Geothermal Energy Sources & Companies
Iceland's financial collapse last year devastated the country, and its two main resources - fish and alternative energy, may no longer lift the small nation from its financial doldrums. The fishing stocks are depleting rapidly and the numerous hydroelectric dams powering the nation have become politically unpopular due to their expansive land use and near ubiquity. What Iceland does have are volcanoes – excellent geothermal energy sources. One needs only to see the vapors of sulfurous steam that hiss from the pumice rock. Those vapors mean only one thing in a volcanic country like Iceland: geothermal energy resources, and lots of them. Companies such as Geysir Green Energy planned to use these geothermal energy sources to catapult Iceland to the forefront of the global alternative energy boom. Geysir and the Global Geothermal Energy Team of Glitnir Bank financed geothermal energy operations as far as China and the United States only to see those investments throttled by the banking sector's collapse.
With the geothermal energy companies on the skids, and no foreign investments with the start up capital to prospect for new geothermal energy resources, the sizable civil engineering community, largely employed by the firm Mannvit Engineering, was also affected. Mannvit responded by aggressively expanding its consulting operations internationally, using the expertise of its civil engineers and their extensive experience in alternative and geothermal energy resources to be competitive on the global market. In fact, a master's program in alternative geothermal energy, a joint effort between Iceland and other European countries, will educate the next generation of qualified engineers to develop these renewable geothermal energy resources. Nonetheless, policymakers in Iceland remain pessimistic that foreign capital to invest geothermal energy will arrive anytime soon in the current economic climate, and that it will be some time before the tiny nation can once again profit from the volcanic power rumbling underneath.
Geothermal Energy Resources Summary
Today in a situation of energy crisis most countries are looking for alternative resources of geothermal energy. It is because sooner or later the non renewable sources would be depleted thus resulting in acute energy crisis. To avert this situation people from all nations are coming together to find geothermal energy resources.
Geothermal Energy – A Renewable Source of Energy
Humans are all active consumers of energy, be it in the form of geothermal, petrol, biodiesel, water, sun, wind etc. Some of these components can never die while some will become extinct over a period of time. The resources which will not finish or get depleted are called renewable sources of energy like geothermal, solar energy, wind energy, etc.
What Are Geothermal Energy Resources?
Many people are unaware that the earth on which we are standing is the biggest geothermal energy resource. The earth’s core has an unbearable temperature which has to be released by it in some way. As a result this heat is released by the earth in the form of geothermal energy resources. The hot water and steam can be used in a number of ways as a form of energy. Thus, the form of geothermal energy is renewable as the heat from the earth can’t get depleted and the water keeps on replenishing it.
History of Geothermal Energy Resources
Using geothermal energy resources are not a new concept as people have been using hot springs to bathe since times immemorial. Many people still believe that bathing in natural hot springs has disease curing properties.
How Geothermal Energy Resources Are Used:
Geothermal energy resources are drilled in the earth to enable the steam produced by magma and radioactive decay to come out. This steam is then purified and used to drive turbines.
Areas where geothermal energy resources are being used:
Geothermal energy resources are now being widely used in areas like heating of buildings, greenhouses, aquaculture and holiday resorts. In fact usage of this energy just lags behind hydroelectricity and biomass.
Drawbacks of geothermal energy:
Just like every thing has two faces in the same way geothermal energy also faces some criticism. The main points are as follows:
1) Many people believe that geothermal is a constant source of energy.
2) Many do not view geothermal as an energy resource for a huge environment.
3) Many people have expressed their concerns regarding heavy usage of magma.
4) The costs of using geothermal energy resources are also very high which may prove to be a deterrent.
5) Not all geographical locations can have access to this geothermal energy resource.
Thus one can conclude that one should switch to geothermal energy immediately because sooner or later all the non renewable resources of energy will get depleted. So it is better to switch to alternatives like solar energy, wind energy, biomass, geothermal energy and hydropwer energy instead of petrol, diesel, coal etc.
Geothermal energy
The term geothermal has its origin from ‘geo’ which means earth and ‘therme’ which means heat. These words are of Greek origin. Therefore geothermal energy means the heat which comes from inside the earth. To generate electricity or heat building we can use the hot water and the seam produced inside the earth. This source of energy is a renewable source of energy as the water is refilled by the rain and the temperature is incessantly produced within the earth.
Generation of geothermal energy
This energy is generated inside the earth’s core which is 4,000 miles underneath the surface of the earth. The sluggish decompositions of radioactive particles results in hotter temperature as compare to the surface of sun. This process also happens in rocks. Earth has different layers. These layers are:
• The Core of the earth has two layers which are:
• Solid iron core
• The outer core which is very hot. It is made up of melted rocks, these rocks are called magma.
• Mantle: it is the layer which environs the core. This layer is 1,800 miles thick. It is build out of rock and magma.
• Crust: this is the outermost coat of the earth. The ocean floors, the land and the continents form this layer of the earth. It is 3 to 5 miles thick beneath the sea and fifteen to thirty-five miles wide on the continents.
The crust of the earth is broken into small pieces which are known as plates. Near the boundaries of these plates magma comes closer to the surface of the earth. This is the place of occurrence of the volcanoes. The lava which results due to the eruption of volcanoes is partly magma. As one goes deeper under the ground of the earth the temperature of the water and the rocks gets hotter and hotter.
People around the globe make use of geothermal energy in order to generate electricity by excavating deep wells, for heating their homes and to pump the heated underground steam or water to the surface.
Where can one find geothermal energy?
Most of the reservoirs of the geothermal energy are in deep underground. Geothermal energy can be found in several other places also like:
• In fumaroles and volcanoes.
• In hot springs.
• In geysers.
The most vigorous geothermal resources are generally found alongside the major plate edges where volcanoes and earthquakes are concentrated. The Ring of Fire is an area where most of the geothermal activities of the world take place. This area frames the Pacific Ocean. The land water found ensnared in porous rock or stream running alongside the faults and the cracked rock surfaces are heated by the close contact of magma with them. These naturally occurring regions of hydrothermal resources are known as geothermal reservoirs.
Use of geothermal energy
There are 3 main uses of this energy. These are:
• Electricity generation.
• District heating and direct use systems.
• Heat pumps.
There are various geothermal plants which have been set in various places for the easy availability of the geothermal energy.
|
