Geothermal energy is the heat that lies within the earth. This heat energy is obtained from hot rocks present inside the earth. The world ‘geothermal’ comes from the Greek works ‘geo’ refers to earth and ‘thermal’ refers to heat. This renewable energy source keeps produces heat inside the earth which makes it exhaustible to the mankind. Almost 4,000 miles beneath the earth’s surface, this phenomenon known as geothermal energy gets generated deep inside the earth’s core. The outer core is made up of very hot magma or melted rock surrounding a solid iron center which is the inner core. Slow decay of radioactive particles continuously produces very high temperatures inside the earth; this process is natural in all rocks. Surrounding the outer core is the mantle, about 1,800 miles thick; it is made of magma and rock. The outermost layer of the earth is the crust. It forms the continents and ocean flows running to 3 to 5 miles thick under the oceans and 15 to 30 miles thick.
The earth crust is broken into several pieces called plates. Magma comes close to the earth’s surface near the edges of these plates. The lava that drops from the volcano is partly magma. Deep underground, the rocks and water absorb the heat from this magma. The temperature of the underground rocks and water increases with increasing depth. People around the world use this underground energy to heat their homes and to produce electricity by digging deep wells and pumping the hot underground water or steam to the surface. Since ancient times, geothermal energy has been used for heating and bathing. Even today hot springs are used worldwide for bathing. Using geothermal energy to produce electricity is the relatively new industry which came into existence 1904. The I...
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...have to transport fuel like most power plants. Geothermal power plants have been built in deserts and in mountain and forests. Not all areas are suitable for production of electricity with the help of geothermal energy and it also depends on the structure of rocks. The generation of geothermal energy creates noise pollution and releases noxious smells. Even though operating costs are low, cost of setting up a geothermal plant is very high also it’s expensive to drill holes so deep in the earth.
In same places such as Iceland, hot water comes naturally to the surface as steam, which can drive turbines to generate electricity, Some power stations make use of lava that flows from the volcanos. Despite of few disadvantages, it is an undeniable fact that geothermal energy is an extremely valuable, simple and clean source of energy that can benefit mankind in a big way.
The magma lives in the Earth’s crust. Magma is made from rock and gases. When two tectonic plates collide they push magma to the Earth’s surface and as a result a volcanic eruption is caused.
Hawaii’s geography is optimal to make use of biofuel, solar, and geothermal resources (Brown et al. 2008, 27). The focus of this paper will concentrate on three alternative energy solutions: 1. Biofuels, 2. Solar Power, and 3. Geothermal. Biofuels will be broken down into biomass, ethanol and biodiesel. Solar energy will be divided into solar power plants, residential solar and passive solar systems. Geothermal energy is constituted of geothermal power plants, geothermal water heating and heat pumps.
...Kroeker designed the first commercial geothermal heat pump to heat the Commonwealth Building in Portland, Oregon and demonstrated it in 1946. In 1960, Pacific Gas and Electric began operation of the first successful geothermal electric power plant in the United States at The Geysers in California. The original turbine lasted for more than 30 years and produced 11 MW net power. The binary cycle power plant was first demonstrated in 1967 in the U.S.S.R. and later introduced to the U.S. in 1981. This technology allows the generation of electricity from much lower temperature resources than previously. (Wikipedia, 2011)
In order to full under stand geothermal heating and cooling you first need to understand what geothermal energy is. Geothermal energy is a form of energy conversion that is provided by nature and that can be used by humans to cook, bath, heating and generate electric power. The energy is created by capturing and harnessing the heat energy. This heat is formed underground and is created by the radioactive decay of certain elements such as potassium, thorium, and uranium in Earth. One way to produce energy from geothermal heat is to use the heat to create steam to drive turbines that spin an electric generator, this method and others like it can create about 1,400,000 terawatt-years roughly three times the world’s annual consumption(Lund 2014).
In developed and developing countries, sustainable energy source is the most important subject. There are many different methods of energy production and consumption. Using the cheap, abundant and clean energy sources for generating the electricity is the basic idea of production. Electrical energy is generated from different kinds of power plants. These plants can be put into three groups; hydroelectric power plants, thermal power plants and nuclear power plants. Hydroelectric power plants are used the potential energy of water. Thermal power plants are used the non-renewable energy sources such as oil, coal and natural gas and the nuclear power plants are used the radioactive elements for generating electricity.
One form of alternative energy is called geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is thermal energy that is created and stored beneath earth’s crust. The most recognizable form of geothermal to most people would be in the form of a hot spring. Heat from Earth’s core heats rock and water differently; some spots can reach up to 700 degrees, whereas some receive not much heat at all. Steam from the water that receives the most heat is trapped in porous rocks underground. This is called a geothermal reservoir. Geothermal energy is very useful because it is renewable, and limitless. Heat continuously flows from the earth’s core, and continues to heat the water and produce steam. Geothermal is also useful because it is 80 percent cheaper than fossil fuels, and it requires no fuel. In fact, the use of geothermal energy decreases the independence on fossil fuels greatly. Geothermal energy does not produce pollution and could potentially save millions of dollars per year if used to replace fossil
Geothermal energy is renewable energy because once water or steam can be used, it could be pumped back into the floor. Additionally, it is clean energy. Geothermal power plants, unlike, don't produce greenhouse gases that can be harmful to the atmosphere. Geothermal energy is easy on the neighborhood environment since the power plants usually do not require the clearing of large areas of land, mining like other energy sources or damming of rivers. It is cheap to use. The source of energy is liberated to work with after a geothermal system is installed and there are often low maintenance costs involved because the plants use very few moving parts. It also reduces a country's dependence on imported oil, which cannot be
Most of the geothermal heat does not bubble out as magma, water of steam, but instead, it is stored in the mantle, collecting as pockets of heat. By drilling and pumping down water to create steam, this energy can be harnessed.
Geothermal energy is the thermal (heat) energy within the planet. Its is considered a renewable source of energy as it has always been around for for an abundant amount of years it will probably still be used in the next years because its source is the almost unlimited amount of heat generated by the Earth's core. Even in geothermal areas dependent on a reservoir of hot water, the volume taken out can be injected, making it a sustainable energy
Electricity is one of the biggest outputs of geothermal energy. It was first recorded to produce electricity in 1904 in Italy. There are now geothermal power plants in operation in New Zealand, Japan, Iceland, the US and elsewhere.
The heat produced during generation of electricity can be used for alternative uses by cogeneration power plants. Such systems along with solar thermal energy generation can be applications of thermoelectrics.
There is a call of action to solve today’s energy crisis. What we need urgently is a clean, abundant, and reliable source of energy. Geothermal energy may be the solution. Geothermal energy does not produce CO2 and is inexpensive compared to the unbelievably high gas prices. This type of energy is also renewable so it can continue to feed the growing population of the world. “New [geothermal] facilities can produce electricity for being between 4.5 and 7.3 cents per kilowatt-hour, making it competitive with new conventional fossil fuel-fired power plants.” (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2) This shows that if there is more research focused onto this topic, geothermal energy may become the solution to our energy crisis.
Geothermal energy has infinite potential. It is capable to provide energy for the entire World. This natural resource replenishes itself relatively quickly. This source also has the ability to reduce global warming. There will be no real effect on the source in which we get this energy if we all use it. Geothermal energy regenerates relatively instantly as the water in the reservoirs refills with rainwater and the heat is produced continuously by the Earth. The Earth could never run out of geothermal energy, no matter how many people use it or how much of it they use.
The cheapest way to generate electricity, today, is hydropower. The reason for that is, once a dam has been constructed and equipment installed, the source of the energy is free. It is a fuel source that is renewable because of things like snow and rainfall. Engineers may control the water flow on demand.