GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Kalani Fetrow Andrew Barron Peter Wood

HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL WORK? [1/2]

Geothermal energy is the heat from the earth. It can be created from the shallow surface of the ground with hot rocks or water, and sometimes all the way down to the magma in the earth. The technology works by creating a geothermal heat pump system, which consists of three different parts: heat pump an air delivery system a heat exchanger

HOW DOES GEOTHERMAL WORK? [2/2]

In the winter the heat is pumped from the ground into the buildings to make it warm and toasty, and in the summer the process is reversed by moving heat from the inside into the heat reverser in the heat pump system. In order to use this system, wells are drilled into underground reservoirs that can help create electricity Some geothermal plants also use steam to power their machines. There are three types of geothermal power plants:

dry steam flash steam and binary cycle

HOW COULD GEOTHERMAL BE USED? [1/3]

Geothermal energy has endless possibilities, because of the

nature of the earth.

It is a never-ending power source and could potentially be used

for a new type of electricity and power; one free of CO2 emissions, and one that will reduce pollution greatly.
It could also potentially be used to heat and cool all homes and

businesses, greatly reducing monetary impacts.

HOW COULD GEOTHERMAL BE USED? [2/3]

Geothermal Heat Pump under the ground, water/soil remain

slightly warm year round technology can be utilized to have fluid circulate through a series of pipes under the ground while a heat exchanger pulls the heat from the pipes and converts it into warm air used to heat buildings
Directly water from hot springs/geothermal reservoirs are

pumped directly to a heat exchanger and dispersed as warm air

HOW COULD GEOTHERMAL BE USED? [3/3]

Geothermal Power Plant hot water and steam can be piped

through wells and used to generate electricity --- three kinds

Dry Steam Plants hot steam is piped from resevoirs into generates and

spins turbines which create electricity

Flash Steam Plants water is brought up from a well and turns to steam

which drives the turbines

Binary Cycle Plants hot water is passed through a heat exchanger where it

is transferred to a liquid that turns to steam and powers turbines

EXAMPLES OF CURRENT USE

Geothermal energy is used mostly to heat and cool home. But

there are many other applications that it is being used for currently. Some greenhouses are using Geothermal energys hot water to heat the areas. It is also used occasionally for crop drying. Another use of geothermal energy is to produce ethanol and bio-fuels.

APPARENT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Subsidence extracting geothermal fluids can reduce the

pressure in underground reservoirs and cause the land to sink creating unsafe conditions
Polluting Waterways geothermal fluids contain elevated levels of

arsenic, mercury, lithium and boron waste gets released into rivers and damage aquatic life/water quality

HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS

Depletion of Resources the process of extracting energy from

fluids removes heat from natural reservoirs at a rapid rate

Geothermal fluids contain gases that are released into the

atmosphere (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S).

TECHNOLOGICAL ACCEPTANCE
Acceptance of geothermal has been extremely slow due to the

lack of private investment --- there has not been a means of making it cost competitive with other forms of energy

COST OF TECHNOLOGY
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
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

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/geothermal-

energy
http://www.essortment.com/geothermal-energy-used-for-

25254.html
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2010/09/g

eothermal-energy-is-the-solution-for-the-future
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/future_geothermal.html http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-

choices/renewable-energy/how-geothermal-energy-works.html
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/g

eothermal-industry-continues-to-struggle-for-acceptance