Abundant Power from Universal Geothermal EnergyAn MIT chemical engineer explains why new technologies could finally make "heat mining" practical nearly anywhere on earth.
The answer to the world's energy needs may have been under our feet all this time, according to Jefferson Tester, professor of chemical engineering at the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment. Tester says heat generated deep within the earth by the decay of naturally occurring isotopes has the potential to supply a tremendous amount of power -- thousands of times more than we now consume each year.
So far, we've been able to harvest only a tiny fraction of geothermal energy resources, taking advantage of places where local geology brings hot water and steam near the surface, such as in Iceland or California, where such phenomena have long been used to produce electricity. But new oil-field stimulation technology, developed for extracting oil from sources such as shale, makes it possible to harvest much more of this energy by allowing engineers to create artificial geothermal reservoirs many kilometers underground. Tester calls it "universal geothermal" energy because the reservoirs could be located wherever they're needed, such as near power-hungry cities worldwide. Technology Review spoke with Tester about the potential of universal geothermal energy and what it will take to make it a reality. Technology Review: How much geothermal energy could be harvested? Jefferson Tester: The figure for the whole world is on the order of 100 million exojoules or quads [a quad is one quadrillion BTUs]. This is the part that would be useable. We now use worldwide just over 400 exojoules per year. So you do the math, and you know you've got a very big source of energy. How much of that massive resource base could we usefully extract? Imagine that only a fraction of a percent comes out. It's still big. A tenth of a percent is 100,000 quads. You have access to a tremendous amount of stored energy. And assessment studies have shown that this is thousands of times in excess of the amount of energy we consume per-year in the country. The trick is to get it out of the ground economically and efficiently and to do it in an environmentally sustainable manner. That's what a lot of the field efforts have focused on. TR: We do use some geothermal today, don't we? JT: In some cases nature has provided a means for extracting stored thermal energy. We have many good examples. The Geysers field in California is the largest geothermal field in the world -- it's been in production for over 40 years and produces high-quality steam that can readily be converted into electric power, and it's one of the rarities nature-wise in terms of what we have worldwide. In the mineral vernacular they would be regarded as sort of high-grade gold mines.
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Using CO2 to Extract Geothermal Energy
11/16/2009
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Comments
The project is wel advanced at the main site is at Soultz-sous-Forets in France. Progress can be reviewed at the following web address:
European Deep Geothermal Energy Program http://www.soultz.net/version-en.htm
I'd be interested to know where this effort fits into Jefferson Tester's idea of universal geothermal energy. Any comments?
Regards
08/01/2006
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08/04/2006
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Other resources:
http://www.llnl.gov/str/October02/October50th.html
http://www.osti.gov/opennet/reports/plowshar.pdf
08/01/2006
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08/01/2006
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the way and means to do new things and solve our problems- but we wont see anything happen unless there is profit to be made - UNLESS we have that
"major project" concept by the government - this is the worst side of our capitalist system - show them the money or nothing happens !!
I have been feeling for so long that we need a new 'energy-focused' party - who will make those big decisions that need to ne made - maybe they will be painful
but we can take it if we know it is
for the future !!
AL please run for president next time !!
vcragain
08/01/2006
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Engineers and researchers can conceive of many solutions, but they won't be implemented unless they are profitable, and they won't be profitable unless they are ... cost effective?
Damn that capitalist obsession with the efficient deployment of capital - what are they trying to do, raise everyones living standards?
And you wonder why Al couldn't win his own state, never mind an election as the incumbant-heir-apparent to a moderately popular president ...
That said, it was an interesting article and geothermal seems to hold significant promise.
08/02/2006
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DennisP
12/05/2006
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Damn that capitalist obsession with the efficient deployment of capital - what are they trying to do, raise everyones living standards?''
Since when did capitalism become humanist? The only way capitalism inmproves peoples living conditions if it a) can make a buck off of doing it or b) the government makes them. Capitalism is anything but altruistic by nature, actually quite the opposite.
Very few energy industries would exist without government / taxpayer backing. Nice dreamy capitalistic idealism though.
Rex
01/23/2007
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The earth already radiates away more heat than it receives from the sun, because of the natural decay of radioactive elements. Taping into crust will cool some of the rocks surrounding it which might pose a problem in its self. The Long term and extensive geothermal use at most will only lower the amount of heat reaching the surface of the earth while heat is continually generated inside the earth from natural the decay of radioactive elements.
Don't worry the Earth's core wont go cold.
08/02/2006
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Further info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_Iceland
There are also active projects for new types of geothermal plants. Drilling closer to magma chambers than ever before: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4846574.stm
08/02/2006
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http://geoheat.oit.edu/
08/02/2006
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08/06/2006
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wearing effects of the environment.
08/09/2006
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Geothermal energy is available just six feet below the earth surface. At this depth, the temperature range between 50F to 60F during all four seasons of the year. Vertical ground loops and horizontal ground loops can make excellent heat source and heat sinks for air source heat pump--thus increasing the coefficient of performance by 40% to 60%. The idea here is to keep the good operating outdoor coils, but adapt a heat exchanger to the coils to take advantage ground loop heat sink and heat source However, research is needed to adapt the ground loops thermally to the existing air-source heat pumps. Often during the winter heating season, heat pumps struggle to gather heat from 20F outside air and deliver it to the interior of the house at 70F. During the summer heating season, the heat pumps struggle to maintain the interior at 75F by removing heat from the house to a 90F outside source.
Up to a 70% savings on heating,cooling, and hot water cost can be achieved, by using ground loops to extract (source) heat from the earth and to reject (sink) heat to the earth.
You can read more about the benefits and cost justification of Ground Source Heat pumps (GSHP) by visiting my website
http://sites.google.com/site/cdlovettdocuments/home/document-list-2/geothermal-summary
The following is short introduction to my paper.
Geothermal heating and cooling systems have substantially more benefits than other types of heating and cooling systems. It provides energy savings that range from 25 % up to 72 % compared with electric resistance heating. Energy savings compared to the conventional air-source heat pumps is about 50 %. Buildings use 76 % of the electricity generated in the U.S. and emits 48% of the greenhouse gases. Geothermal is a green energy technology because it uses less energy and reduces the power generating demand on utility companies. It is quieter, low maintenance and it has a longer service life. The economic justifications for initial installation cost range from compelling for a pay-back period of 9 years, under the assumption of a 30 % federal energy tax credit to a questionable 16 year pay-back time, assuming no tax credits and no escalation of energy cost. The benefits of geothermal systems can be more fully appreciated, if the operation of an air-source heat pump is compared with the operations of a geothermal heat pump.
cdenver
01/24/2010
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These advancements allow for higher energy output from geothermal wells than existing closed-loop systems and carry less risk and less costs than Hot-Dry-Rock technologies.
The "holy grail" of geothermal energy generation is baseload power generation at economically viable costs and in any location in the world.
I strongly believe we are very close to succeeding in this endeavor. I invite you to visit our website http://www.bassfeld.eu for a short overview of the technologies involved in a document entitled "Geothermal Power Generation". The website is presently geared more to electricity generation, but with 450 geothermal installed heat systems, some of which have been functioning since more than 22 years, we believe we can help promote alternative energy sources for heating as well.
08/02/2006
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Lynn M.
lmickle
01/01/2007
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drwoood
05/20/2007
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wmerck
11/29/2006
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DennisP
12/05/2006
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jhains2
09/05/2009
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BryanB
12/05/2006
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bringing steam to turbines. Lower pressure steam could be distributed to homes and buildings for direct heating. Would not there be a "cycle" whereby dead steam would be sent back down to be re-heated? Are there maps, from geological surveys, that can provide a three-dimensional picture to get an idea of relative depths for efficient drilling to sources across the nation?
I lived in a community that smoothed its power demands to the utility by pumping water uphill to a resevoir at night and letting it run back downhill through turbines during the day. Energy storage needs to be looked at more thoroughly with different paradigms as to scale, as most utilities are designed for "economies of scale" but seldom contain the full life-cycle costs
versus more medium and smaller scale plants more directly sited to economic activity and human settlement. Fewer long distance transmission lines and rish of broad outages taking down a net.
hosro59@comc...
01/24/2007
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C. Alexander...
08/06/2007
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C. Alexander...
08/06/2007
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Now, if drilled 3.000 - 5.000 metres below, you´ll get water move up as hot steam and if you drop a cold water on this hot steam, you can creat lightnings when particles are hitting in the middle of drilled well.
Water cycle in the well evermore and produce all energy people will need.
Cost of drilling will be under 20 million dollars in depth of 5.000 meters and concidering the plant costs, efficient of energy will be better than using nu-clear power. Plus without waste and carbon dioxide offcourse.
Turja
11/30/2008
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