15 thoughts on “Enhanced geothermal can be a major climate change solution”

  2. Geothermal energy comes from heat beneath the earth’s surface that we can tap into to generate electricity and to heat and cool our buildings. In a report released last year detailing the growth potential of geothermal energy, the Department of Energy called it “America’s untapped energy giant.”

    Unlike wind and the sun, subsurface heat is available 24/7, perpetually replenished by the radioactive decay of minerals deeper down. But compared to wind and solar farms, geothermal power plants are expensive to build. The cost can range from $2,000 to $5,000 per installed kilowatt, and even the least expensive geothermal plant in the U.S. costs more than double that of a utility-scale solar farm. Engineers have to drill thousands of feet into the ground to reach reservoirs of water and rock hotter than 300 degrees F in order for the plants to be economical. Plants generate electricity by pumping steam or hot water up from those reservoirs to spin a turbine which powers a generator.

    https://grist.org/energy/as-oil-crashes-americas-untapped-energy-giant-could-rise/

  12. New technology closer to reaching superhot geothermal energy sources

    Geothermal could become a terawatt source of energy with the power densities of fossil fuels if the ability to drill to 20 kilometers and 500 degrees celsius is developed.

    This, according to experts gathered in late July at the PIVOT2021 conference organized by the Geothermal Entrepreneurship Organization (GEO) at the University of Texas and which was focused on the challenges and opportunities of geothermal energy, and in particular of reaching the superhot rock deep beneath our feet.

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    Conventional geothermal plants reach temperatures of about 230 degrees celsius through holes about two kilometers deep. Superhot rock can be found close to the surface in a few areas like Iceland and near volcanoes, but for most of the world, it is between seven and 20 kilometers beneath the surface.

    According to the panellists at the conference, things get especially interesting over about 374 degrees celsius, where water pumped to rock becomes supercritical, in a steam-like phase. This supercritical water can carry some 5-10 times more energy than regular hot water, making it an extremely efficient energy source if it could be pumped above ground to turbines that could convert it into electricity.

    https://www.mining.com/new-technology-closer-to-reaching-superhot-geothermal-energy-sources/

  15. Yet even though America is the world leader in geothermal generation, it accounts for less than 1% of the country’s power production.

    To use geothermal energy anywhere, not just in places with natural reservoirs near the surface, companies need to drill deep and fracture hot rocks through which they can then pump water or chemicals. It is, in essence, fracking for heat. Unsurprisingly, the hottest rocks, at a depth of 3 to 10km, are also found in the West (see map). No such “enhanced geothermal system” (egs) commercial power plant yet exists in America. But the potential is immense. The Department of Energy (doe) hopes that by expanding egs, geothermal can provide 8.5% of America’s electricity generation by 2050. Researchers and startups are also experimenting with using egs to power carbon-capture systems, and to store excess energy underground, like a giant battery.

    There are two main obstacles. One is cost. Exploring and drilling wells miles into the Earth is capital-intensive. And venture-capital firms tend to be squeamish about the technology risk. Cindy Taff, a former Shell executive who runs Sage Geosystems, a geothermal startup, says combination can kill firms. “I guess we’re in the valley of death,” she adds.

    …

    The technology and skills needed to drill for heat, such as horizontal drilling, have been honed during the shale boom. Some startups are even experimenting with converting existing or abandoned oil and gas wells into geothermal ones. The Congressional Research Service suggests that the skills of three-quarters of the oil-and-gas workforce are relevant to geothermal. But President Joe Biden’s focus on creating new clean-energy jobs does not quite match the reality on the ground. Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, who is bullish on geothermal, says he is more concerned with his state’s labour shortage than a potential jobs shortfall.

    https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/03/14/in-america-climate-hawks-and-big-oil-alike-cheer-geothermal-energy

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