Geothermal Energy is the thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. The production of Geothermal Energy involves drilling wells into the Earth’s crust at approximately a depth of 3 ~ 10 km. Geothermal Energy comes from the sub-surface of the earth, contained in the rocks and fluids beneath the earth’s crust and can be found as far down to the earth’s hot molten rock, magma. Hot water and steam from deep underground can be used to generate electricity in a geothermal power plant. Electricity is generated when geothermal heat produces steam that spins turbines on a generator. It's clean and sustainable, but the possibility is limited to a few locations on Earth and many technical problems exist that limit its utility.
Geothermal Energy is a carbon-free, renewable, sustainable form of energy that provides a continuous, uninterrupted supply of heat that can be used to heat homes and office buildings and to generate electricity. Geothermal Energy only produces one-sixth of the CO2 produced by a natural gas plant and is not an intermittent source of energy like wind or solar. However, there are some drawbacks to the energy source. Despite low CO2 production geothermal has been associated with other emissions like sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.
Geothermal Energy could reach at least 35GW and as high as 2TW, but a high initial cost to build.
Related Definitions in the Project: The Geothermal Energy; Renewable Energy; Energy Definitions
Example Article of the Geothermal Energy:
Startups and Big Oil Use Fracking Tech To Unlock Geothermal Energy (Source: Oil Price on 4 March 2024): By Tsvetana Paraskova - Big Oil is using its deep pockets and expertise in well geology to back and partner with energy startups that are looking to unlock renewable energy from beneath the earth’s surface. Geothermal energy, which has been around for decades, has received new momentum with the net-zero targets of many economies, including the United States. Some of the biggest oil and gas firms, including Chevron, BP, and Devon Energy, are investing directly in geothermal projects and startups. And some of the newly created geothermal companies are using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to reach the heat beneath the surface, using the technology that ushered in the U.S. shale revolution. ...
Europe And The U.S. Gear Up For A Geothermal Boom (Source: Oil Price on 7 September 2023): By Alex Kimani - With the global transition to clean energy in full swing, traditional renewable energy sources such as solar and wind have, unsurprisingly, been hogging the limelight. Unfortunately, one powerful renewable energy source has been conspicuously missing in the conversation: Geothermal energy. Despite its many obvious benefits, geothermal energy--which taps the heat within the earth’s crust--is criminally underutilized in the United States. In 2019, the U.S. generated ~18,300 GWh from geothermal sources. While that appears impressive at first glance, here’s the kicker: that figure works out to just 0.4% of U.S. power generation. The figures are not much better for Europe, with just 1.5GW of the continent’s 209 GW electricity capacity being geothermal. Only about 800 geothermal wells are drilled globally each year compared to more than 100K oil wells. Geothermal energy has two primary applications: electricity generation and heating/cooling. ...
Is Geothermal Energy The Key To Decarbonization? (Source: Oil Price on 11 June 2023): By Felicity Bradstock - As governments and private firms worldwide invest heavily in research and development into alternative clean energy sources, geothermal energy is attracting greater attention. Although still highly underdeveloped, the potential for new geothermal operations is significant, with countries across Europe converting old fossil fuel projects into geothermal energy sites and using new operations to power industry. But other countries, such as Peru and Japan, are finding it hard to get political and public support for these types of projects. Geothermal energy can be produced by converting heat energy from under the Earth’s crust. This energy is accessed through the digging of one-mile wells to access underground reservoirs to use steam and hot water, which can turn turbines connected to electricity generators. There are three types of geothermal energy operations: dry steam, flash and binary. While the potential for geothermal energy is significant, it remains largely untapped in most areas of the world due to the technological limitations of the past. ...
Can Big Oil Scale Geothermal? (Source: Oil Price on 8 April 2023): By Tsvetana Paraskova - The oil and gas industry is exploring the potential of geothermal energy to provide more clean electricity and heating. While geothermal has the advantage of not being dependent on weather like other green energy sources, this form of energy has higher development costs and longer lead times than solar and wind power. Geothermal could, in theory, be a perfect fit for the oil and gas industry and drilling service providers—it involves subsurface resource mapping, exploration, and drilling. Several major firms and service providers have recently teamed up with start-ups and with technology and engineering firms to explore opportunities for geothermal development in the United States and elsewhere. But major hurdles remain. Expensive drilling and development, subsurface drilling risks, the availability of drilling services which often depends on the oil industry cycle, and weaker returns than in oil and gas have all played a role in holding back geothermal energy development despite the fact that there are many areas in the world with high potential. ...
Will Geothermal Energy Ever Become Scalable? (Source: Oil Price on 25 January 2023): By Haley Zaremba - Th most cutting-edge approach for saving the planet from climate disaster doesn’t sound like it’s ripped out of the pages of science fiction. In fact, it doesn’t even sound like it’s ripped from the headlines. Far from new but nonetheless noteworthy, the ancient energy technology of using heat from the Earth’s core is finally ready for its close-up. While geothermal energy is already used around the world in relatively small-scale operations, scientists are working on scaling what could potentially be a clean, abundant, and cost-effective form of energy production suitable for almost anywhere on the planet. Currently, the United States is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world. This says a lot more about how little geothermal energy is produced worldwide, considering that geothermal accounts for just .4 percent of the United States’ total electricity generation, and only 2 percent of renewables. Only seven states have geothermal energy plants, producing a total of about 16 billion kilowatthours (or 16,238,000 megawatthours) all together. This is, in large part, because until now geothermal energy production has only occurred where it is easy and obvious to build a plant, such as in places where there are naturally occurring geysers and hot springs. ...
Why Aren’t Investors Interested In Geothermal Energy? (Source: Oil Price on 10 March 2022): By Felicity Bradstock - The need to develop a variety of energy sources has never been so evident. As the global reliance on a few specific oil and gas sources becomes clear, it seems obvious that we should be investing in diversifying our energy mix. But while governments are looking to expand their solar and wind power, is enough being done to develop other options that could help boost the global energy supply? Geothermal energy is one such energy source that needs significantly more funding for it to be better understood and developed so it can become a commercial source of energy. While geothermal energy has been around for decades, a few small startups are finally drawing attention to the little-talked-about green energy source, largely thanks to new technologies making it a more viable source of power. Geothermal energy comes from the conversion of heat energy from under the earth’s crust. To access this energy, producers dig wells of around one mile deep to underground reservoirs to find steam and hot water that can power turbines connected to electricity generators. ...
Natural Gas Is The Secret To Scaling Geothermal Energy (Source: Oil Price on 9 June 2021): By Haley Zaremba – No matter where you are on Earth, you are situated right on top of a potential clean energy production hub. This is the argument at the heart of the push for expanding geothermal energy, a renewable and carbon neutral form of energy production that relies upon the heat naturally produced under the ground to create turbine-turning steam or to pump straight into residences as well as commercial buildings. Worldwide, the average “geothermal gradient” is about 30 degrees Celsius per kilometer (which translates to 86 degrees Fahrenheit for every 0.6 miles), meaning that for every kilometer deeper you drill into the Earth, the surroundings increase in temperature by about 30 degrees. A geothermal power plant will drill one or two miles deep under the surface of the Earth in order to extract steam or hot water, bringing it to the surface to turn it into energy. Most geothermal power plants position themselves where the Earth is hotter much closer to the surface, such as areas with hot springs, geysers, or volcanic activity. Volcanic Iceland, for example, gets an astonishing 66% of its energy from geothermal sources. Yes, having access to hot water and steam right under the Earth’s surface makes geothermal energy much more economically feasible and logistically practical. But what if that didn’t matter? What if geothermal energy were less limited to being within proximity of hot water and steam? What if heat was all it took, and a geothermal energy plant could be created absolutely anywhere on Earth?
War In Ukraine May Boost Renewables Investment (Source: Oil Price on 15 March 2022): By Tsvetana Paraskova - The Russian war in Ukraine exposed Europe’s high energy dependence on Russian oil and gas and made Western governments rethink their energy policy strategies. Some, like the United States and the United Kingdom, which can afford to go without Russian fossil fuels without a massive hit to their energy supply, industries, and economies have banned imports of Russian oil, or in the UK’s case, plan to phase out such purchases by the end of the year. Most others in Europe are not so lucky. Not only cannot they cut themselves off Russian energy supply in the short term, but they are feeling the pain of volatile skyrocketing oil and natural gas prices after Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of a difficult winter in which energy prices had already hit record highs. ...
