Global warming is a serious issue. It may seem distant, but it is happening right now. Should countries push further installments of geothermal plants? If so, there are many ways to make geothermal more widespread both globally and locally, 

The global temperature is rising each year. Two years ago, at the north pole, one of the coldest places on Earth, the WMO recognized a new “Arctic temperature record of 38⁰C”. A huge reason behind causing record temperatures is global warming from energy production and usage. According to BP stats review, 2021 full report on 2020, 83.1 percent of the energy came from non-renewable sources: 31.2% from oil, 27.2% from coal, 24.7% from Natural Gas. Merely 16.9% of energy sources are renewable. Of that, most are dominated by wind and solar energy, the two fastest ever-growing renewables. Significantly, renewables are coming into sight; however, the main problem with modern renewables such as solar, and wind energy is it disrupts local habitat by taking copious amounts of land, and more importantly, turbines and panels can be affected by the constant shifting of weather disrupting energy output. However, there is an energy that is not as popular, but it is unquestionably the most forthcoming that can solve most problems that modern renewables are facing. It is geothermal energy. 

  

What is Geothermal Energy? 

“Geothermal energy is the thermal energy in the Earth’s crust which originates from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials in currently uncertain” (Geothermal energy). The energy travels upward to the surface of the earth’s crust. Thus, enabling humans to harvest energy using geothermal power plants. Geothermal energy is abundant and “will last for 5 million years” (Allain). In contrast, oil will be expected to “last for 50 years” (When Will Fossil Fuel). Currently, less than 1 percent of energy production comes from geothermal energy because of its difficulty and requirements to access the source. On the report on geothermal energy production from Wikipedia, countries such as Iceland, Indonesia, the Philippines, and America (mainly California) are the leaders in geothermal energy production predominately because of their geographical location. All of them are located where two tectonic plates meet, where the crust is at its thinnest, and in the most active geothermal areas. “Iceland’s Geothermal Power Plant generates around 30% of the nation’s electricity usage, which supplies 9/10 of houses in Iceland” (Iceland Offers Case Study). Hence, proving geothermal energy can sustain a country. 

  

How do a Geothermal Plant Work and its Pros and Cons  

Building a geothermal plant requires precision. Firstly, “a drill must drill 1.6 – 3.2 km deep to reach a geothermal reservoir” (Geothermal Energy). Then, it’s needed to build a series of pipes around the plant.  Next, geothermal generators need to be built. Currently, there are three types of Dry steam powerplant, Flash steam powerplant, and Binary Cycle Power Plant.  

According to Real Engineering:

Dry steam powerplant:  

1. Take out steam from a geothermal reservoir and run it through a steam turbine  

1. The turbine generates electricity  

1. The steam loses energy and condenses and is pumped back underground to keep the cycle  

Flash steam powerplant  

1. Extract hot pressured water over 100 degrees  

1. Run through a Flash Tank then expands it quickly to power the boiling point to turn into steam to run the steam turbine  

Binary Cycle Power Plant  

1. Take out hot water from the geothermal reservoir  

1. Hot water runs through a heat exchanger  

1. The heat exchanger makes the hot water exchange heat with a closed-loop fluid at a low boiling point (pentane: 36 degrees) driving the turbine  

*All water gets pumped back underground after being used to keep the cycle  

According to Real Engineering, “The Flash steam plant is the most mainstream because it is easier to build compared to other power plants.” Although more plants are being built, the primary concern of geothermal power is not widespread because Dry steam and flash steam powerplants are required to have high geothermal active areas to have their optimal output. In recent decades, a new power plant has been growing in popularity. It is the Binary cycle power plant: Does not require high geothermal active areas; instead, it only requires medium to low geothermal areas to function because it takes out hot water and then runs through a closed-loop fluid system, which only has a boiling point of 36 degrees (pentane, it is a lot less compared to water’s boiling point of 100 degrees). Therefore, countries outside of geothermal hot zones can also access geothermal energy without further constraints.   

  

Why Geothermal Energy?  

Globally 

The world is scrambling for new renewable energy. Indeed, Geothermal, wind, and solar are all clean energy sources that have tremendous potential for electricity generation. According to Experts, “Geothermal energy is cleaner, more efficient, and more cost-effective than burning fossil fuels, and it can reduce our dependence on foreign oil” (Waston). Geothermal power is clean energy, but it outputs a minuscule amount of carbon dioxide compared to fossil fuels and releases little nitrous oxide or sulfur gases. According to International Oslo, “Reykjavik, Iceland, which heats 95 percent of its buildings using geothermal energy, is considered one of the cleanest cities in the world.”  

“Geothermal power plants use relatively small acreages, and don’t require storage, transportation” (Geothermal FAQs). Also, geothermal power is reliable as it is not affected by local weather. “It can run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year” (Waston). The con of geothermal energy is the initial cost is high. “A more realistic power plant that can produce up to 500 MWh would cost over $200 million to build” (How Much Does it Cost). On the report of the timeline of a geothermal power plant by Gudmundsson, it will take over “5 years to complete a geothermal power”.  “Large scale geothermal power plants that can produce several hundreds of megawatts of power can easily cost up to hundreds of millions to plan, develop, and construct” (How Much Does it Cost). On the other hand, the “geothermal investment will have profited after 4- 10 years” (Can Geothermal Power). Geothermal has a long payback time but only a fraction of a typical geothermal plant lifetime, which will last at least 50 years. It could possibly be longer because it has a “warranty of 50 years” (Power Generation). A potential problem though it is rare, drilling can lead to earthquakes. “In 2017, a geothermal drilling fractured the hot geology causing the heat to release a 5.4 magnitude earthquake” (Geothermal Energy). Silver lining, if the geothermal site is managed correctly, earthquakes can be prevented from happening. 

One of the fore-coming energy sources is Solar power, although it provides plenty of clean energy with inexpensive installments. “1 megawatt (MW) solar farm would cost between $890,000 and $1.01 million” (What Is Solar Farm). When compared to the geothermal powerplant, it is about $3-4 million less. However, it “causes habitat loss, alteration in land use… the manufacturing of solar panels can release toxic waste into the environment” (Stone). Not the mention, the future of solar energy is quite diminutive than Geothermal energy. According to a podcast from Joe Rogan with Elon Musk, he stated, “It is hard to increase efficiency because of the nature of silicon while increasing the price dramatically.” On the contrary, “to improve the efficiency of geothermal energy, it’ll require drilling deeper holes” (Robbins), because the deeper your drill gets the more heat energy it gets; therefore, enabling humans to obtain more energy. Unfortunately, scientists still require breakthrough drills to make deeper holes.  

Local  

In most parts of the world space heating still uses oil and natural gas. But installing geothermal systems for houses is gaining traction. The system can be used for electricity generation and heating cooling systems. “The geothermal system has a tube loop filled with liquid running 3m underground… The fluid absorbs the heat from the soil and a heat pump removes the heat from that fluid, concentrates it, and transfers it to the building using ductwork… In summer, the heated liquid transfers the heat from the house into the ground and returns it back up” (Ferell).  “A geothermal heat pump installment costs $10,000 to $30,000” (Ground Source Heat Pumps). The price ranges depending on which system to install, close loop, open loop, etc. “The payback in saving is usually 8 – 10 years, 20+ years life expectancy for the heat pump, and at least 50 years for the underground system. In the United States, the Federal Residential Renewable Tax credit offers 30% off the installed cost of the energy system” (Ferrell). Indeed, there is still a far way to go, but governments need to be willing to persuade and give more credit to the public to install geothermal systems across all houses in the nation.  

  

Conclusion  

Climate change is slowly devastating the world. Scientists are in search of a new renewable energy source that can act as a temporary transition to the ultimate future of energy. It is necessary to think about both the long run and the short run. There’re still many untapped sources that are in our grasp but not utilized. In the short run, it might give profit to certain capitalists. But, if all think of the long run, they will gain more profit also giving benefits to all people. Geothermal energy is in our grasp and most likely will act as a transition for the future decades; however, more changes and shifts in investment need to take place to slow the exploiting usage of Oil, Gas, Coal, and other unrenewable sources.  

  

Works Cited 

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Could Earth’s Heat Solve Our Energy Problems? Produced by Real Engineering. 

Gale in Contex. 

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Waston, Stephaine. “How Does Geothermal Compare to Other Energy Sources?” How Stuff Works, science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/geothermal-energy2.htm. Accessed 31 May 2022. 

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Yale Enviorment 360. e360.yale.edu/features/can-geothermal-power-play-a-key-role-in-the-energy-transition. Accessed 31 May 2022. 

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Stone, Maddie. “Solar Panels Are Starting to Die, Leaving behind Toxic Trash.” Wired, www.wired.com/story/solar-panels-are-starting-to-die-leaving-behind-toxic-trash/. Accessed 8 June 2022. 

“WMO Recognizes New Arctic Temperature Record of 38⁰C.” World Meteorological. Organization, public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/wmo-recognizes-new-arctic-temperature-record-of-38%E2%81%B0c. Accessed 8 June 2022. 

Gudmundsson, Yngvi. “Geothermal Project Timelines.” Theargeo. Accessed 8 June 2022. 

Ferrell, Matt, producer. Is Geothermal Heating and Cooling worth the Cost? HeatPumps Explained. Youtube. Accessed 8 June 2022. 

“What Is Solar Farm.” Solar Views, www.solarreviews.com/blog/  what-is-a-solar-farm-do-i-need-one#:~:text=How%20much%20does%20a%20solar,cost%20figures%20in%20Q4%202021. Accessed 9 June 2022.

“When Will Fossil Fuel Run Out?” MET, group.met.com/en/mind-the-fyouture/
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Allain, Rhett, editor. “How Long Could the World Run on Geothermal Power?” Wired, www.wired.com/story/how-long-will-earths-geothermal-energy-last/. Accessed 9 June 2022.