Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Madison Cales
Mr. Mac
Projects 10 P1
14 December 2017
Geothermal Energy
Ocean waters are rising as America fails to fully participate in reducing carbon emissions.
Maui needs to take a stand to make sure that its carbon footprint left on this Earth is considerably
less than other states. The island of Maui should strongly consider switching to all renewable
energy, preferably geothermal energy. Maui should invest in geothermal energy because the
island is located in a seismically active region of the Earth, geothermal energy can create
sustainable amounts of energy, and its earths most environmentally safe renewable energy
source.
The island of Maui is located in the Pacific Ocean, in a region full of seismic activity.
Seismic regions are places that small, unnoticeable, earthquakes occur. The Hawaiian islands are
located on the Pacific tectonic plate, a very active seismic region (Pararas-Carayannis). A
tectonic plate is part of the earths crust that constantly moves, causing earthquakes and
volcanoes to form (Plate Tectonics). Earthquakes indicate potentially hot groundwater locations,
generally referred to as hotspots (How Geothermal Energy Works). If hotspots are attainable, the
future of geothermal energy is bright. Geothermal energy can be harnessed in several different
approaches, the most common way to access this type of energy is through a process called
flash steam. The flash steam system has pipes that are laid approximately one mile
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underground, for a flash steam power plant to work, temperatures must reach 360 degrees
fahrenheit or above in order to work (Doeden). The scorching groundwater is then pumped to the
surface of the Earth, the hot water is exposed to very low air pressures, creating large amounts of
steam. As the steam is produced, it begins to rise to generate turbines that turn steam energy into
electricity (Doeden). Hotspots are also an ideal location for flash steam power plants, Maui has
four geothermally accessible locations: the Southwest ridge of Haleakala, West Hana, Paia , and
Southwest Maui (Geothermal Potential Areas). With many accessible geothermal locations,
Maui should take advantage of geothermal energy because it will continue to be produced for
Geothermal energy can create outstanding amounts of energy. The state of Hawaii has an
existing geothermal plant on the island of Hawaii, known as the Puna Geothermal Venture, it
geothermal plant is located on the Kilauea East Rift Zone, rift zones are seismically active
locations, often prime areas for geothermal accessibility. The company who owns the Puna
geothermal plant: Ormat, believes that there is geothermal energy harnessable on Mauis
Ulapalakua Ranch. The Ranch is located on the Southwest Haleakala Rift Zone, known as a Hot
temperature resource area, meaning it is a potential area for a geothermal energy power plant to
be (Geothermal on Ulapalakua Ranch). Only places that are designated as geothermal resources
subzones are allowed to have geothermal electrical production on them. Ormat will attempt to
get Ulapalakua Ranch designated as a geothermal subzone, so they can proceed to research,
design, and build a geothermal power plant on Maui. Large amounts of energy exist on Maui,
The Maui County Energy Alliance estimates that Maui might have 140MW of geothermal
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geothermal resources to create large sustainable amounts of renewable and reliable energy for
the future.
Many beneficial renewable resources exist but geothermal energy is the most reliable.
Wind and solar energy are renewable energy sources being used in present day Maui. Although
wind and solar energy are renewable sources used in Maui, that does not mean theyre
necessarily the right choice of renewable energy for Maui. Wind has multiple disadvantages:
turbines produce noise, they kill thousands of birds a year, the cost to build wind turbines can
soar well above two-million dollars a piece, the efficiency percentage of a turbine is incredibly
low compared to geothermal energy, and turbines often make natural scenery less attractive
(Johnson). Along with wind energy, solar energy has many disadvantages as well: solar systems
rely on the sun, which is not a consistent source of energy due to clouds covering the sun
frequently, they are costly to install, a solar panel contains many possible environmental
contaminants, and after several years, the panel begins to deteriorate after being exposed to the
sun (Gromicko). Geothermal energy compared to solar and wind energy has only one major set
back, its cost. The cost of a geothermal system depends on the location and well as the system
that is being installed. Despite the high costs, efficiency levels are exceptional. The efficiency
also depends on the size of the system and the type of system being installed. These efficiency
percentages can be anywhere from 300% to 500% (Bridgewater 139) as solar is only 16% to
18% efficient (Martin), and wind is only 30% to 50% efficient (The Wind Energy Fact Sheet).
Geothermal energy has no obstacles once installed, it can produce a constant supply of energy
you can get (Bridgewater 139). Geothermal produces a clean waste product: steam (Doeden),
while solar panels could leak harmful chemical (Gromicko), and wind energy turbines are
harmful to the ecosystem by killing thousands of birds a year (Johnson). By decreasing the
societys utilization of fossil fuels, carbon emissions will diminish, cutting back on global
warming.
Maui should fully invest in geothermal energy as its main source of renewable energy.
The location of Maui is a prime spot to place a geothermal plant. Based on the regions
seismically active tectonic plates, geothermal hot spots are accessible. With consideration of
accessibility, geothermal plants have an extremely high efficiency level compared to other
energy sources, and geothermal energy is qualified the cleanest renewable energy source for the
environment. Although wind and solar can produce clean and renewable energy, they cannot
compete with the cleanliness and renewability of geothermal energy. Maui needs to take action
immediately and make geothermal power the number one energy provider for the island. The
environment is begging for the world to switch to all renewable energy sources, the island of
Maui should take action and decrease the islands carbon footprint left on this earth. Maui may
not significantly change the global warming issue, but it could cause other places in the world to
take action to reduce carbon emissions as well. With cooperation, the world can change.
Converting Maui to all renewable energy could influence the United States and other parts of the
Works Cited
Bridgewater, Alan, and Gill Bridgewater. Renewable Energy for Your Home: Using
off-Grid Energy to Reduce Your Footprint, Lower Your Bills and Be More Self-Sufficient.
Doeden, Matt. Finding Out About Geothermal Energy. Lerner Publications Company,
2015.
<www.hawaiianelectric.com/clean-energy-hawaii/clean-energy-facts/renewable-energy-sources/
2017
, <maui-communities.weebly.com/geothermal-potential-areas----maui-county.html>. Web.
<www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-geothermal-energy-
Martin, Richard. First Solar's Cells Break Efficiency Record . MIT Technology
Review, <www.technologyreview.com/s/600922/first-solars-cells-break-efficiency-record/>.
Geographic.<www.nationalgeographic.com/science/earth/the-dynamic-earth/plate-tectonics/>.
<www.hawaiianelectric.com/clean-energy-hawaii/clean-energy-facts/renewable-energy-sources/
The Wind Energy Fact Sheet . The Wind Energy Fact Sheet ,
<www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/households/WindEnergyfactsheet.pdf>. Web.