Enhanced geothermal systems (EGSs) are an emerging energy technology with the potential to greatly expand the viable resource base for geothermal power generation. Although EGSs have traditionally been envisioned as ‘baseload’ resources, flexible operation of EGS wellfields could allow these plants to provide load-following generation and long-duration energy storage. In this work we evaluate the impact of operational flexibility on the long-run system value and deployment potential of EGS power in the western United States. We find that load-following generation and in-reservoir energy storage enhance the role of EGS power in least-cost decarbonized electricity systems, substantially increasing optimal geothermal penetration and reducing bulk electricity supply costs compared to systems with inflexible EGSs or no EGSs. Flexible geothermal plants preferentially displace the most expensive competing resources by shifting their generation on diurnal and seasonal timescales, with round-trip energy storage efficiencies of 59–93%. Benefits of EGS flexibility are robust across a range of electricity market and geothermal technology development scenarios.

增强型地热系统（EGS）是一种新兴的能源技术，具有极大扩展地热发电可行资源基础的潜力。尽管 EGS 传统上被视为“基本负荷”资源，但 EGS 井田的灵活运营可以使这些发电厂提供负荷跟踪发电和长期储能。在这项工作中，我们评估了运营灵活性对美国西部 EGS 电力的长期系统价值和部署潜力的影响。我们发现，负载跟踪发电和水库内储能增强了 EGS 电力在成本最低的脱碳电力系统中的作用，与具有不灵活的 EGS 或无 EGS 的系统相比，显着提高了最佳地热渗透率并降低了大宗电力供应成本。灵活的地热发电厂通过按昼夜和季节时间尺度转移发电，优先取代最昂贵的竞争资源，往返储能效率为 59-93%。EGS 灵活性的优势在一系列电力市场和地热技术开发场景中都具有强大的优势。