Geothermal Energy: Sources, Availability, and Environmental Impact
Where Does Geothermal Energy Come From?
Geothermal reservoirs are naturally occurring areas of hydrothermal resources. They are deep underground and are largely undetectable above ground. Geothermal energy finds its way to the Earth’s surface in three ways:
- Volcanoes and fumaroles (holes where volcanic gases are released)
- Hot springs
- Geysers
Geothermal energy also comes from volcanically active places such as Iceland and New Zealand.
Most of the geothermal power plants in the United States are located in western states and Hawaii, where geothermal energy resources are close to the Earth’s surface.
Geothermal Energy Availability
Local Availability in the Basque Country
In the Basque Country, geothermal energy is used in some towns and cities such as: Sondika, Basauri, Tudela, and Legazpi.
Geothermal energy in the Basque Country can be used for heating or cooling. Geothermal air conditioning has many advantages, including its ability to both heat and cool, allowing for year-round use.
There are also more advantages such as: subsidies, ecological benefits, clean and inexhaustible resources, it favors energy independence, and it is the most efficient air conditioning: for every unit of energy it consumes, it generates five.
How Geothermal Energy Works
Hot rocks underground heat water to produce steam. We drill holes down to the hot region, steam comes up, is purified, and used to drive turbines, which drive electric generators.
There may be natural “groundwater” in the hot rocks anyway, or we may need to drill more holes and pump water down to them.
Environmental Impact of Geothermal Energy
The environmental impact of geothermal energy depends on how it is used or converted to useful energy. Direct use applications and geothermal heat pumps have almost no negative impact on the environment. Direct use applications and geothermal heat pumps can actually have a positive effect because they may reduce the use of other types of energy that may have greater negative impacts on the environment.
Costs Associated with Geothermal Energy
- According to studies, an economically competitive geothermal power plant can cost as low as $3400 per kilowatt installed. While the cost of a new geothermal power plant is higher than that of a comparable natural gas facility, in the long run, the two are similar over time. This is because natural gas construction costs account for only one-third of the total price of the facility, while the cost of the fuel at a natural gas facility represents two-thirds of the cost. The initial construction costs of a geothermal facility, in contrast, represent two-thirds or more of total costs. So although the initial investment is high for geothermal, natural gas and geothermal are still economically comparable over the long term.
- Geothermal energy generally involves low running costs since it saves 80% of costs over fossil fuels and no fuel is used to generate the power.