Why We Should Reconsider Geothermal Energy

Reader Contribution by Staff
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Ironically, our pursuit of fossil fuels has brought us closer and closer to a much larger, more sustainable source of energy. The interior of our planet is a giant nuclear power plant. The solid rock and soil on which we live our lives is essentially a thin skin of cool solids on top of a big ball of extremely hot rock. On the continents, the Earth’s solid “crust” is less than 20 miles deep.[1] At the bottom edge of the crust the temperature of the rock is at least 1,000 degrees, Fahrenheit.[2] Deeper, it just gets hotter. As we drill for oil and gas, we come closer and closer to an energy source that makes our tiny reservoir of fossil fuels seems pathetic in comparison.

Most of that heat is generated by the decay of radioactive elements[3], and they are scheduled to keep on generating heat for billions of years.

Twenty miles is not far to drive in a car, but it’s a long way to drill through solid rock. The crust of the Earth is not so thick everywhere, however. The floors of our deepest oceans may be only a couple of miles from the outer mantle of 1,000-degree rock. Oil and gas wells are often that deep. And in places between the tectonic plates the crust is much thinner, or even breached. Molten rock flows out on the surface from volcanoes. Scalding steam shoots from geysers where cool surface water makes contact with the planet’s hot interior.

The total heat stored in the Earth’s interior is hundreds of thousands of times greater than our most aggressive projections of our power needs. The energy under our feet dwarfs our wildest notions for power consumption. If we could efficiently harness geothermal energy to heat steam and drive turbines, every building, vehicle and machine on Earth could be powered by geothermally generated electricity forever.

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