Geothermal

Power plants
By- Shivank
 Geothermal energy is a type of renewable
energy that can be derived from the earth's
core. Geothermal energy is classified as

Geothermal
renewable due to the ongoing production of
heat deep inside the earth's core. Geothermal
energy is used to produce electricity, heat
energy buildings, and provide hot water to people.
 Overview
Pros Cons
More environmentally friendly Location specific

Renewable energy Risk of triggering earthquakes

Sustainable source of energy Expensive resource to tap into

No fuel is required Management is required

 Pros of geothermal power stations
Renewable Has potential Sustainable
Its source is the almost Has the potential to grow to geothermal energy is
unlimited amount of heat become the primary source considered one of the most
generated by the Earth's of power in the world efficient and sustainable
core. types of energy

Reliable
Geothermal power plants
produce electricity
consistently, running 24
hours per day / 7 days per
week, regardless of weather
conditions.
Disadvantages of geothermal power
stations
Earthquakes High costs
They pump water into the Geothermal power plants are
well at high pressure, very expensive
forcing open existing
fractures or creating new
ones.
Location
Geothermal power plants can
only be created in very specific
locations
 Geothermal power plant energy
conversions
1 2 3
Geothermal Thermal Kinetic
energy energy energy
4
Electrical
energy
 Types of geothermal power plants
Dry steam
Dry steam plants use
hydrothermal fluids that
are primarily steam. The
steam travels directly to a
turbine, which drives a
generator that produces
electricity.
Flash steam Binary cycle
Flash steam plants are the Binary cycle geothermal
most common type of power generation plants
geothermal power differ from Dry Steam and
generation plants in Flash Steam systems in
operation today. that the water or steam
from the geothermal
reservoir never comes in
contact with the
turbine/generator units.
 Main uses of geothermal energy

Direct use Power Ground

source
Uses of geothermal energy

Heating Cooling
Geothermal heat pumps use the constant
temperatures near the surface of the earth to
heat and cool buildings.
 How much energy is produced by
different renewable sources of energy
Geothermal 128-1,421 EJ per year

Hydropower 50-52 EJ per year

Biomass 50-500 EJ per year

Solar 1,575-49,837 EJ per year

Wind 85-580 EJ per year

 Example: Icelandic electricity
production
Hydro 73%

Geothermal 27%

https://www.government.is/topics/busi
ness-and-industry/energy/
 Geothermal electricity in the world

As you can see in the past 40 years the usage of

geothermal energy has increased drastically
Environmental impacts of geothermal
power plants
Geothermal energy's effects on the environment depend on how it is used or transformed into usable energy. Geothermal heat pumps
and direct use applications have essentially no adverse environmental effects. In reality, they can benefit the environment by limiting
the consumption of energy sources that might have adverse effects.

The alteration of land use brought on by exploration and plant building, noise and light pollution, the release of water and gases, the
creation of offensive odours, and soil subsidence are only a few of the environmental repercussions of geothermal development and
power generation. However, the majority of these consequences may be reduced with current technology, ensuring that the
environmental impact of geothermal uses is at most minor.

In order to produce energy, geothermal power plants do not burn fuel, although they may leak trace amounts of sulphur dioxide and
carbon dioxide. Compared to fossil fuel power plants of comparable scale, geothermal power plants release 97% fewer sulphur
compounds that contribute to acid rain and around 99% less carbon dioxide.
Economic impacts of geothermal power
plants
Benefits to employment and economic development go hand in hand.

When geothermal power plants are developed and constructed, expenses are incurred for equipment and services in addition to taxes
and royalties. These expenses encourage the creation of more indirect jobs, increased economic activity, and higher tax collections. In
the end, this lessens the burden on local taxpayers as a whole.

Although the construction of the infrastructure and facilities as well as the significant risk of proving the resources come at a high
initial investment cost in the geothermal power business, there are many employment possibilities available.
Analysis of graph 1

The bar graph shows the reliability of renewable energy sources.

The most reliable is geothermal because the earth had retained huge amounts of heat energy that was generated during
formation of the plant. Next is solar PV, reliable since it depends on the sun's lights which most definitely is always
usable, but the reason that it is not as reliable as geothermal is because at night there is no sun light and even when
there is bad weather. The wind power plant uses wind as its fuel to run which can never run out, and it does not occupy a
lot of land but it has downsides, many flying wildlife like birds and bats die due to turbines, it is supported by wind which
is unpredictable and only ceretan amount of places are suitable for it. Biomass power station is organic which means it
uses material that comes from living organisms. The cons of this are it emits harmful gasses to the environments
Analysis of graph 2
This graph above talks about how efficient each of the power stations are.
The least efficient is geothermal and is the only one with efficiency below 20% due to the low pressure and relatively low
temperature of steam produced.
Nuclear power plants are the most efficient with more than 92% efficiency of the time during favourable conditions

The coal fired power station is one the most efficient power plants due to it being able to be stored on-site, providing
weeks or even months of fuel supply at power plants
Oil power plants are more efficient than coal power plants because they are energy-dense averaging twice the energy
content of coal.
The most efficient in the graph aree natural fired gas power plants this is because it is a gas-fired power station taking
much less time to start and stop then any other power plant.
Formula used to find electricity
generated
Geothermal power vs wind energy
Geothermal energy Wind energy

Not weather dependent and can run at all Only functions during windy conditions and
times of the day. its efficiency and rate of production depend
upon the weather conditions.

Cost effective to run and maintain Extremely cost effective to run and
maintain

Very high initial cost Relatively high Initial cost

Can be used for heating and cooling Always needs to be directly converted to
directly electricity
Bibliography
https://solarfunda.com/solar-vs-geothermal-energy/

https://www.osti.gov/etdeweb/servlets/purl/894040

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/geothermal/geothermal-energy-and-the-environment.php#:~:text=Geothermal%20power%20pl
ants%20do%20not,power%20plants%20of%20similar%20size
.

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/environmental-impacts-geothermal-energy

https://www.government.is/topics/business-and-industry/energy/

https://www.power-technology.com/analysis/what-is-geothermal-energy/

https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2014/04/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-geothermal-energy

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0375650513001120

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/geothermal-energy

https://www.irena.org/Energy-Transition/Technology/Geothermal-energy

https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/electricity-generation#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20geothermal%20power,or%20wate
r
)%20and%20its%20temperature.