GEOTHERMAL

ENERGY ~
Friday, 21st October, 2016

Alternative Sources Of Energy ~

Made By - Kritarth Bhasin — I&S - Geography — Class - 9D

What is Geothermal energy ?
 The term Geothermal originates from two Greek words ‘GEO’ and
‘THERM’ . The Greek word geo means the earth whilst the word therm
means the from earth.
 Geothermal energy is energy derived from the heat of the earth. The earth’s
centre is a distance of approximately 4000 miles and is so hot that it is
molten. Temperatures are understood to be at least 5000 degrees centigrade.
Heat from the centre of the earth conducts outwards and heats up the outer
layers of rock called the mantle. When this type of rock melts and becomes
molten it is called magma. Magma can reach just below the earths surface.
 Rain water sometimes seeps down through geological fault lines and cracks
becoming super heated by the hot rocks below. Some of this super heated
water rises back to the surface of the earth where it emerges as hot springs or
even geysers. Sometimes the hot water becomes trapped below the surface as
a geothermal reservoir.

RESOURCES OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ~

 The Earth's internal thermal energy flows to the surface by conduction at a
rate of 44.2 terawatts (TW), and is replenished by radioactive decay of
minerals at a rate of 30 TW. These power rates are more than double
humanity’s current energy consumption from all primary sources, but most
of this energy flow is not recoverable. In addition to the internal heat flows,
the top layer of the surface to a depth of 10 meters (33 ft) is heated by
solar energy during the summer, and releases that energy and cools during
the winter.
 Outside of the seasonal variations, the geothermal gradient of
temperatures through the crust is 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) per kilometer of
depth in most of the world. The conductive heat flux averages 0.1 MW/km2.
These values are much higher near tectonic plate boundaries where the
crust is thinner. They may be further augmented by fluid circulation, either
through magma conduits, hot springs, hydrothermal circulation or a
combination of these.

 A geothermal heat pump can extract enough heat from shallow ground
anywhere in the world to provide home heating, but industrial applications
need the higher temperatures of deep resources. The thermal efficiency
and profitability of electricity generation is particularly sensitive to
 temperature. The most demanding applications receive the greatest benefit
from a high natural heat flux, ideally from using a hot spring. The next best
option is to drill a well into a hot aquifer. If no adequate aquifer is available,
an artificial one may be built by injecting water to hydraulically fracture the
bedrock. This last approach is called hot dry rock geothermal energy in
Europe, or enhanced geothermal systems in North America. Much greater
potential may be available from this approach than from conventional
tapping of natural aquifers.
 Estimates of the potential for electricity generation from geothermal energy
vary sixfold, from .035to2TW depending on the scale of investments. [7]
Upper estimates of geothermal resources assume enhanced geothermal
wells as deep as 10 kilometres (6 mi), whereas existing geothermal wells
are rarely more than 3 kilometres (2 mi) deep. Wells of this depth are now
common in the petroleum industry. The deepest research well in the world,
the Kola super deep borehole, is 12 kilometres (7 mi) deep.

Enhanced geothermal system 1:Reservoir 2:Pump house 3:Heat exchanger

4:Turbine hall 5:Production well 6:Injection well 7:Hot water to district heating
8:Porous sediments 9:Observation well 10:Crystalline bedrock
What is an Enhanced Geothermal Systems? (EGC)
A naturally occurring geothermal system, known as a hydrothermal system, is defined by
three key elements: heat, fluid, and permeability at depth. An Enhanced Geothermal
System (EGS) is a man-made reservoir, created where there is hot rock but insufficient or
little natural permeability or fluid saturation. In an EGS, fluid is injected into the subsurface
under carefully controlled conditions, which cause pre-existing fractures to re-open, creating
permeability (allowing liquids or gases to pass through it).

EGS has the potential to be an important contributor towards the worldwide energy portfolio
as a source of clean, renewable energy.

 EGS emits little to no greenhouse gases.

 Most geothermal power plants use a closed-loop binary cycle power plant and have
no greenhouse gas emissions other than water vapor that may be used for cooling.
 EGS could facilitate geothermal development outside of traditional hydrothermal
areas in the western U.S., thereby extending geothermal energy production
nationwide.
 EGS can supply baseload energy with limited to no intermittency, eliminating the
need for energy storage technologies.

What are the technologies used?

 To produce geothermal-generated electricity, deep wells are drilled into

underground
reservoirs to tap steam
and very hot water that
drive turbines linked
to electricity
generators. There are
three types of
geothermal power plants:
dry steam, flash, and
binary. Dry steam, the
oldest geothermal
technology, takes steam
out of fractures in the
ground and uses it to
directly drive a turbine.
Flash plants pull deep,
high-pressure hot water
into cooler, low-
 pressure water. The steam that results from this process is used to drive the
turbine. In binary plants, the hot water is passed by a secondary fluid with a much
lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to turn to vapor,
which then drives a turbine.

Most geothermal power plants in future will be binary plants.

How much does constructing a Geothermal power plant

approximately cost?
Constructing Geothermal plants require a lot of financing but maintenance of a Geothermal
Power Plant has comparatively very low costs. The initial costs of geothermal energy are
high -- wells can cost $1 to $4 million each to drill, and installation of a home geothermal
pump system can run as much as $30,000 [sources: REPP, Consumer Energy Center].
However, a home geothermal energy pump can cut energy bills by 30 to 40 percent and will
pay for itself within 5 to 10 years.

How does a Geothermal power plant look like ?

What are the advantages and disadvantages of Geothermal Energy?

ADVANTAGES:
 Geothermal Energy is highly sustainable as it is a renewable form of energy. In simpler
words, it is inexhaustible unlike other resources such as coal, petroleum and oil.

 It is very environment friendly. An average geothermal power plant releases the equivalent of
122 kg CO2 for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity it generates – one-eighth of the
CO2 emissions associated with typical coal power plants.
  It is a stable resource. Compared to power systems such as Solar and Wind, Geothermal
power plants consistently provide us energy. It can provide base load or peak power.

 The maintenance costs are very low. After installation, no mining or transportation activity is
necessary.

 Small land footprint compared to any major power source.

 Significant Savings for Home Owners – There has been a tremendous increase in the number
of homeowners who want to utilize geothermal energy for heating and cooling purposes. The
result is that less energy is used for heating homes and offices which results in significant
savings for home owners. After the initial expense, a 30-60% savings on heating and 25-50%
savings on cooling can cover that cost within few years.

DISADVANTAGES:
 Surface Instability: Construction of geothermal power plants can affect the stability of land.

 Location Specific – Good geothermal reservoirs cannot be found very easily. Iceland and
Philippines meet nearly one-third of their electricity demand with geothermal energy.

 A Geothermal Power Plant has to be handled with great care. You have to be incredibly
careful when you are trying to check everything that is related to geothermal energy. Mind
must be taken to watch the heat and not to abuse it, because if the heat is not taken care of
properly, it can cause a meltdown or other issues where the energy is not properly distributed
or used.

What locations are ideal for Geothermal plants?

 Generally, locations near to places with volcanic activity, places with geysers, hot water
springs and the like are potential geothermal sites. Areas subject to tectonic plate movements
and frequent earthquakes are also potential areas.

 Underground rocks with a high thermal gradient, permeability of these rocks to allow the
flow of fluids, and perpetual supply of fluids are the main requirements of a geothermal
source.

 However, it is not necessary that these have to lead to a viable thermal reservoir. There could
be blind geothermal resources as well with no indications at the top surface.

Ring of Fire – correlation with Geothermal power plants

The ring of fire is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and
volcanic belts and/or plate movements. This ring accounts for 452 volcanoes (active and dormant),
stretching from the southern tip of South America, up along the coast of North America, across the
Bering Strait, down through Japan, and into New Zealand – with several active and dormant
volcanoes in Antarctica closing the ring.
We know that Geothermal plants are preferably constructed in places near volcanic activity and
hence the Ring of Fire (which consist of several volcanoes) can be and is a potential area for
Geothermal Power Plants.

How is Geothermal Energy being used nowadays?

 Water heated using geothermal energy can be used for many applications that require
heat. Its current uses include heating buildings (either individually or whole towns),
raising plants in greenhouses, drying crops, heating water at fish farms, and several
industrial processes, such as pasteurizing milk. Geothermal energy is also used to heat
sidewalks and roads in order to prevent freezing in the winter. Most importantly,
Geothermal Energy is now being used to produce electricity. It’s been estimated that the
economic benefit of geothermal energy to the U.S. is about $280 million per year.


 What is the potential future role of Geothermal Energy?

 Geothermal power is considered as the third or fourth most important source of
renewable energy, behind solar, wind, and hydro. Currently, it accounts for just a small
portion of the world's power capacity but analysts expect geothermal plants to begin
proliferating around the globe at a rapid clip.

 The reason that geothermal is expected to play an important role in the future is that
we're getting better and better at doing this: we're now drilling geothermal wells with
increasing efficiency, allowing more energy to be captured in each plant.
Geothermal is also getting cheaper, as the technology improves.

 To conclude, geothermal energy has a lot of potential. In trying to predict what a clean
energy future looks like, some, like the cleantech wiz Saul Griffith, figure geothermal
will eventually account for around 1/6th of the world's power supply. Others, like the
IPCC, think it will clock in at 4%. Either way, it will be an integral part of the
renewable energy mix powering the world, as fossil fuels recede from view.

EVALUATION
After analyzing and looking at all the uses of Geothermal energy, we can clearly see that the
number of uses of Geothermal Energy outweigh the uses of other alternative sources of
energy. Furthermore, as previously discussed the positive factors or advantages of
Geothermal Energy also outweigh the advantage of other alternative sources of Energy such
as Coal, Fossil Fuels, Wind, Solar and Hydro. Another very important point to be noted is
that the number of countries that have adopted Geothermal Energy as an alternative source
of Energy are increasing every year. Hence, I believe that Geothermal energy is a suitable
alternative source of Energy.

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