Ancient Times-Hot Springs, Geysers and even Volcanoes have been used for energy for thousands of years
Used for cooking, bathing, heating ect*
1830- In Hot Springs, Arkansas, Asa Thompson charges three dollars for use of hot springs bath, the first commercial use of geothermal energy
1864- Hot Lake Hotel is opened, the first grand scale use of geothermal energy in heating
1904- Geothermal Energy was experimented and pioneered at Lardello thermal field in Italy
1913- 205 kilowatt generator is installed at the site*
1921- John Grant attempts to produce electricity using The Geyers in California
1940- The first use of geothermal heating for residential use begins in Reno
1960- The Geysers, the world’s most developed geothermal plant, begins generating
1970- The Steam Act is passed which regulates geothermal production and allows the federal government to use public lands for geothermal energy production*
1982- Crystallizer clarifying technology is developed and put in place at Salton Sea geothermal plant to control geothermal brine*
1998- Geothermal Energy represents .4% of world’s electricity generation
*Event Featured in Geothermal Through the Ages
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Basics
There are 2 Main types of Geothermal Energy
1. Conventional
Natural ancient heat from the earth's core comes from friction when continental plates slide over each other, from radioactive elements decomposing and from recent volcanism.
The groundwater then becomes heated by this heat, but does not turn into steam because of the immense pressure. This extremely hot water travels upwards until it becomes trapped by the earth's crust.
This hot water can be drilled for much like oil and natural gas is drilled for. Released from the pressure, the water becomes steam in a "flash" process and power a turbine in flash power plants.
A dry steam plant is very similar to the flash power plant except that the water underground i already in the form of steam.
In a binary power plant, the hot water heats another liquid which powers the turbine.
This turbine is connected to a generator, which then is wired to take the electricity to your home.
The leftover water can be re-piped down into the underground reservoirs, where it can be sustainably reused again and again.
2. Hot Dry Rock
Geothermal energy is limited to where geothermal reservoirs are, however, scientists are looking into a way to produce geothermal energy using hot dry rock.
They drill into hot dry rock and then use hydraulic pressure to fracture it, creating a reservoir similar to ones found underground at conventional geothermal plants.
Similarly, the water is then heated by the rock, becomes steam and spins a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity.
Currently, technology is not advanced enough to be produced commercially at a reasonable price, but keep checking our blog for the latest news.
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