Thermal conductivity measurements for optimizing geothermal field construction

A system for constructing geothermal fields, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• memory, wherein the memory stores one or more programs configured for execution by the one or more processors, and the one or more programs including instructions for:
• while drilling a geothermal borehole, collecting a plurality of drill cuttings from a subsurface of the geothermal borehole;
• obtaining a plurality of thermal conductivity values for the plurality of drill cuttings;
• determining, using the plurality of thermal conductivity values, thermal performance data of the geothermal borehole;
• and
• in accordance with a determination that the thermal performance data of the geothermal borehole meets or exceeds a threshold value:
• updating, according to the thermal performance data, one or more drilling parameters to one or more updated drilling parameters;
• and
• controlling the drilling of the geothermal borehole according to the one or more updated drilling parameters.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured for execution by a computer system having one or more processors, and memory, the one or more programs comprising instructions for:

• while drilling a geothermal borehole, collecting a plurality of drill cuttings from a subsurface of the geothermal borehole;
• obtaining a plurality of thermal conductivity values for the plurality of drill cuttings;
• determining, using the plurality of thermal conductivity values, thermal performance data of the geothermal borehole;
• and
• in accordance with a determination that the thermal performance data meets or exceeds a threshold value:
• updating, according to the thermal performance data, one or more drilling parameters to one or more updated drilling parameters;
• and
• controlling the drilling of the geothermal borehole according to the one or more updated drilling parameters.