Gillian R. Foulger, Ph.D. Full professor of Geophysics, University of
Durham:
Is There a Free Lunch Out There?
Geothermal Energy, its Potential and Challenges as a Renewable,
Alternative Energy Resource.
As doom and gloom predictions from scientists about global warming rise
to a crescendo, there is increasing public demand to know what can be
done.
Basically, there are two options consume less, and/or find renewable
alternative energy sources to burning hydrocarbons.
Geothermal energy is one possible alternative. How much of our energy
consumption does it currently satisfy? What is its realistic potential,
and what are the technical challenges to maximizing that potential?
How green is it really, and is it truly renewable? Does it offer a free
lunch, or are there environmental costs in utilizing it? Are your tax
dollars at work on these problems?
Gillian R. Foulger, U.K., and director of her own geothermal
consultancy company, presents some of the hottest geothermal issues,
including an overview of how this resource is utilized around the
world, what direction technology is moving, and what is going on in the
US. She has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey for over 20 years
on earthquake seismology, GPS
surveying and geothermal energy. Her first work in the field was in
Iceland, where she made some remarkable discoveries of geothermal
resources. Since then she has been a leading expert in the field.
Worldwide, one of the biggest users of geothermal resources is Iceland
where 40% of their energy is from this source. Worldwide, there are
about 9,000 Megawatts of electricity generated geothermally, with about
2,500 Megawatts of that being generated in the USA. 2,200 Megawatts
are generated in California, mostly from The Geysers, a geothermal area
near Santa Rosa that is as unique as Hawaii is unique as a volcanic
area. The resource is expected to last for several decades more, at
which time much of the fluid will have been mined out of the rocks.
Looking to the future, there are various possible ways to get
geothermal power out of the ground. One is to drill a deep well to mine
heat directly off the magma beneath volcanoes. Dr. Foulger "wouldn't
bet her pension on that one", but considers it an interesting idea in
the Chinese sense.
Another is to put a coil under the ground in the yard, far enough below
the surface that the temperature is fairly constant. With a heat
exchanger it is energy efficient to get heat during the winter and sink
heat in the summer. She said this kind of thing is becoming ever more
common in Europe.
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