Geothermal Energy

Content
Introduction
Geothermal Reservoirs
Extraction & Uses of Geothermal Energy
Electricity Generation
Advantages and Disadvantages
Geothermal Energy in World
Geothermal Energy in India
Conclusion
 Introduction
What is Geothermal Energy ?
The word Geothermal comes
from the Greek word geo
(Earth) and therme (heat)

 Geothermal energy is the heat

from the earth.

It’s source lies 6,500km beneath

the Earth’s surface, Core
containing hot magma.
Surrounding the core is the mantle, and outer layer is the
crust.

The crust is not a solid shell but is broken into pieces

called plates, Magma comes close to Earth’s surface near
the edges of these plates.

Rocks and water beneath the surface around these region

absorbs heat of this magma.

 We can dig wells and can use this heat for various
purposes.
History Ancient people used it for
heating and bathing
through hot springs.
Using geothermal energy
to produce electricity is a
new industry
 A group of Italians first
used it in 1904. The
Italians used the natural
steam erupting from the
Earth to power a turbine
generator.
Geothermal Reservoirs
Reservoirs can be suspected in the areas where we find :-

o Geyser
o Boiling mud pot
o Volcano
o Hot springs
• But we cannot see most of the resources as they are
deep underground.

• Exploration is done by digging well and testing temp

deep underground.

• Most active resources are found along edges of

tectonic plates.

• An area called Ring of fire has most of geothermal

activities, this area borders the Pacific Ocean.
Extraction & uses
The heat energy can be brought to earth surface by
following ways..
o Directly from hot springs/ geysers
o Geothermal heat pump

Uses are broadly classified as:-

o Direct use
o Indirect use
Direct use of Geothermal Energy
Hot springs, used as spas.

Heating water at fish farms.

Provide heat for buildings.

Raising plants in greenhouses, drying crops.

Provides heat to industrial processes.

Indirect use of Geothermal Energy
Electricity Generation:
Electricity Generation
There are 3 types of power plants:-

 Dry steam power plant

 Flash steam power plant
 Binary cycle power plant
Dry Steam power plant
The oldest type of Geothermal power plant used.

Geothermal reservoir containing pure steam is

required.

Pure dry steam drives turbine.

Very rare type of geothermal power plant.

Operating at California, Italy, and Japan.

Flash steam power plant
Commonly used geothermal power plant.

Geothermal reservoirs containing both hot water &

steam is required.

Pressure changing system is required.

Operating at Hawaii, Nevada, Utah & some other

places
Binary cycle power plant
Does not use steam directly to spin turbines.

Only the heat of the underground water is used.

Vaporized hydrocarbons are used to spin the turbine.

Hydrocarbons having lower boiling point such as

 isopentane, isobutane and propane can be used.

No harmful gas is emitted to the atmosphere because the

underground water is never disclosed to outside.
This is the worldwide accepted power plant.
Advantages
Geothermal energy does not produce any pollution, and does not
contribute to the greenhouse effect.

The power stations are compact, so there is not much impact on the
environment.

No fuel is needed.

Once you’ve built a geothermal power station, the energy is almost

free.

It may need a little energy to run a pump, but this can be taken from
the energy being generated.
Cost
Direct use of geothermal energy is absolutely cheaper than
other energy sources.

Cost of electricity generation depends upon certain factors:

o Temperature and depth of resource

o Type of resource (steam, liquid, mix)
o Available volume of resource
o Size and technology of plant
Challenges
Since it does not use any fuel hence it’s cost is unaffected
by price fluctuations.

Primary prices are bit high but once the capital costs have
been recovered price of power can decrease.

Most of the cost is related to resource exploration and plant

construction.

Drilling Costs alone account for as much as one- third of

total plant cost because rocks in geothermal areas are
usually extremely hard and hot.
Geothermal power plants must be located near a reservoir
because it difficult to transport steam or hot water over
distances

Exploration stage can be extremely capital intensive and of

high-risk

Some areas of land may have the sufficient hot rocks to

supply hot water to a power station, but many of these areas
are located in harsh areas of the world (near the poles), or
high up in mountains

Harmful gases can escape from deep within the earth

Geothermal Energy in the world
10,715 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power in 24 countries is
online.

The United States led the world in geothermal electricity

production with 3,086 MW of installed capacity from 77 power
plants.

 The Philippines is second highest producer of geothermal power

in the world, with 1,904 MW of capacity online; geothermal power
makes up approximately 18% of the country’s electricity generation

• There is expected rise to 18,500 MW by 2020 as large no of

projects are under construction.
Geothermal Energy in India
Geothermal provinces are estimated to produce 10,600 MW
of power (experts are confident only to the extent of 100 MW)

Geothermal provinces in India: the Himalayas, Sohana, West

coast, Cambay, Son-Narmada-Tapi , Godavari, and Mahanadi

Reykjavík Geothermal will assist Thermax to set up a pilot

project in Puga Valley, Ladakh (Jammu & Kashmir)

First operational commercial geothermal power plant is likely

to come up in AP with a capacity of 25 MW  by Geosyndicate
Pvt Ltd.
Geothermal Energy in India
Impact on Environment
Geothermal energy does little damage to the environment, with very
less CO2 emission.

Transportation of fuel is not required as they are located on top of

there fuel.

Geothermal has minimal land requirements. Geothermal plants use 404

square meters per GWh versus 3,622 and 1,335 square kilometres for
coal facilities and wind farms respectively.

They use 20 litres of freshwater per MWh versus over 1000 litres per
MWh for nuclear, coal power plants.

It is one of the most eco-friendly technology.

Conclusion
Geothermal heating system can replace fossil fuel heating
system in a particular area.
Annual costs for common heating purposes can be reduced
by more than 60%.
Continued energy shortages have created added interest in
geothermal energy for power generation.
Potential exists to provide all energy requirements in the
U.S
Geothermal energy appears to be a partial solution to our
energy needs.