GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

By Sofia Culjak-Wade

HISTORY

• Hot mineral springs have been used for centuries by Romans, Chinese, Pioneer Americans, and many other groups and tribes. In these ancient times, they were used for cooking, bathing, and heating. The Romans probably used the springs to warm up after a long battle. Now it is used as a power source that can regenerate when it rains or obtains more water. People can collect the steam and use it as an energy source.

POWER GENERATION

• There are many different ways of generating geothermal power, but all include turning water into steam to turn a turbine by using heat from the earths core.

PROS

Takes advantage of large amounts of thermal energy stored in the earth It’s one of the most eco-friendly ways to produce energy Doesn’t burn fossil fuels Cheapest method of generating energy Geothermal energy is one of the most abundant energy resources

CONS

The energy created from geothermal plants can’t be transported The costs to build a generation/powersite can be very expensive To reach the geothermal energy, the crust of the earth must be drilled very deep Maintanence for these power plants requires lots of care and caution

EXAMPLES

• In BC Geothermal energy is still being introduced for powering our cities, but a large number of hot springs such as the one in by Harrison lake.

COST

• The cost kw/h can range from $0.03 all the way up to $0.035, the average cost is about $0.05, there can be a very large price increase during a time where there is a large demand, unlike oil, geothermal energy is not able to have a very wide range of price or go up very fast.

SOURCES

• • http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/faqs.html#geothermal_energy_c ost http://geothermalprosandcons.net/ : http://lsa.colorado.edu/essence/texts/geothermal.html