1. Geothermal Energy

2. Introduction
Geothermal energy is defined as a clean and maintainable source of heat
and the resources has can range from 3 to 5 miles or less within the earth’s
layers. It is formed due to radioactive decay that is located about 4,000 to
5,000 miles deep at the earth’s core and in an area of extremely high
temperatures of molten rock called magma. In what is known as
the Paleolithic Era, which is a prehistoric period in history, this geothermal
energy was used as a means of taking a bath in a shallow reservoir and it
was later used to heat the living spaces of the ancient Romans. In today’s
society the type of energy is better known to be part of the
“Electricity Generation” which is the procedure of producing electricity from
other forms of energy.

3. California’s Geothermal Energy
A geothermal field in California that is known as “The Geysers” has the
largest collection of power plants in the world. The company of Pacific Gas
and Electric used this dry steam field as an effective way to produce power
since the early 1960s. It produces on average 15 billion kilowatt hours of
power per year, which is equivalent to using 25 million barrels of oil or even
6 million tons of coal per year. Today that are 18 power plants in this area
which are located just north of San Francisco that are on line and they
provide enough energy to supply the needs of San Francisco as well as the
city of Oakland.

4. Iceland’s Geothermal Energy
The country of Iceland is another region that also uses an abundance of
geothermal energy in similar manners as the United States. Originally
the reservoirs were used for multiple purposes ever since the first
settler name Ingólfur Arnarsson saw smoke rising from zones in
Reykjavík, Iceland. There are five major power plants that produce
about 30% of the country's electricity needs which equates to the
heating and hot water necessities for 87% of the nation's homes.
People of this area also use the energy for the heating of their own
swimming pools and as well as greenhouses.

5. Benefits
• Geothermal energy consists of low running costs because it saves a high
percentage in costs over fossil fuels and there is no fuel used to produce the
power.
• It reduces the dependence on fossil fuels with many countries pushing companies
to accept these clean sources of energy because the burning of fossil fuels
discharges greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming.
• Geothermal systems does not generate any type of pollution even though it
releases some gases from deep within the earth they are not very damaging to the
atmosphere.
• Allows people to use this source of energy for taking bath, preparing food and for
direct heating of homes and offices, this in turns makes it cheaper and
inexpensive.
• With the Government of numerous countries are participating in the creation of
geothermal energy, this has created an large quantity of jobs for the local people.
• It functions on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis regardless of an changing
weather, which makes it very reliable.

6. Drawbacks
• Since it is not widely used the availability of equipment, staff, and training pose is limited
across the world which causes a serious problem when trying to implement geothermal
energy worldwide.
• The setting up of power plants and the process of getting steam from deep within the earth
requires a very large investment which creates a high installation cost.
• The sites that produce geothermal energy, based on the drop of temperature, over a period
of time can run out of steam. This can also be done if too much water is used in the process
of cooling the rocks.
• It can only be suitable for areas that have an availability of hot rocks located below the
earth’s surface and that can also produce steam over a extended period of time.
• At the point that the energy is removed, it can be only used in the surrounding areas and
cannot easily be transported to other regions.
• Even though it is unlikely these sites may contain some poisonous gases that can escape
through the holes that were drilled by the workers who construct the plants during any
attempt at transportation.

7. Conclusion
Approximately 1/2 of the world's geothermal created electricity is produced by the
power plants located in California which is enough energy to supply about two million
homes. This makes the pumps that are used in the homes very cost efficient and
studies have shown that approximately 70% of the energy used in any system is
renewable energy from the ground. Even though they might be a little costly at the
initial installation when compared to other heat pumps, in regards that the monthly
energy bills they have known to be lowered from anywhere between 30% to 40%.
Florida, which is the state in which I live, could definitely benefit from the use of
geothermal energy. There are no immediate plans to take any drastic measures to tap
into this process which in my opinion literally a shame is considering that it can
decrease our bills by 50%. Specialists have stated that geothermal energy can reduce
the country’s dependence on foreign oil which would eventually help with economic
debt. Just the fact that it is cleaner, more resourceful, and more profitable than
burning fossil fuels is enough to consider increasing its use. In comparison to other
sources of heat the ecological benefits of geothermal energy are clear because of the
fact that it releases no greenhouse gas and does not create any contaminants. And the
most important factor is that in contrast to fossil fuels, geothermal energy will always
be available for use, what other source can say that?

8. References
• http://www.energy.ca.gov/geothermal/
• http://www.iptv.org/exploremore/energy/viewpoints/viewpoin
ts.cfm
• http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/geothermal-
energy
• http://news.discovery.com/earth/geothermal-hot-times-for-an-
old-energy-source-111121.html
• http://www.rsd17.org/TeacherWebPage/HighSchool/HFerrer/T
he%20Energy%20Story%20-
%20Chapter%2010%20GEOTHERMAL%20ENERGY.htm
• http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/heating_cooling
/geothermal.html