Alternative energy sources must be extracted and exploited in order to curb greenhouse gas emissions. These processes of extraction and exploitation, however, must be subject to intense and constant innovation and technological progress to ensure maximum efficiency and efficacy.
For example, geothermal energy is an important resource in volcanically active places such as Iceland and New Zealand. Its importance is increasing in the United States, although it only makes up 3 percent of the nation’s alternative energy sources. The process is that vaporized water is emitted from the earth and cranks a turbine. Water is pumped down an “injection well”, filters through the cracks in the rocks in the hot region, and comes back up the “recovery well” under pressure. It “flashes” into steam when it reaches the surface.
However, Raser Technologies and the United Technologies Corporation revolutionized the technology behind geothermal power with its PureCycle225 power plant at Chena Hot Springs, built originally in 2003. The power plant’s modular design exponentially increases building times. Because of the use of a specific liquid known as R-134a, it can also use cooler water, which increases the number of potential sites and expands the geographic possibilities outside just countries like Iceland or New Zealand that have extremely active geothermal conditions.
