🌋What is geothermal energy?
and can heat from the Earth's core provide cheap & clean power?
When we think about sources of renewable energy, a few things come immediately to mind:
Thanks to some recent technological advances, we can also add geothermal energy to that list.
Geothermal energy that draws water from hot springs has been around for decades. (see below)
But: the next-gen geothermal plants that are starting to come online are actually drawing heat from deep inside the Earth.
In his recent article in Nature, science reporter Davide Castelvecchi explained how new geothermal plants work:
The process involves drilling a borehole up to several kilometers deep, where the rocks are at a temperature of around 200 °C, and injecting water and sand at high pressure.
This makes fractures in the rocks, increasing their permeability and creating a reservoir of heated water that can be continuously extracted through a second borehole. The hot, pressurized water is then used to generate electricity.
The companies behind these plants have drawn on insights & advances in drilling from the fracking industry, which uses similar techniques to extract oil & gas from deep below the Earth’s surface.
Researchers have been trying this since the 1970s, but it was only in the last few years that these “enhanced geothermal” plants have been able to generate significant amounts of energy.
Last month, the Biden administration announced it would expedite the approval process for new geothermal plants built on public lands.
This is great news for two reasons.
The U.S. government owns much of the land in the western U.S. (see below)
This largely overlaps with the parts of the country where geothermal energy resources are found:
Steve Feldgus of the Interior Department said:
“Geothermal energy is one of our greatest untapped clean energy resources on public lands.”
There’s more good news.
The federal government also approved a major new geothermal project in Utah last month.
This geothermal plant, known as the Fervo Cape Geothermal Power Project, will be the world’s biggest new-gen geothermal plant.
By the time it’s fully operational in 2028, it could generate enough energy to power more than 2 million homes.
And even though a second Trump administration may not continue with some of the Biden administration’s clean energy policies, Republicans seem to support improved regulations for geothermal energy development.
This week, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Republican-backed Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act, which would speed up the approval process for new geothermal plants.
Looking forward:
The International Energy Agency projects that geothermal power could meet up to 3.5% of the world's total electricity demand by 2050.
That number could increase if technological advances continue to make geothermal energy less expensive & more reliable.
There’s just one group of people who are opposed to geothermal energy: flat-earthers.
ART OF THE DAY
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Edouard Riou. 1864.
