Looking ahead at the accelerating energy demands of the future, no single clean technology- not wind, not solar, not nuclear power – can meet the future energy needs of more than seven billion people living on our planet. Our growing energy demand requires a mosaic of energy sources which will draw from a variety of renewable resources.
Heat Up with 5 Advantages of Geothermal Energy
What is Geothermal energy? Geothermal refers to generated thermal energy stored in the Earth. This heat is continuously generated by natural geologic processes taking place below the surface.
1. Environmentally Friendly
This source of clean energy does not burn any fossil fuels to provide power. Sources that do burn fossil fuels release harmful emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, sulfur oxides, and other gasses into the atmosphere.
You may argue that geothermal energy still releases a number of greenhouse gases. But, it significantly reduces these emissions compared to other energy sources.
2. Renewable
We burn through the energy from coal, fuel, and natural gas at an alarming rate. These resources come in limited supply and can take lifetimes to build back up.
Renewable resources, however, naturally replenish in a fairly quick timeframe. The Earth’s core creates the heat for this resource, making it a reliable form of renewable energy.
Though, some people question, ‘Is geothermal energy renewable really?’ They fear that over time we may cool down the temperature of the Earth by tapping into this resource. However, this comes from pure speculation at this time.
3. Efficiency
A geothermal energy system works more efficiently than most other systems. The reason this type of energy system provides more efficiency is that it is readily available without prior steps.
People do complain that the trade-off for efficiency is installation cost. In order to tap into this efficient energy source, they need to drill and install a complex system.
4. Availability
One of the biggest advantages of geothermal energy is that you can literally tap into the source from essentially anywhere using environmental drilling. Though, you can access it easier in some places than you can in others.
Natural hot springs and volcanoes bring this energy straight to the surface, making it cheap and easy to use. This makes it a no brainer energy source for places like Iceland.
Many residential and commercial areas in the United States, however, do not provide this luxury. So, most often people need to drill far into the Earth to tap it.
Another criticism comes from the need for a considerable amount of land. Still, you can reach it from any surface area on the globe.
5. Low Maintenance
We use geothermal energy through complex heat pump systems. Though costly to install, these complex systems contain very little movable parts. This makes it last for 20 years or more!
Tacoma Pump & Drilling has been a proud participant in geothermal exploration drilling. We have been a part of the Newberry EGS Demonstration Project in Oregon. We have recently completed exploration drilling at Mt. Baker and St. Helens.