Uses of Geothermal Power – Heating beats Electricity Generations

What is Geothermal Power

Heat from the earth used as an energy source is known as geothermal power. The word geothermal comes from the Greek words geo (earth) and therme (heat). Geothermal energy is generated in the Earth’s core. Temperatures hotter than the sun’s surface are continuously produced inside the Earth by the slow decay of radioactive particles

Geothermal Energy is regarded as a poor cousin to its more glamorous cousins Wind and Solar. However Geothermal Energy possesses one attribute that the others do not.  Its 24 hour generation capability is a massive plus compared to the intermittent nature of Wind and Solar Energy. However the long project development time and large capital investments have deterred fast growth in geothermal energy in the world. However some countries like Iceland, Indonesia, Philippines and USA have a strong geothermal energy industry. These countries not only generate electricity but also use geothermal power for HVAC purposes on a massive scale.

How do we use Geothermal Power

Geothermal Power is mainly used for heating and cooling purposes in residences and commercial locations. Unlike other renewable energy sources like solar, wind, hydro energy where the main use is for generating electricity , geothermal power is used for heating . Electricity generation is the second most important use of geothermal power. Geothermal heat pumps are ubiquitous and are a common household product.

1) Heating and Cooling – The most common use of geothermal energy is to use geothermal heat pumps to provide heat and cooling to buildings. They make use of the fact that the constant year-round temperature of about 50°F that is just a few feet below the ground’s surface. Air or antifreeze liquid is pumped through pipes that are buried underground, and re-circulated into the building. More than 600,000 ground-source heat pumps supply climate control in U.S. homes and other buildings, with new installations occurring at a rate of about 60,000 per year.

2) Direct Use of Geothermal Power – There are many direct uses of hot water as an energy source since ancient times such as for bathing, cooking, and heating.

a) Bathing – Today, many hot springs are still used for bathing, and many people believe the hot, mineral-rich waters have natural healing powers.

b) Heating – Geothermal springs can also be used directly for heating purposes. Hot spring water is used to heat greenhouses, to dry out fish and de-ice roads, for improving oil recovery, and to heat fish farms and spas. In Iceland, virtually every building in the country is heated with hot spring water. In fact, Iceland gets more than 50 percent of its energy from geothermal sources.

c) Industry – Industrial applications of geothermal energy include food dehydration, gold mining, and milk pasteurizing.

3) Electricity – There is around 10 GW of geothermal electricity capacity installed around the world with potential for hundreds of gigawatts more. However long gestation times and drilling well misses make the process expensive .However once a geothermal site is developed, it is one of the cheapest and greenest sources of round the clock electricity. New techniques like EGS have enhanced the potential of geothermal electricity. The United States leads the world in electricity generation with geothermal power. In 2011, U.S. geothermal power plants produced about 17 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh).

 Advantages of Geothermal Energy

1) Environment Friendly, and Global Warming Mitigation Effects – Geothermal Energy does not lead to any major mining activity, does not lead to significant GHG emissions, does not lead to health hazards like thermal power

2) No Fuel Cost – Geothermal Energy do not require any fuel like most other sources of energy. This is a huge advantage over other fossil fuels whose costs are increasing at a drastic rate every year. Electricity prices are increasingly rapidly in most parts of the world much faster than general inflation. Price shocks due to high fuel costs are a big risk with fossil fuel energy these days

3) Predictable, 24/7 Power -Geothermal Energy is very predictable and producers power 24 hours a day,7 days as week.  Other forms of Renewable Energy like Solar and Wind Energy are intermittent in nature. The electricity supply is much more uniform and reliable.

4) High Load Factor – The Load Factor for Solar and Wind Energy ranges from 15-40% which is quite low compared to Fossil Fuel Energy. Geothermal Energy has a load factor of almost 80% which is equal to that of Thermal Power and comparable to Nuclear Power.

5) No Pollution and Deaths- Geothermal Energy does not lead to pollution disasters like the BP Oil Spill and Coal Deaths which are directly related to Dirty Energy Production.