp for so many epic climbs, and this is where I would spend the next two days endlessly ascending and descending through valleys and forests, and along river banks.
“Now you see why we’ve been eating so much,” said Cokie with a grin, “you are going to need it.” But I didn’t believe him yet, and I hadn’t gotten used to the heavy diet.
People who know me well, know that I’m fairly disciplined about diet and exercise, and that I generally don’t eat lard-fried dough with deep fried steak and eggs. So it was somewhat of an aggravation when we arrived at a dilapidated shack in the woods, and were greeted by a tremendous lumberjack, Gonzalez, offering more lardy dough. I politely nibbled, but discretely hid the majority in my pocket.
Gonzalez and his enormous compatriots (ogres, actually) are the valley’s manual laborers extraordinaire. Cokie told me that they had built every house, hotel, trail and road in the valley by hand. These were real men. Gigantic banana-like fingers covered in dirt and calluses that crushed my dainty palms with each vigorous shaking. They smelled and looked like hard workers deprived of all female interaction. In the distance I could see a few men throwing huge logs to each other and splitting them with ease. These men would build Cokie’s hydroelectric plant, and Gonzalez was the one in charge. He’d been scrambling through these mountains since the age of eight, or so he said, and knew the terrain in terms that a doctorate geomorphogist couldn’t begin to approach.
Cokie and I zipped between houses scattered in the valley. We met various colorful characters, including one man who I believe was actually an elf, and who later prepared for me a cauldron of stew filled with robust steaks (literally).
Finally we set off with an altimeter to find the perfect hydroelectric site in the valley beyond. Several hours and several hundred meters of climbing later Cokie informed me that we would not be eating lunch because we hadn’t found the proper site yet. The lard dough began calling my name.
I’m dividing this story in two because it is a long one, and because I don’t have time to do it justice at the moment. Patience, please.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
ThinkGeoEnergy Interview
Back from a very, very interesting alpine adventure in the Andes with my engineer-musician-dancer-mountaineer-consultant host Carlos. I'll write that up soon.
It was a very nice moment when I opened up my laptop for the first time in four days and found this on my homepage: http://thinkgeoenergy.com/archives/7579.
ThinkGeoEnergy is the geothermal industry's main blog for industry updates, deal reporting, interviews, new exploration activity, and broad geothermal trends. I was excited to meet Alex Richter, the blog's creator, and gladly delivered the above interview. Alex is a German lawyer turned Icelandic financier (married an Viking - always a good move), and has a business degree with a specialty in digital teamwork and online businesses to boot. Quite a character.
Thanks for the flattering write up Alex!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Paradise Lost and Found
It’s a surreal thing, the Watson Fellowship. At times it is like some kind of bizarre time warp. Too much travel can confuse you. It is strange, for example, when you accidentally thank a Chilean in Icelandic, or when you try to pay for yet another bland sandwich in yet another airport but forget which of the seven currencies in your wallet should be placed on the counter. I’ve taken six flights in the last week, and that hard-driving journey has delivered me from Madrid to the tip of South America in Argentine Patagonia.
I’ll spend two weeks trekking through wintery winds, scoping hydroelectric sites, and understanding the engineering and planning of transmission lines and grid connectivity. My host is Carlos, a local of Rio Gallegos, which is a rough oil and gas town in Argentina’s southernmost province of Santa Cruz. Carlos is also a tango fanatic, and has two professional dancers from Buenos Aires living in his house. Upon arrival I was immediately outfitted with tango shoes and inserted into nightly dance classes.
People sometimes inquire as to how I make connections and develop projects with people like Carlos...
“Cully:
Meet my dear friend Carlos. He is the best power engineer in Argentina, and one of South America’s finest tango dancers. Carlos and I have a lot of interesting history and I love him very much. In fact, my little Chihuahua is named after him.
Carlos has moved on from his chief engineer position at the provincial utility and now runs his own consulting company. I have explained your Watson Fellowship and your work with me this year, and I asked Carlos if he would accept you. I am very pleased to inform you that his answer is yes and you are being welcomed to Rio Gallegos.
You should contact Carlos to advise your schedule and begin your relationship.”
The above email is an introduction that was made by the CEO of a geothermal company I worked with in Iceland, and an example of the surprising interconnectivity of the geothermal industry. The deeper I penetrate this industry, the smaller I realize it is, and the easier it is to move around within it. A small world indeed - everyone seems to know each other.
Next week Carlos will take me into "la sierra" – Andean mountains where we will trek up valleys and ravines to survey the hydrology and geology of prospective power plants. We will stay in the mountains for four days of fieldwork. Our living conditions, according to Carlos, will be “very bad,” and we will shelter in various cabins and ranches that he has access to. It seems that my Death Race training from last summer may come in handy (www.deathraceforlife.blogspot.com).
Of course this is all a brutal and shocking contrast to my luxurious accommodations in Madrid. The only similarity is the language, really, and I still enjoy that part very much.
I ended my time in Madrid happy with the knowledge that I had made friends, helped a wind power development company analyze the economics and finances of a large wind farm, explored a magnificent country and culture, developed my language abilities, and glimpsed the European model of power plant development. But those are only the surficial things I did there, and to be honest, they were secondary. My greatest struggle and potentially my greatest success this year was a personal, philosophical, and spiritual one, which was initiated by a Spanish sage and business mogul. I don’t feel compelled to share the details, just to say that my mental space is different now, continues to change, and is perhaps healthier and happier.
After two weeks in this frozen realm, I will resurface in the comparatively tropical worlds of Buenos Aires and Santiago, where I intend to remain for one and a half months. I will be in the center of the world’s greatest geothermal boom – the piping hot volcanism of the Andes. I imagine some blend of the wild American west, the early oil boomtowns of Pennsylvania (where Colonel Drake drilled the world’s first oil well and precipitated a human flood of prospectors), and the volcano scene from Indiana Jones And The Temple of Doom.
Of course I must also be warry. I’ve already been scammed in Argentina once, and have heard gruesome tales of taxi cab kidnappings, robbings, and murders. One close mentor wrote me, “Buenos Aires is seductive, but is a culture without standards. It is all passion, and whichever way passion blows, that is what happens. This means that financially, all money is one way - into Argentina, and to the person with the upper hand. Because of course, no one is ever passionate about giving money back, and if there are no other standards beyond what the person with the upper hand and passion wants, that is what happens. But, everyone seems wonderful, and soulful and talks good stories and seems reasonable. But this is why the country is a 500 year basket case.”
Still, all of the world’s biggest geothermal developers have set up shop in either Buenos Aires or Santiago, so I intend to spend the remainder of my fellowship in those places. Also, I’m going to tango, study Spanish aggressively, consume lots of steak and maté, and probably succumb to the local obsession with fútbol.
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