How conventional geothermal works

Find hot water already moving through a fault, drill into it, pump it up, take its heat in a binary plant and send it back down. Pick a part to isolate it, see through the rock, or follow the brine. Every number comes from one model.

Sources: Zanskar, “Progress at Lightning Dock” (Feb 2025); ThinkGeoEnergy, “Zanskar reports exceptional results of new geothermal well at Lightning Dock” (Feb 2025); Turboden, Lightning Dock 14 MWe ORC unit (13.7 MWe nominal, 91.6 GWh a year). Injection temperature, fault geometry, rock layers and the timeline's pacing are illustrative. Others on this approach: Ormat Technologies, Calpine.