Geothermalenergy

GeothermalenergyisheatthatisgeneratedwithintheEarth.(
Geomeans
earth,andt hermalmeansheatinGreek.)Itisarenewableresourcethatcanbe
harvestedforhumanuse.Geothermalenergyhasbeenusedforthousandsofyears
insomecountriesforcookingandheating.ItissimplypowerderivedfromtheEarth's
internalheat.ThisthermalenergyiscontainedintherockandfluidsbeneathEarth's
crust.Itcanbefoundfromshallowgroundtoseveralmilesbelowthesurface,and
evenfartherdowntotheextremelyhotmoltenrockcalledmagma.(n.d,2016)
Whereandhowisgeothermalusedtoday?Heatfromtheearthcanbeused
asanenergysourceinmanyways,fromlargeandcomplexpowerstationstosmall
andrelativelysimplepumpingsystems.Thisheatenergy,knownasgeothermal
energy,canbefoundalmostanywhereasfarawayasremotedeepwellsin
Indonesiaandascloseasthedirtinourbackyards.(n.d,2016)Heatissittingunder
theEarthwejustneedtotapit.Geothermalenergycanbeusedinthreeways:
Directgeothermalenergy,Geothermalheatpump,andGeothermalpowerplant.
Directgeothermalenergy.Inareaswherehotspringsorgeothermal
reservoirsareneartheEarth'ssurface,hotwatercanbepipedindirectlytoheat
homesorofficebuildings.Geothermalwaterispumpedthroughaheatexchanger,
whichtransferstheheatfromthewaterintothebuilding'sheatingsystem.Theused
waterisinjectedbackdownawellintothereservoirtobereheatedandusedagain.
Geothermalheatpump.Afewfeetundertheground,thesoilorwaterremaina
constant50to60degreesFahrenheityearround.Justthatlittlebitofwarmthcanbe
usedtoheatorcoolhomesandoffices.Geothermalpowerplant.Hotwaterand
steamfromdeepundergroundcanbepipedupthroughundergroundwellsandused
togenerateelectricityinapowerplant.
Manyregionsoftheworldarealreadytappinggeothermalenergyasan
affordableandsustainablesolutiontoreducingdependenceonfossilfuels,andthe
globalwarmingandpublichealthrisksthatresultfromtheiruse.

Citation

Society,N.G.(n.d.).GeothermalEnergyInformation,GeothermalPowerFacts
NationalGeographic.RetrievedSeptember12,2016,from
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/globalwarming/geothermal
profile/

By1990,26powerplantshadbeenbuilt,foracapacityofmorethan2,000MW.
(n.d.).HowGeothermalEnergyWorks.RetrievedSeptember12,2016,from
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/ourenergychoices/renewableenergy/howgeo
thermalenergyworks.html#.V9do6seO5s

(n.d.).RetrievedSeptember12,2016,from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/geothermalenergy1.htm