For thousands of years hot water from naturally occurring sources has been used by mankind to cook food and for bathing. The therapeutic benefits of this naturally occurring source of energy are well known, but for most people geothermal power is an unknown quantity.
Geothermal power essentially taps into this latent surface heat and uses it to create steam to power turbines. Drilling holes is not always necessary as in some areas of the planet such as Iceland and New Zealand there is sufficient naturally escaping steam to power turbines after it is trapped and conveyed to a power plant.
In those cases where plants have to go deep below the surface, water has to be supplied to the base of wells drilled to depths of several hundred meters, and the resultant steam is filtered before entering turbines. In reality, the demands for water and the ugly piping over the surrounding land to the power plant make geothermal energy generation not such an attractive option for the environment.
No demand is placed on fossil fuels or their extraction. Maintenance is minimal and the plants are largely energy self sufficient as well. Most of the existing generation stations worldwide are small in comparison to coal and nuclear constructions.
The resulting network of piping becomes an eyesore and derelict plants even more so! For the individual there is little likelihood of planning permission being given to sink new wells, but with volcanic activity being haphazard new naturally occurring steam vents may occur in some regions that will need to be capped anyway. In some cities the water from the plants can be used to keep pathways and roads ice free in winter without concentrations of salt and other materials. Under floor heating in large arenas is also possible at a fraction of the cost and energy of other options as well as space heating in public buildings.
As other forms of power generation become even more expensive and the emissions from these increasingly recognized as a cause of global warming, geothermal energy may be worth even closer investigation. The heat below the earth's crust is largely untapped and plants that recycle water may solve one of the less attractive features of this energy. Technology may show one day that this may be a significant source of power for future generations of mankind!
Adminicus Green Energy Green Jobs Consortium – Promoting Geothermal Electric Power for Green Jobs. Adminicus is a non profit Democratic organization and is dedicated to the transformation of our economy and restoration of the environment through massive public and private investment in Green Energy research, development and implementation. For more info about binary geothermal power plant visit www.adminicus.com.
For more info, watch this:
Geothermal power essentially taps into this latent surface heat and uses it to create steam to power turbines. Drilling holes is not always necessary as in some areas of the planet such as Iceland and New Zealand there is sufficient naturally escaping steam to power turbines after it is trapped and conveyed to a power plant.
In those cases where plants have to go deep below the surface, water has to be supplied to the base of wells drilled to depths of several hundred meters, and the resultant steam is filtered before entering turbines. In reality, the demands for water and the ugly piping over the surrounding land to the power plant make geothermal energy generation not such an attractive option for the environment.
No demand is placed on fossil fuels or their extraction. Maintenance is minimal and the plants are largely energy self sufficient as well. Most of the existing generation stations worldwide are small in comparison to coal and nuclear constructions.
The resulting network of piping becomes an eyesore and derelict plants even more so! For the individual there is little likelihood of planning permission being given to sink new wells, but with volcanic activity being haphazard new naturally occurring steam vents may occur in some regions that will need to be capped anyway. In some cities the water from the plants can be used to keep pathways and roads ice free in winter without concentrations of salt and other materials. Under floor heating in large arenas is also possible at a fraction of the cost and energy of other options as well as space heating in public buildings.
As other forms of power generation become even more expensive and the emissions from these increasingly recognized as a cause of global warming, geothermal energy may be worth even closer investigation. The heat below the earth's crust is largely untapped and plants that recycle water may solve one of the less attractive features of this energy. Technology may show one day that this may be a significant source of power for future generations of mankind!
Adminicus Green Energy Green Jobs Consortium – Promoting Geothermal Electric Power for Green Jobs. Adminicus is a non profit Democratic organization and is dedicated to the transformation of our economy and restoration of the environment through massive public and private investment in Green Energy research, development and implementation. For more info about binary geothermal power plant visit www.adminicus.com.
For more info, watch this: