Geothermal handbook: PlanninG and Financing power Generation t e c h n I c a L r e p o r t 2 / 2

F I g u r E 1 . 1 5
Concept of Typical Binary Power Plant, ORC, or Kalina
Source | Modified from Dickson and Fanelli 2004.
Turbine
Generator
Feed Pump
Reinjection Well
Production Well
Evaporator
Cooling Water Pump
Cooling Tower

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C h a p t e r 1
not deploy bottoming units in many cases. On the other hand, from the country perspective, producing 
10 to 20 percent more power out of the same resource could be very economic, since installation of a 
few bottoming units could easily substitute for building an entire new power plant in terms of output. In 
addition, due to each geothermal reservoir’s limited potential for steam production, it could be worth 
considering using the resource as efficiently as possible and evaluating the value of specific policy 
incentives to ensure that the economics and financials of such projects match.
Binary units can be produced in very small sizes (0.1 to 5 MW), even as container module units. Small 
mobile plants can not only reduce the risk inherent in drilling new wells but also help meet the energy 
requirements of isolated areas.