Geothermal Energy

Introduction

The word “geothermal” can be derived from Greek Words a long time ago. "Geo" referred to the earth, and "therme" referred to heat. Combining these two terms, we get "Geothermal" which means heat from the earth.

Geothermal energy is a form of energy that exists as a result of heat from the Earth's core. Its extreme temperatures heat up the rock surrounding the core and melt it into magma. The magma heats up the rocks and pockets of water that it is in contact with. It also finds its way through vents like volcanoes and erupts as lava.

Humans have not used the geothermal energy directly from the erupting lava, but however, much time has been spent using the heated water from the pockets of water.

How Is It Done?

The water under the earth is heated up by the earth's heat. Engineers then drill into the crust, where they allow the heat to escape, either in the form of steam, or in hot water. The water is carried in pipes to a geothermal plant, where the steam is allowed to separate from the water, and is used to turn a turbine. The steam is also used to turn a turbine, and afterwards, the steam gets cooled off in a cooling tower.

The turbine is connected to a generator, which when turned, will convert the kinetic energy of the turned turbine into electrical energy, which is then channeled off or stored for our needs.

Analysis of Energy Source

Availability

Geothermal energy can only be harnessed from some hotspots that have a lot of heat (presence of geysers etc). Only with the heat can there be heated pockets of water underground, where engineers can release the steam to turn turbines.

For example, Iceland has many spots for geothermal energy, as it has lots of geysers and heated water underground. Such spots are not spread around the world, but however they are situated at some spots only, mostly near volcanic areas like Iceland and California, just to name a few.

Cost

The geothermal plant is a simple construction that does not take much to build. In fact, it only occupies a small area of the geothermal site. Thus, it can provide very cheap energy. Geothermal energy in the US is priced at $0.03 - $0.08 per kilowatt (KW). This is a very cheap price, and it is a competitive price to other energy sources.

Level of Technology

Geothermal energy requires some technology in the engineering area, and also requires skilled engineers to extract the steam and hot water from the ground to turn turbines.

A few countries possess this technology, such as the US , Iceland , and some other countries along the ring of fire, where there is a lot of volcanic activity, which is good for geothermal energy.

Transport and Accessibility

Usually, geothermal spots are situated in regions with volcanic activity, which can be rather dangerous. It is sometimes hard to access too, and the source is unable to be moved.

As such, energy may have to be stored, or might have to be transported through power lines and substations along the way, which would probably cost money to build too. As this is very inefficient, consumers should be located close to the energy source, rather than being far away.

Feasibility

Geothermal energy as an energy source is feasible for supplying electricity to nearby places. Firstly, geothermal energy is reliable and can be harnessed 365 days a year. It is stable and also renewable. Apart from that, it also is environmental friendly and is a clean energy source.

It can be seen from Iceland that geothermal energy is very successful there, with the entire capital running almost entirely on geothermal energy only.

However, only a selected few locations can make use of geothermal energy. Locations along volcanic activity regions, like the ring of fire, can use this source of energy. Also, this energy from the turbine takes much trouble to channel over long distances, so the source and the demand should be not too far.

Government Policies

Many different governments support geothermal energy as a source. For example, in the Philippines , the government supports such geothermal energy activities, and they are also the 2 nd biggest geothermal energy producer in the world

In the US , the US Department of Energy also funds such projects to extract energy from such geothermal sources. US is the biggest producer of geothermal energy in the world, and they have a whopping capacity of 1977.69 Mega-Watts (MW) since the 1980s. Also, the geothermal energy that is produced in California is enough to power 2 million homes!

Environmental Concerns

Geothermal energy is relatively environment-friendly, as such, there are not much concerns. Firstly, it offsets air pollution that would have been produced if fossil fuels were the energy source.

Also, there is minor impact to the surroundings. Cooled water is re-injected into the ground, which recycles the geothermal water and replenishes the minerals back into the ground.

Examples

Geothermal energy is rather successful to power up electrical needs nearby to the source. For example, the capital of Iceland , Reykjavik , is almost entirely powered by geothermal energy.

Also, the geothermal energy that is gathered from around California in the US is enough to power approximately 2 million homes in the US . Thus we can see that geothermal energy has a great potential to provide electricity for us. Also, it is a sustainable and renewable source, which makes it reliable to depend on.