Fracking Could Help Geothermal Become a Power Player

Why isn’t there more use of geothermal energy for power plants?

Here’s another use for fracking: expanding access to hot rocks deep beneath Earth’s surface for energy production. In April Ormat Technologies hooked up the first such project—known in the lingo as an enhanced geothermal system, or EGS—to the nation’s electric grid near Reno, Nev.

“The big prize is EGS,” enthuses Douglas Hollett, director of the Geothermal Technologies Office at the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). “The key is learning how to do it in a reliable way, in a responsible way.”

By some estimates, the U.S. could tap as much as 2,000 times the nation’s current annual energy use of roughly 100 exajoules (an exajoule equals a quintillion, or 10¹⁸joules) via enhanced geothermal technologies. With respect to electricity, the DoE concludes at least 500 gigawatts of electric capacity could be harvested from such EGS systems. Even better, hot rocks underlie every part of the country and the rest of the world. Australia’s first enhanced geothermal system, spicily named Habanero, began producing power in May, and Europe has brought three such power plants online.

The idea is simple: pump water or other fluids down to the hot rocks beneath the surface. Heat from the rocks turns the water to steam. The steam rises and turns a turbine that spins a magnet to make electricity.

The technology is proved. For years people have turned naturally produced steam from hot springs and the like into electricity. A geothermal power plant in Larderello, Italy, has churned out electricity this way in Tuscany for more than a century, and big power plants can be built this way. The Geysers in California can produce 850 megawatts of electricity alone. But that’s because the geothermal resource is close to the surface and obvious, thanks to hot steam rising into the sky.

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Vermont gas utility looks to geothermal to cut carbon
on February 8, 2023 at 4:57 am
GEOTHERMAL: Viewing geothermal as part of its climate strategy, a Vermont gas utility identifies possible locations for its first networked geothermal project that would use underground pipes to ...
Geothermal Turbines Market Increasing Demand And Dynamic Growth With Forecast 2031
on February 8, 2023 at 1:28 am
Allied Analytics Rising demand for heating and cooling systems, such as district heating and ground source heat pumps drive the growth of ...
Government accelerating geothermal energy in France
on February 7, 2023 at 1:12 am
It provides, for households, aid of 5,000 euros for the installation of a geothermal heat pump from March 2023. To encourage the French to use geothermal energy, aid for any installation of a ...
UH Researcher Part of Seminal Cross-Collaborative Study About Geothermal Energy in Texas
on February 6, 2023 at 11:58 am
Researchers from five Texas universities, the University Land Office and the International Energy Agency jointly published a landmark study evaluating the potential of geothermal energy in Texas.
Europe plots to replace natural gas with geothermal energy
on February 6, 2023 at 9:22 am
A range of European governments have develops plans to harness geothermal energy — and end their reliance on Russian gas.
Canada's Geothermal Energy Industry Reaches Major Milestone
on February 6, 2023 at 5:00 am
DEEP Earth Energy Production Corp. ("DEEP" or "the Corporation") is pleased to announce that a strategy for the engineering, construction, ...
Geothermal energy heats up in india with Rs 820 crore’ investment proposed in UP
on February 3, 2023 at 9:31 am
Geothermal energy is heating up in India with a new player entering the game. Geothermal Core of Texas, USA has signed a letter of intent to invest a whopping Rs 820 crore in producing ...
Europe Looks To Geothermal Energy As Carbon-Free Gas Alternative
on February 3, 2023 at 2:55 am
Munich is pouring in one billion euros ($1.1 billion) through 2035 to develop the geothermal energy and make the city's heating carbon neutral.
Europe looks to geothermal energy as gas alternative
on February 3, 2023 at 1:37 am
The heating plant in Munich's southern Sendling neighborhood has been run for more than a century on gas, often imported from far away.
Geothermal energy may soon be viable in Texas – because of fracking
on February 2, 2023 at 1:07 pm
Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – has been a boon to the energy industry here in Texas, allowing energy producers to access oil and natural gas deep under the earth’s surface. It also comes with ...

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