Geothermal Energy: Using the Earth

Green energy electricity creation uses any raw, renewable resource the Earth offers naturally. These include wind, water, sun and even heat from inside the Earth itself. The energy of the heat from inside the Earth is called geothermal, coming from geo (Earth) and therme (heat). This energy is caused by the massive radioactive decay of particles deep inside the Earth's core. As these particles decay, they give off heat. As the core of the Earth is heated, the iron inside the core melts, turning into magma. The heat waves push the magma up through cracks in the core, towards the surface. As the liquid magma heats further, it steams, and the steam rises through these cracks towards the surface. Steam that breaks through the surface can power turbines to create electricity.

There are several ways to produce steam using geothermal energy. One way is to drill through to a reservoir that is trapped in the crust of the Earth, thus opening it up to the surface to allow the steam to pass completely through. Another way is to drill down deep to lower levels with higher temperatures and create a reservoir to hold water that is pumped in to produce the steam.

No matter how the reservoir was created or discovered, it can be used in two different ways. There is dry steam geothermal energy, and there is flash steam geothermal energy. Dry steam geothermal energy is converted into electricity when the steam out of the Earth's core turns the turbine directly. There is no loss of energy from this method, making it efficient. Flash steam geothermal energy is changed into electricity when water is pumped out of a reservoir that holds water at a temperature above boiling point. The pressure in the reservoir is high enough to hold this above-boiling water in a liquid state, but as the water is pumped out of the reservoir, the pressure drops along the way from underground to the surface, and this pressure drop allows the liquid to be converted into steam. This flash steaming process creates the steam that turns the turbines.

Most steam that occurs naturally and that is used in dry steam systems is not necessarily a renewable resource. There are times when the steam is produced in the crust of the Earth's surface and is used faster than it can naturally be replaced. This is why many geothermal sites require a ready availability of water supply nearby. If the water is not replaced and the underground water supply runs out, there will be no more ability to use these sites for geothermal energy harvesting. Another issue that must be addressed when readmitting water into the reservoir is the fact that unless the water is carefully managed, it may lower the temperature of the entire reservoir, making the location useless until the heat is regenerated from the core of the Earth. As long as water is replenished at the right speed, pressure and temperature, however, geothermal sites will always be a great answer to the green energy question.

Geothermal Articles

• Pros And Cons Of Geothermal Energy
• How Does Geothermal Energy Work?
• Going Green with Geothermal Energy
• Frequently Asked Questions about Geothermal Energy
• Different Uses of Geothermal Energy
• Understanding Geothermal Energy
• Geothermal Green Energy
• Geothermal Energy: Using the Earth
• Is Geothermal Heating and Cooling Right For Your Home?
• Geothermal Energy-Tapping the Power of Earth
• The Geysers Geothermal Energy Sustainability
• Geothermal System - Everyone should have one!
• Top Reasons to Install a Geothermal Energy System