Geothermal Energy

Definition:
Heat has been radiating from the center of the Earth for some 4.5 billion years. At
6437.4 km (4,000 miles) deep, the center of the Earth hovers around the same
temperatures as the sun's surface, 9932F (5,500C) (Figure 1). Scientists estimate
that 42 million megawatts (MW) of power flow from the Earths interior, primarily by
conduction
Geothermal energy is a renewable resource. One of its biggest advantages is that it is
constantly available. The constant flow of heat from the Earth ensures an inexhaustible
and essentially limitless supply of energy for billions of years to come.
The National Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Sec. 1202) and the Pacific Northwest Electric
Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 (Sec. 12H, 839a(16), page 84) both
define geothermal energy as a renewable resource.
Figure 1: Earths Temperatures

The uses of geothermal for heat and other purposes were indigenous practices across a
variety of world cultures: The Maoris in New Zealand and Native Americans used water
from hot springs for cooking and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Ancient
Greeks and Romans had geothermal heated spas. The people of Pompeii, living too
close to Mount Vesuvius, tapped hot water from the earth to heat their buildings.
Romans used geothermal waters for treating eye and skin disease. The Japanese have
enjoyed geothermal spas for centuries. From Nersesian, page 334.
A viable geothermal system requires heat, permeability, and water. Developers explore
a geothermal reservoir to test its potential for development by drilling and testing
temperatures and flow rates.

Rainwater and snowmelt feed underground thermal aquifers (Figure 2). When hot
water or steam is trapped in cracks and pores under a layer of impermeable rock, it
forms a geothermal reservoir.
Figure 2: The Formation of a Geothermal Reservoir

Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages of Geothermal Energy
1) It is a renewable source of energy.
2) By far, it is non-polluting and environment friendly.
3) There is no wastage or generation of by-products.
4) Geothermal energy can be used directly. In ancient times, people used this source of
energy for heating homes, cooking, etc.
5) Maintenance cost of geothermal power plants is very less.
6) Geothermal power plants don't occupy too much space and thus help in protecting
natural environment.
7) Unlike solar energy, it is not dependent on the weather conditions.
Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy
1) Only few sites have the potential of Geothermal Energy.
2) Most of the sites, where geothermal energy is produced, are far from markets or
cities, where it needs to be consumed.
3) Total generation potential of this source is too small.
4) There is always a danger of eruption of volcano.
5) Installation cost of steam power plant is very high.
6) There is no guarantee that the amount of energy which is produced will justify the

capital expenditure and operations costs.

7) It may release some harmful, poisonous gases that can escape through the holes
drilled during construction.
Problems encountered:
Firstly, not everyone lives on top of a volcano. Unlike wind and solar installations which
can be built more or less anywhere, Geothermal Power Plants can only be built on
geological hotspots that exists less than 10 % of our planet. Secondly, even in hot spots
like Iceland, Engineers must deal with the most daunting technical challenge facing
geothermal. Drilling! That's because all successful geothermal ventures require three
vital elements. Hot Rock, Water and close proximity to the resource. Thirdly, money and
potential exploration risks are additional issues to be dealt with.
Other problems are concerns about the gas emissions, with the low % of H2S,
associated to steam, enhanced by the smell, the environmental impact of the pipelines
and power plants and the fear about the possibility to induce seismic activity during the
production, especially if an enhanced geothermal systems will be in place, or because
in proximity of a volcanic system

Technological Advancements:
Why not create hot water beneath the surface by injecting cold water into dry, hot rock
formations and then recovering the water once it has been heated through contact with
them? The use of end-of-life, or depleted, oil fields is also being studied.
Engineered Geothermal Systems
Naturally hot groundwater is not the only source of geothermal energy. In the last few
years, technology has been developed that creates energy by injecting water into
dry low-permeability rocks, such as fractured granite. Terms used to refer to this
include enhanced geothermal systems, hot fractured rock and hot dry rock.
The rocks chosen for this purpose are found deep underground in high-temperature
environments with a strong geothermal gradient. Two wells are drilled about 100 meters
apart. Water is injected at high pressure into one of the wells, expanding or creating a
network of fractures in the rock. The water is extracted via the second well after it has
been heated by its passage through the hot rock formation. Once the water is able to
circulate through the network of fractures, a constant stream of cold water is injected
into the rock and hot water is recovered.

Case Study: Soultz-sous-Forts, France

This technology has been tested since 2002 in Soultz-sous-Forts, eastern France ,
with boreholes drilled 5,000 meters into a granite massif. In 1997, after ten years of
testing and test boring, water circulation was achieved at low pump power for four
months between the two deep wells, at a flow rate of 25 kilograms per second and a
temperature of above 140C, without any water loss or corrosion. This world first meant
a green light for the continuation of the project. A pilot plant was developed, which
involved the drilling of three 5,000-meter-deep wells. In 2008, a power plant with
capacity of 1.5 MW was commissioned, providing enough energy to supply a small city.
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A commercial EGS plant is in operation in Landau, in the North German Plain and
Upper Rhine, and a project is being finalized in Australia, near Habanero in the Copper
Basin. Four other projects are at a very advanced stage in the United States. Production
costs could be reduced by optimizing reservoir stimulation and by improving drilling
technology, the efficiency of binary cycle power plants and the reliability of submersible
pumps. This would then allow this technology to be extended to large areas of land
surfaces.