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Emily Swope
Dr. Semih Eser
EGEE 101H
3 April 2014
Geothermal Energy
Geothermal energy is a renewable energy resource that offers many benefits and a
lot of potential in terms of its use in the future. Coming from the heat of the Earth, this
energy source uses methods to get heat energy in ways that do not hurt the environment
as much as many other energy sources. Because heat from the Earth is something that
will not stop occurring for billions of years, it is a long-term form of energy that the
world can depend on. While it is used in various countries, geothermal energy has the
ability to expand even more. Any energy resource cannot exist without downsides, and
there are negatives to using geothermal energy. However, the potential for growth that it
has and the guarantee of availability make it a considerable option for obtaining energy.
Geothermal energy is an important resource today that holds more possibilities in how it
can influence the world.
Geothermal energy, while always using the heat from the Earth, can be formed
through various methods. The heat coming from the Earths core can be found just a few
feet into Earth, or thousands of feet into Earth. Sometimes this heat can be used directly,
and other times it can be tapped into. The total amount of heat found in Earth is the
extremely large amount of 12.6*10^24 MJ, decreasing at Earths crust with 5.4*10^21
MJ of heat (Dickson and Fanelli). Humans can only use this heat for geothermal energy
in areas where systems can be created to obtain this energy. That limits the amount of
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heat humans actually have access to and also the amount of geothermal technology that
can be used.
This energy resource has been useful for thousands of years. It was first
discovered at a time between the sixteenth and seventeenth century due to the expansion
of mining. That allowed for the discovery that the deeper into Earth one goes, the hotter it
gets (Dickson and Fanelli). It was still used in some countries before this, for example,
for bathing and heating purposes in ancient Roman times and in Pompeii to heat
buildings (Geothermal Basics). The first health spa was created in 1326 in Belgium
using geothermal energy from springs (Geothermal Basics). These are just some
examples of how geothermal energy was used in the past, but it has developed to become
an energy resource generated in more than twenty countries (Geothermal Energy).
Currently the United States uses the most geothermal energy, and the worlds largest
geothermal area is The Geysers that are north of San Francisco, California (Geothermal
Energy). In the United States geothermal power plants exist in several states including
Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming but most notably
Nevada and California (Geothermal Basics). While geothermal energy is used in all of
these places, it can expand even more and has a lot of potential especially with new
technology that is being created to capture it.
There are several ways to obtain geothermal energy. These systems can create
heat and electricity that can be used for several purposes. There are forms of direct heat
use in geothermal energy, which include heat pumps. Geothermal power plants also
exist, and include four different types. They are flash power plants, binary power plants,
dry steam power plants, and a combination of binary and flash power plants
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(Geothermal Basics). These all use and need steam to create geothermal energy. There
are also several newer methods that are in the process of being developed, especially
Enhanced Geothermal Systems. All of these systems are relatively inexpensive. For
example, direct use can save 80 percent more money than the use of fossil fuels
(Geothermal Energy). This is mostly due to the fact that these systems do not need to
use extra power to actually make heat. They instead are capturing and transporting it.
Another benefit from these processes compared to other energy resources is that it is
more environmentally friendly. Aside from using less power, the emissions geothermal
energy creates from geothermal fields are significantly less than power plants that use
gas. In fact, this energy resource produces only a sixth of the carbon dioxide that gas
fueled plants produce (Geothermal Energy).
There are several drawbacks in using geothermal energy. One negative effect on
the environment is the release of hydrogen sulfide (Geothermal Energy). This is mainly
the only effect on the environment, which is not a lot compared to other sources.
However, geothermal energy is much more complicated in how it can be transported.
That causes many issues. It is best used around the area that it is produced, and
transporting it is difficult and also expensive. Restrictions in transportation and the need
to build power plants close to the geothermal resource make it very challenging for this
energy source to become widespread. Another drawback is that while heat from the Earth
will be present for billions of years, this heat shifts spots and can become less intense,
making permanent energy systems at one location often short-lived. If there is not enough
steam at a location and this runs out, no energy can be produced. That cannot be ignored
in planning power plants especially, because so much money is invested in making them.
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All of these drawbacks need to be considered, but it also should be understood
that there are solutions in the making for them. Enhanced Geothermal Systems, for
example, is a new technique that allows for geothermal energy to be obtained even in
areas where there is not water available (Geothermal Basics). Developing this approach
would allow for the expansion of geothermal energy because areas that are dry would be
able to produce geothermal energy too. Certain polices have been put into place to help
with the expansion. For example, California has a grant fund called the Geothermal
Resources Development Account that encourages the development of geothermal energy
(Geothermal Basics). Congress also passed the Advanced Geothermal Energy Research
and Development Act of 2007 (Geothermal Basics). Since this energy resource does
have so many benefits, approaches like this should be focused on in order for geothermal
energy to meet its full potential. With all of the developments underway, that potential is
becoming reality.










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Works Cited
Dickson, Mary H., and Mario Fanelli. "What Is Geothermal Energy?" Geothermal
Energy. International Geothermal Association, Feb. 2004. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
"Geothermal Basics." Geothermal Energy Association. Geothermal Energy Association,
n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Geothermal Energy. National Geographic. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 28 Mar.
2014.