Top pros and cons of geothermal energy

Harnessing geothermal energy comes with some key advantages and disadvantages. Here are
a few to keep in mind:

Pros and cons of geothermal energy

Pros Of Geothermal Energy Cons Of Geothermal Energy

Reliable source of power Location dependent
Small land footprint High initial costs
Usable for large and small-scale installations Can lead to surface instability
The geothermal energy industry is expanding
Geothermal infrastructure has longevity
On the pros side, geothermal energy is a reliable source of power that has a small land
footprint compared to other renewable sources; it can be harnessed at both large and small
scales, the industry is expanding, and its infrastructure is long-lasting. On the cons side,
geothermal power plants can only be built in certain locations, they are often expensive to
build at first and can cause surface instability and earthquakes.

Below, we’ll explore these pros and cons in further detail.

Advantages of geothermal energy

Here are five important advantages of geothermal energy:

 Reliable source of power

 Small land footprint
 Usable for large and small-scale installations
 The geothermal energy industry is expanding
 Geothermal infrastructure has longevity

Geothermal energy is a very reliable source of power

One of the most significant advantages of geothermal energy is that geothermal power is a
very predictable and reliable source of energy, especially in comparison to other renewable
energy resources like wind energy and solar energy. While wind and solar are more
intermittent sources that require energy storage in order to be used most effectively at a large
scale, geothermal power plants have a generally consistent power output no matter the time of
day or season. This has many positive implications, notably that geothermal power is an
appropriate source for meeting baseload energy demand.

Geothermal power plants have a small land footprint

Another advantage of geothermal power plants over other large-scale wind power, solar
energy, or hydroelectric installations is the relatively low footprint of a geothermal plant. This
is because, unlike wind, solar, and hydropower, geothermal energy comes from within the
earth, and we don't need to build out collection setups over large swaths of land surface to
harness it. For reference, National Geographic estimates that a geothermal power plant
capable of producing one gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity would take up approximately
404 square miles of land surface, while a wind farm at the same energy output would need
about 1,335 square miles, and a solar farm would need about 2,340 square miles. That's 88
percent less space for a geothermal power plant compared to a solar farm, both sized at one
GWh.

There are large-scale and small-scale applications for geothermal power

Geothermal energy isn't just for large power plants; in fact, one of the most efficient ways to
use heat from the earth is to harness it with a geothermal heat pump for a residential or
commercial building. Unlike geothermal power plants, geothermal heat pumps take advantage
of low-temperature geothermal reservoirs, which are available just about everywhere.

The geothermal energy industry is expanding quickly

The geothermal energy industry is relatively young, expanding with new technologies,
research and development, and an influx of new projects. These enhancements to the industry
are making geothermal energy more accessible, efficient, and applicable to a wider variety of
use cases.

For example, a recent advancement in the geothermal energy extracting process, Enhanced
Geothermal Systems (EGS), has made it possible to access deeper hydrothermal reservoirs.
Hydrothermal reservoirs are where geothermal energy naturally occurs under the earth's
surface, and the deeper the reservoir, the less heat and steam actually make it to the surface.
EGSs create more open flow channels for steam to rise by fracturing rock with high-speed
water. Ultimately, this makes extracting geothermal energy from deeper reservoirs more
feasible.

Geothermal energy infrastructure has longevity

Geothermal heating and cooling systems have a very long lifespan in comparison to many
other green energy solutions. The US Department of Energy estimates a 20-year lifespan for
heat pumps and up to 50 years for the underground infrastructure.

Disadvantages of geothermal energy

Disadvantages of geothermal energy

Here are three important disadvantages of geothermal energy:

 Location dependent
 High initial costs
 Can lead to surface instability

Geothermal power plants can only be built at specific sites

Unfortunately, geothermal power plants can’t be built anywhere. Geothermal reservoirs above
100°C are usually necessary for most large geothermal plants, and these reservoirs are only
found in specific locations, usually near tectonic plate boundaries or hot spots. This is why the
vast majority of U.S. geothermal power plants are in California: the state lies close to an
active fault zone that is part of the largest “ring of fire” around the Pacific Ocean. Other parts
of the country have lower-temperature geothermal resources readily available. However,
power plants are often not feasible.

Geothermal facilities have high upfront construction costs

The cost of deploying geothermal power plants is heavily skewed towards early expenses, as
there are no fuel purchasing costs once the plant is up and running. According to Lazard’s
LCOE analysis, the upfront cost to build a geothermal energy plant is between $4,000 and
$6,000 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Utility-scale solar energy maxes out at $1,250/kWh, and
wind maxes out at $1,550/kWh, making geothermal electricity significantly more expensive
upfront than other common renewable options. Even compared to combined-cycle gas plants,
geothermal energy is four to six times as expensive initially.

The high upfront development costs associated with geothermal power plants are primarily a
function of the difficulty and expense of drilling deep into the earth to access geothermal
reservoirs.

Geothermal plants can cause earthquakes

Constructing a geothermal power plant involves drilling deep within the earth to release hot
steam and/or water trapped in rock formations. This process has been known to cause
instability underground, which can lead to earthquakes at the earth's surface. Additionally,
geothermal power plants can cause slow land subsidence over time as geothermal reservoirs
are depleted.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy – The Source of

Renewable Heat

List of Pros & Cons of Geothermal Energy Production

Geothermal energy is currently believed to be one of the most advantageous
sources of energy. Not only is it a renewable type of energy but is also present in
most areas, outperforming even some conventional sources in many aspects.

The UK is even considering a construction of the world’s longest power connector

between UK and Iceland, which would deliver more renewable energy to 1.6
million British homes that do not have geothermal heat pumps. Moreover, the
first commercial geothermal power plant is planned to be built in Cornwall, UK if
all the necessary funds are obtained.

That should come as no surprise since some countries profit from the presence of
geothermal energy on a large scale. The most known case is Iceland
whose electricity is 100% sustainable, making use of wind, hydro- and
mostly geothermal energy.

Nevertheless, you don’t need a backyard the size of a football field in order
to reduce your energy bills. In fact, more and more households all around the
globe are investing in ground source heat pumps and heating systems to cut their
costs.

What Are the Advantages of Geothermal Energy?

Geothermal energy has many advantages, especially when compared to
conventional sources of energy:

1. Geothermal Energy Sourcing Is Good for the Environment

First and foremost, geothermal energy is extracted from the earth without burning
fossil fuels, and geothermal fields produce practically no emissions. What’s more,
geothermal energy can be very beneficial, as you can achieve savings of up to
80% over conventional energy usage.

2. Geothermal Is a Reliable Source of Renewable Energy

Geothermal energy also has many advantages when compared to other renewable
sources like solar, wind or biomass. It is an exceptionally constant source of
energy, meaning that it is not dependent on neither wind nor sun, and available all
year long.

When looking at the availability factor, which shows how reliable and constant
specific energy sources are, geothermal is ranking on the top (see the figure
below), way above the other groups, which supports the argument of
its independence on inconstant external circumstances when delivering energy.

3. High Efficiency of Geothermal Systems

Geothermal heat pump systems use 25% to 50% less electricity than conventional
systems for heating or cooling, and with their flexible design they can be adjusted
to different situations, requiring less space for hardware as opposed to
conventional systems.

4. Little to No Geothermal System Maintenance

Due to the fact that geothermal systems only have few movable parts which are
sheltered inside a building, the life span of geothermal heat pump systems is
relatively high. Heat pump pipes even have warranties of between 25 and 50
years, while the pump can usually last for at least 20 years.
What are the Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy?
However, there are always two sides of the coin so let’s have a look at the cons of
geothermal energy:

1. Environmental Concerns about Greenhouse Emissions

Unfortunately, no matter its reputation of being an environmentally friendly

alternative energy source, geothermal energy also causes some minor concerns in
regards to the environment.

The extraction of geothermal energy from the grounds leads to a release of

greenhouse gases like hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia.
However, the amount of gas released is significantly lower than in the case
of fossil fuels.

2. Possibility of Depletion of Geothermal Sources

Furthermore, despite being considered a sustainable and renewable energy, the

chances are that specific locations might cool down after time, making it
impossible to harvest more geothermal energy in future.

The only non-depletable option is sourcing geothermal energy right from

magma but the technology for doing so is still in the process of development. This
option is worth the investment mainly thanks to the fact that magma will be
around for billions of years.

3. High Investment Costs for Geothermal System

Another disadvantage is the high initial cost for individual households. The need
for drilling and installing quite a complex system into one’s home makes the price
climb quite high. Nevertheless, the return on such investment is very promising,
being able to earn the investment back within 2 to 10 years.

4. Land Requirements for Geothermal System to Be Installed

In case of geothermal systems, having a piece of land next to the house is required
in order to be able to install one. That makes geothermal systems hard to be
implemented for homeowners in big cities, unless a vertical ground source heat
pump is used.
What Types of Geothermal Systems Are there?
There is a number of different geothermal systems available. Which system to
choose depends on a variety of factors such as soil conditions, climate, local
installation costs on site and available land. There are two basic ground loop
systems which further divide into several subgroups:

Closed Geothermal Loop System

 Horizontal
 Vertical
 Pond

Open Geothermal Loop System

 Pond
 Standing well

These systems differ mainly in the installation of the pipes, depending on the
structure and size of the land available.

How Much Does a Geothermal Energy System Cost?

After all this information on the pros and cons of geothermal energy, the core
question remains: how much do you actually have to invest in order to get your
own geothermal system up and running in your own home?

As we have determined in one of our previous posts ‘Ground source heat pump
prices,’ a geothermal ground source heat pump can cost from £13,000 to £20,000,
whereas an air source heat pump hovers around £7,000-£11,000.
See approximate informative numbers on geothermal installation for a 100m²
house:

100m² House
Average Lifetime 18-23 years
Payback Time 2-10 years
Average Installation Cost £15,000-£30,000
Energy Bill Reduction 40%-60%
Government Incentives Up to 30% of total cost

Even though geothermal systems are more costly compared to other heating or
cooling systems, they have much lower operating costs and deliver more energy
per unit.

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Governmental Geothermal Grants

Incentives from the UK government or the community typically hover around 30%
of the total price, making the implementation of geothermal systems highly
competitive to conventional systems. It is believed that costs for the
implementation are likely to be reduced further in the future.

The Domestic/Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a UK

governmental financial incentive promoting the use of renewable heat.
However, the amount of such aid depends on many factors, like the house size,
location, roof type, current heating system, etc., and can be calculated online.

How and Where to Install a Geothermal System?

As the shallow ground temperatures from which geothermal energy is taken are
relatively constant, geothermal heating systems can be used almost everywhere.
However, the characteristics of the land decide which systems might be more
favorable, and needs to be determined by your supplier and installer.

Aspects that influence the type of geothermal system to install:

Geology

Composition and properties of soil and rock can affect heat transfer rates and
therefore need to be taken into consideration for designing geothermal systems.
Hydrology

Ground and surface water influence the type of ground loop, as well as
groundwater can be used as a source for open-loop system, if the water quality is
sufficient.

Land Availability

The size and layout of the land, landscaping, location of sprinkler systems, etc.,
determine the design of the geothermal system as well.

If you are interested in implementing a geothermal system, we can provide you

with quotes and offers from up to four different suppliers of geothermal
systems that will match your requirements. The only thing you have to do is fill in
the form on top of the page, and you will be contacted with tailored offers. This
service is completely free and without any obligation!

The future of geothermal energy can pretty much be summed up with a single word: More.

Geothermal power is often considered the third or fourth most important source of renewable
energy, behind solar, wind, and hydro. Right now, it accounts for just a small portion of the
world's power capacity -- in 2010, it accounted for just around 10,709.7 MW of installed
capacity -- but analysts expect geothermal plants to begin proliferating around the globe at a
rapid clip.

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The technology is relatively simple; the basics have been understood for years. In fact, the
first commercial geothermal power plant was built in Larderello, Italy a full 100 years ago, in
1911. As you'll recall from elementary school science class, heat is continually being
generated by a layer of magma below the Earth's crust. That heat rises up to the surface; it's
hottest above active volcanic regions and the seismically active spots between tectonic plates.

Though there are different kinds of geothermal power plants, they all do the same basic thing:
they capture rising steam or hot water and use it to power an electric generator.

The reason that geothermal is expected to play an important role in the future is that we're
getting better and better at doing this: we're now drilling geothermal wells with increasing
efficiency, allowing more energy to be captured in each plant.

Engineers have also devised and improved 'binary cycle' plants that release no emissions
except water vapor. You see, traditional 'dry steam' geothermal plants emit greenhouse gases
-- sure, the emit only 1/8th that of coal plants, but they're emissions nonetheless. Dry steam
plants tap directly into the steam coming out of a hydrothermal convection zone, and some
inevitably escapes. Binary cycle plants create a closed loop system that runs hot water through
a heat exchanger that heats up another liquid, like isobutane, that boils at a lower temperature
than water. The hot water is then sent back underground, while the isobutane runs the
generator.

Geothermal is also getting cheaper, as the technology improves. According to the Union of
Concerned Scientists, since 1980, the cost of operating geothermal power plants has declined
by as much as 50%. In some markets, buying power from geothermal plants will soon be as
cheap as it is from its much dirtier fossil fuel counterparts.

But the biggest looming technology is called Enhanced Geothermal Systems. See, as of now,
only around 10% of the world's area is fit for geothermal power production. That's because
you need hydrothermal convection systems -- places where hot water or steam bubbles up to
the surface then sinks back down. If we're going to truly take advantage of the potential of
geothermal, we'll need to begin injecting water deeper down, in 'hot dry rock' areas.

Why would we want to bother with something like that? Well, as the USUCS notes, The
amount of heat within 10,000 meters (about 33,000 feet) of Earth's surface contains 50,000
times more energy than all the oil and natural gas resources in the world."

That's why.

There are a host of researchers diligently pursuing this technology -- the US Department of
Energy, Google, and, of course, vested interests in the geothermal industry. There are pitfalls,
to be sure -- there's concern that such drilling will cause seismic activity, just as fracking has
been shown to do (though no harmful chemicals need be blasted into our aquifers, thankfully).
But the extent to which its been shown to stir up trouble has been deemed rather minimal
indeed by scientists, and developing EGS could open up truly vast new stores of clean,
renewable energy.

Finally, there's been a lot of exciting talk about repurposing old, depleted gas and oil wells as
geothermal plants -- those wells could serve as relatively easy infrastructure to repurpose as
clean geothermal operations, as opposed to drilling brand new ones.

Clearly, geothermal holds some pretty serious potential. In trying to predict what a clean
energy future looks like, some, like the cleantech wiz Saul Griffith, figure geothermal will
eventually account for around 1/6th of the world's power supply. Others, like the IPCC, think
it will clock in at 4%. Either way, it will be an integral part of the renewable energy mix
powering the world, as fossil fuels recede from view

Ariver of hot water flows some 3,000 feet beneath Boise, Idaho. And since 1983 the
city has been using that water to directly heat homes, businesses, and institutions,
including the four floors of city hall — all told, about a third of the downtown. It’s the
largest geothermal heating system in the country.

Boise didn’t need to drill to access the resource. The 177-degree Fahrenheit water
rises to the surface in a geological fault in the foothills outside of town.

It’s a renewable energy dream. Heating the 6 million square feet in the geothermally
warmed buildings costs about $1,000 a month for the electricity to pump it. (The
total annual cost for depreciation, maintenance, personnel, and repair of the city’s
district heating system is about $750,000.)
“We’re heating 92 of the biggest buildings in the city of Boise,” said Jon Gunnarson,
the city’s geothermal coordinator. “The buildings strip heat, collect it, and run it to an
injection well. We use it once and reinject it and use it again.”

The Boise district system is how geothermal energy is most often thought of —
natural hot water is pumped into radiators or used to generate electricity. It is
considered a local phenomenon — few places are sitting on an underground river of
steaming hot water — and so geothermal has not been viewed as a major feature on
the alternative energy landscape.

Many experts see geothermal power as an

essential component of the world’s green-energy
future.
But a number of experts around the world say that notion is wrong. Thanks especially
to the deep-drilling techniques and knowledge about underground formations
developed by the oil and gas industry during the fracking boom, a type of geothermal
energy called deep geothermal can access hot temperatures in the earth’s mantle as
far down as two to three miles. At various depths up to this level, much of the planet
contains extremely hot water or there is hot rock into which water can be injected and
heated, a technology known as enhanced geothermal systems. In either case, the hot
water is pumped out and used to directly heat buildings or to generate electricity with
steam or hot water.

“Wherever we are on the surface of the planet, and certainly the continental U.S., if
we drill deep enough we can get to high enough temperatures that would work like
the Boise system,” said Jefferson Tester, a professor of sustainable energy systems at
Cornell University and a leading expert on geothermal energy. “It’s not a question of
whether it’s there — it is and it’s significant. It’s a question of getting it out of the
ground economically.”

Even though geothermal is barely on the alternative energy radar, the U.S. already
produces 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of geothermal electricity, enough to power more than 1
million homes. It’s the world’s leading producer — primarily in central California and
western Nevada. California has 43 operating geothermal generating plants, and is
about to build two more.
Sunset over a U.S. Department of Energy geothermal test site in Nevada. P H O T O CREDIT:
DICK BENOIT

With mandated renewable energy targets in many locales and the Net Zero campaign
— a commitment by many countries to decarbonize their economies by 2050 —
interest in geothermal energy is growing rapidly. Many experts see it as an essential
component of the world’s green-energy future because it could provide carbon-free
heat and around-the-clock baseload power to compensate for the intermittency of
wind and solar. Iceland, which sits on an active geological fault line, perfected the
technology with its ubiquitous geothermal district heating systems. And China is
embracing the move to geothermal power, currently developing more geothermal
district heating systems than any other nation.

“Geothermal electricity is always on ,” said Tester. “It can provide fully dispatchable
power or heat and is scalable in the same way other renewables are.”

In a recent report, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) predicted

the output of geothermal in Europe could increase eight-fold by 2050. And a 2019
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report — GeoVision: Harnessing the Heat
Beneath Our Feet — refers to the “enormous untapped potential for geothermal.” By
overcoming technical and financial barriers, the report says, generating electricity
through geothermal methods could increase 26-fold by 2050, providing 8.5 percent
of the United States’ electricity, as well as direct heat.
“GeoVision models indicate the opportunity for more than 17,500 direct-heating
installations as well as heating and cooling for the equivalent of more than 28 million
households using geothermal heat pumps by 2050,” wrote Susan Hamm, director of
DOE’s Geothermal Technologies office.

Accessing deep geothermal is expensive and risky. But with a global focus on
decarbonizing economies, many countries could offer risk-mitigation strategies and
financial incentives, including tax benefits, cost sharing, and technical research. The
U.S. Department of Energy, for example, has committed $150 million to the Frontier
Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) project in Utah as a study
and test site for enhanced geothermal.
 A type of deep geothermal “would be as pretty
damn close to the holy grail as you can get,” says
an advocate.

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How Biden can put the U.S. on a path to carbon-free electricity. Read more.
Experts expect geothermal will receive a boost from the incoming Biden
administration, which — in stark contrast to the Trump administration — has made a
major commitment to slashing the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions

Several types of geothermal are increasingly being deployed these days. One, which
has been around for decades, has nothing to do with hot water. It’s called “ground
source heat pump technology” (GSHP), and it capitalizes on the difference in air
temperature and ground temperature. In winter in cold climes, the ground, at 55
degrees F or so, is warmer than outdoor temperatures — and pipes with antifreeze
circulate through the ground and pump that warm fluid into a home. Supplemental
heat can bring up the temperature. In summer, the ground stays cooler and this same
system can provide air conditioning. Sweden is a world leader in this approach and a
fifth of the homes there use GSHP. A major hurdle for many homeowners, however,
is the cost, which can run into the tens of thousands of dollars per dwelling.

Another very different kind of geothermal is a deep closed loop. A system called the
Eavor Loop is operating in Alberta, Canada. It features a single hole drilled down
about 1.5 miles, then laterally for a similar length through extremely hot geological
formations, and then back up to the surface. The entire hole is lined with pipe and
then filled with fluid. It’s a kind of natural radiator. As the heat-transfer solution
travels through the length of pipe, it’s heated by the high ground temperatures and
then flows to the surface.
An illustration of how various geothermal technologies work. U . S . DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Because of the nature of thermodynamics — hot water is lighter than cold and rises —
this system doesn’t need a pump and continually runs on its own, a kind of perpetual-
motion energy producer. A test facility is operating in Alberta, according to Eavor, but
data has not been made publicly available. Another similar well is being drilled by
Eavor in Bavaria, Germany.

Michael Liebreich, chairman of the Eavor board and a leading industry analyst with
BloombergNEF — a clean energy research firm — told the online news
site Recharge that “it would be as pretty damn close to the holy grail as you can get…
if it can be done at an affordable price.”
Tester is intrigued by the claims made for the Eavor deep closed loop concept, but
said it’s difficult to assess how well the technology works because data on its
performance has not been made public. “I think it will work,” he said. “It’s a question
of how well.”

Tester is a strong believer in a technology called open-loop deep geothermal, also

known as heat mining. In an open loop system, the fluid is pumped under high
pressure down a lined drill hole to break up hot rock to increase its surface area —
essentially a type of fracking. Then water is injected in one well, naturally heated by
the geology, and pumped out a production well. The two wells are in the same
geological vicinity, but are not connected.
The Eavor Loop geothermal system does not need a pump to operate, with hot water naturally
rising to the surface and cold water naturally sinking. C O U R T E S Y O F E A V O R
Tester is helping plan and implement such a system for Cornell, with drilling
expected to commence this spring. Three or four well pairs will be drilled as deep as
three miles, and each well will cost $6 million or $7 million. With plumbing, controls,
and monitoring for seismicity, the entire system could eventually cost some $100
million, paid for by government and private sources, says Tester.

That is a high price tag, but Tester says that if the geology proves to be workable the
system will provide all the heat for the 30,000-person campus for many decades to
come. The ongoing costs of maintaining the system will be negligible, Tester says, and
if a federal price on carbon is ever adopted, the investment in expensive geothermal
would become more attractive.

While deep geothermal is in the early stages in the U.S., other countries have made
great strides and it is a proven technology. Iceland, a volcanic island, has a plethora of
hot water resources and has implemented deep geothermal along with plentiful near-
surface sources. More than 90 percent of the country’s citizens have homes heated by
direct heat from geothermal.

With technical expertise from Icelandic engineers, the Chinese have implemented
numerous geothermal systems, in part to eliminate the choking pollution from
burning coal. “In a decade, the Chinese have become the world’s largest deployer of
geothermal district heating,” said Tester. It is an important component in the nation’s
transition away from fossil fuels.

To grow as a solution, geothermal must

overcome significant financial and technical
barriers.
Beneath Paris, the Dogger Aquifer, first tapped for district heating in 1969, now
supplies hot water heat for 250,000 homes, and is expanding. The project drills down
to 1.2 miles to tap hot water, pumps it to the surface, distributes it around Paris, and
re-injects it into the aquifer.

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Aiming for climate targets, Germany taps its geothermal potential. Read more.
Germany, too, is going big on geothermal. Munich, for example, has a goal of
switching the city entirely to district heating. One large deep geothermal plant is
scheduled to go online in 2021 to provide hot water district heat to 80,000
households, adding to other plants across Germany that are tapping into geothermal
resources. Experts believe Germany can go from 1.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of heat
from geothermal today to 100 TWh by 2050.

With their deep-drilling expertise and knowledge about what lies at the bottom of
deep holes, oil and gas companies are exploring deep geothermal. Engineers in the
small town of Hinton, Alberta are studying the feasibility of converting some of its
existing 4,000 oil and gas drill holes into geothermal wells. The temperature at the
bottom of some of the holes reaches 140 degrees Celsius — 284 degrees F.

Why, if geothermal is so promising, has deep district geothermal lagged behind other
clean energy sources? The main reason is high upfront costs. “To grow as a national
solution, geothermal must overcome significant technical and non-technical barriers
in order to reduce cost and risk,” wrote the DOE’s Hamm in her introduction to the
GeoVision report. “The subsurface exploration required for geothermal energy is
foremost among these barriers, given the expense, complexity, and risk of such
activities.”

An injection well at the San Emidio geothermal plant in Nevada. D E N N I S SCHROEDER / NREL

Experts say that governments have to help finance geothermal projects and get
involved on the front end to mitigate risk. “Additional incentives have to be set in
place,” said Francisco La Camera, director general of the International Renewable
Energy Agency, told Thinkgeoenergy.com, an industry website. “It’s crucial that all
the risk and the cost of the first phase are taken into account by policy makers to
make geothermal more attractive.”
In the U.S., Tester envisions a gradual switch to district heating by first transforming
military bases, hospitals, schools, universities, and state and federal government
complexes with public and private funding.

One potential problem, though rare, is that deep drilling and fracking are known to
induce seismicity and cause earthquakes. The famous example is an enhanced
geothermal system drilled in Pohang, South Korea in 2017. Injecting fluid at high
pressure to fracture the hot geology to release heat caused a 5.4-magnitude
earthquake — the strongest in the area’s recent history — that injured 135 people and
caused nearly $300 million in damage.

“There certainly is seismicity with anything you do underground,” said Tester.

“Controlling that and monitoring that is usually what is done in any subsurface
injection. I don’t see it as the biggest challenge facing geothermal… The biggest
challenge is productivity. Insuring that these connected systems between injection
wells and production wells produce enough fluid to justify the economic investment
to drill to that sort of depth.”
Geothermal is destined to play a large role in the world’s clean energy future, many
experts believe, but it will need to be coupled with other technologies. “Wind, solar,
geothermal, and nuclear as well,” said Tester. “It’s an all-of-the-above strategy.”
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fracking underground deposits
fusion usable power (as heat or electricity)
gross domestic product (GDP) utilize the photoelectric effect to convert
harvested plant material sunlight into electricity
human-induced climate change widespread blackouts
incandescent bulbs wind turbines used to generate electricity