The Benefits of Geothermal Energy

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Although there are investment risks involved, the economical and environmental benefits of geothermal energy can have a promising impact on our future.
Although there are investment risks involved, the economical and environmental benefits of geothermal energy can have a promising impact on our future.
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“Traveling the Power Line” by Julianne Couch explores the world of electricity and the potential impacts that different renewable energy sources could have on our future.
“Traveling the Power Line” by Julianne Couch explores the world of electricity and the potential impacts that different renewable energy sources could have on our future.

In our power-hungry world, it is important to ask questions about alternative energy options. Traveling the Power Line (University of Nebraska Press, 2013) does just that. Independent journalist and essayist, Julianne Couch, wanted to know the real story about energy production in the United States. Approaching this subject as a consumer, Couch takes us along as she visits nine sites where electrical power is developed from different fuel sources. This excerpt, from chapter 6, “A Little Way into the Earth,” delves into the benefits of geothermal energy and how time limits on federal incentives threaten to undermine future industry growth.

You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Traveling the Power Line.

Developing Power

Alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic aren’t practical for homeowners in all areas of the country, including my part. Neither are geothermal heat pumps serving individual homeowners, such as my husband’s family uses. Of the 8 percent of electricity in the United States that comes from renewable resources, geothermal makes up only 5 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). As Brian Hayes writes in Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape: “Why bother burning coal to make steam when you can just drill a hole in the ground and let the steam come whistling out? The only trouble is it works only in a few places in the world.”

One problem is that not every location has relatively shallow geothermal resources near tectonic plates like the Roosevelt Hot Springs. Developing geothermal power is capital-intensive for reasons Rene Andrews noted. In addition, they are typically located in remote areas, as Blundell’s rural location illustrates. Developing power is one thing: getting it onto the power grid is another.

  • Published on Jan 27, 2014
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