Geothermal Power Could Become a Good Alternative for Making Electricity

It now makes up just a sliver of the electricity generation pie. But experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) could have far wider applications and be especially useful in times of high energy prices and carbon constraints. Not only are the systems much cleaner than fossil fuels but they also provide a continuous flow of energy—all at competitive prices.

Geothermal energy is a very large resource and has the potential to be a significant contributor to the energy needs of the world. Geothermal now provides less than 1 % of the world’s power, although it could supply as much as 20 % in the coming decades.

How Geothermal Power Works ? To get there the tools to perfect deep drilling and water flow through the underground navigation system are needed.

Geothermal resources are available nationwide in the USA. But the highest-grade sites are in western states where hot rocks are closer to the surface, requiring less drilling and thereby reducing exploration costs. Once there, those wells must then be linked with natural or induced fractures in the rock to allow the water to flow through.

Water is pumped via the wells through these fractures in the hot rock and up to the surface to run electric generators at the surface. Unlike conventional fossil-fuel power plants that burn coal, natural gas or oil, no fuel would be required. The environmental effects of geothermal power are “markedly lower” than either fossil fuels or nuclear power. And unlike wind and solar systems, a geothermal plant works night and day.

This environmental advantage is due to low emissions and the small overall footprint of the entire geothermal system, which results because energy capture and extraction is contained entirely underground, and the surface equipment needed for conversion to electricity is relatively compact.

It’s not an easy objective, though. It costs a lot of money to drill wells in large part because explorers need to drill deep into the earth, often 5,000 feet or more below the earth’s surface. Meeting water requirements for geothermal plants may be an issue, particularly in arid regions.

Further, the water that is used to create electricity must be kept separate from drinking water supplies to prevent contamination. Additionally, the potential for seismic risk from fluid injection needs to be carefully monitored. The cumulative effect of all those obstacles has led skeptics to conclude that geothermal energy will remain a nominal power source.

Peggy Daniels Becker, Alternative Energy

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