Lesson 6.2 Flashcards
Geothermal energy comes from the word “geo” which means Earth and “thermal”
which means heat. When you put it together, geothermal literally means Earth’s
heat. The heat referred to is the extreme amount of heat at the Earth’s core. This
heat energy can be harnessed for human energy needs.
are those that are replenished naturally at
anthropogenic time scales and cannot be depleted. An example of a _ _ resources is geothermal energy.
Renewable energy sources
The use of geothermal energy came hand in hand with the discovery that the
temperature within the Earth increases with depth.
geothermal gradient
Many countries were attracted to the use of geothermal energy after the second
world war as the energy does not require transport and is available locally. The
most important geothermal areas are located near plate boundaries or places in
the Earth where two lithospheric plates meet. These areas, including the
Philippines, have normal or slightly above normal geothermal gradient.
3 main elements of geothermal energy
heat source
reservoir
geothermal fluid
is the source of heat which can be in the form of magmatic intrusion
which has temperatures greater than 600 degree Celsius and has reached relatively
shallow depths.
Heat source
refers to the layers of permeable rock capped by impermeable rock but is
connected to a surficial recharge area.
reservoir
is the source of
meteoric water or the water derived from precipitation
recharge area
usually occurs in the form of water or meteoric water which can
be liquid or steam depending on the temperature and pressure conditions
Geothermal fluid
Boreholes are drilled to obtain the hot water vapor from the reservoir. The steam is
used to drive turbines. The energy from these turning turbines is then converted to
electricity. Cooled fluids are injected back into the reservoir through another
borehole. In the year 2000, it was reported that the Philippines is the largest
consumer of electricity from geothermal resources. According to the International
Geothermal Association, Philippines ranks second to the United States in the
production of geothermal energy.
Due to privatization of energy sector in the Philippines, the geothermal energy
development has changed.
Due to privatization of energy sector in the Philippines, the geothermal energy
development has changed.
do not require use of fuels to generate power thus present significant cost saving
a clean source of energy/does not produce huge amounts of pollutants/utilization could help create a better and cleaner environment
renweable source of energy/available in many areas worldwide
geothermal plants are simpler and cleaner
unavailability of equipment, stadd, infrastructures, and trainings and to extract geothermal power plants is required, this costs high amounts of money as it requires certified installers and skilled stafff and a great deal of investment
if companies fail to do extensive research prior to setting up geothermal power plants, steam may run out. this happens if temperature drops or too much water is injected into the rocks
is hard to transport, which is why extracted energy will be limited to surrounding areas only
