Gnatus N. A., Project Manager, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Geothermy; Goncharov S. A., Professor of the, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Moscow State Mining University

Prospects for the exhaustion of hydrocarbon reserves, as well as changes in the environment caused by traditional hydrocarbon and nuclear energy, suggest that transition to new methods and forms of energy is inevitable and the sooner will be the breakthrough in this direction, the less painful and more effective it will be to the society. One alternative is thermal (petrothermal), the energy of the Earth. The temperature of the rock with a hollow in the earth interior increases with the geothermal gradient Г_т by average 0,032 °C for each meter below the so-called neutral layer H0 (about 10 meters). Thus, at a depth of 5–6 kilometers, it will make in average 180 °C, and the amount of heat in the earth's crust — 4,5 · 1025 J. One cubic kilometer of the Earth's crust at a depth of 5–6 km, concentrates 18 · 10⁶ J of energy, which is equivalent to burning 4,5 million tons of oil. Practical interest is arisen with not the overall capacity of geothermal energy of the earth, but with that part which corresponds to a high-tech capabilities of penetration into the bowels of the planet. The advantages of petrothermal energy source are its ubiquity, proximity and suitability to the consumers; relatively low capital cost of development, no wastes, operational safety and environmental friendliness. It can be realized in deep and ultradeep drilling of geothermal wells and the creation on the basis of their circulation systems. For providing their effective work, you must have either create a zone of heat recovery with sufficiently developed heat exchange surface. Such surface is presented either for various depths of the porous layers and zones of natural fracturing, or heat transfer surfaces artificially created by hydraulic fracturing in impermeable arrays. A group of Russian scientists and engineers developed an innovative project “Development of Petrothermal Energy in Russia“. The project is entirely based on the use of domestic appliances. In order to realize an innovative project, “Fund for Support of Exploration and Development of Petrothermal Energy“ has been established.