7 ms·

The main issue with geothermal energy is that it needs cooling and that means water, a lot of water. I do not have the exact estimates for geothermal, but in th

by joak 4y ago

The main issue with geothermal energy is that it needs cooling and that means water, a lot of water. I do not have the exact estimates for geothermal, but in the US the current numbers are 15 gallons to produce 1kWh of electricity. source: https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/thermoelectric-power-water-use https://www.usgs.gov/mission-areas/water-resources/science/t... Same issue with any kind of thermal power btw. This is already a problem with nuclear reactors that have to shut down because of droughts. Thermal pollution is also an issue. Rivers (and coastal waters) temperatures going up is destructive for ecosystems. So yes, geothermal is much better than coal. Not really a long term solution though.

Schroedingersat 4y ago
Water doesn't vanish when you boil it. In some areas you can just use it for heating, in other areas condensers are possible (although will not be built if not enforced via regulation or water pricing). There are also more exotic uses for low grade heat. Thermochemical storage, desalination, driving other endothermic reactions. Still a good argument for using wind and solar wherever possible and just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy.
- thinkcontext 4y ago
  > ... just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy. This is the exact argument people opposed to wind and solar make.
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    That's because they treat our habits and systems of organisation as immutable constants and the laws of physics as guidelines.
    - thinkcontext 4y ago
      You'll have to define what you mean by "... collectively calming the hell down when its cloudy". To me this implies pretty drastic demand response behavior changes but perhaps that's not what you mean.
  - goodpoint 4y ago
    ...and it's a very poor argument. 1) Energy can be transported and "averaged out" across very large areas, making local clouds or low winds irrelevant 2) Energy can be stored not only in reversible form, but also in form of stored heat to be released later on for building or water heating 3) There is no reason to believe that demand must always be satisfied fully. A lot of countries already have day/night tariffs since decades and making appliances smarter is not difficult at all. A lot of industrial uses can be made flexible.
    - thinkcontext 4y ago
      "... just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy" sounds like it is quite different than existing demand response. To me it sounds like residential users included should curtail energy using activities in response to cloudy or non-windy times, which will be extremely unpopular. Incidentally, I am signed up for a demand response program with my utility. During summer they pay me for the ability to curtail my AC during times of grid stress.
    - zbrozek 4y ago
      I'm no longer convinced of the transportability of electrical power. At least here in America, NIMBY politics makes it nigh impossible to build new transmission. And here in California our regulators have created an environment where we pay excessively high energy prices, have poor uptime, and regularly set ourselves alight. For any kilowatt hour I pull off the grid I pay at least thrice the national average, and in this month I'll have uninterrupted power 87% of days with 28 hours of total downtime. The future is distributed microgrids even if it isn't the theoretically optimal future.
      - KptMarchewa 4y ago
        As always in recent past, USA can't even think of going outside of it's local maximum.
      - ethagknight 4y ago
        California is not a good example to use as an example of American energy capability, just Californian energy

by joak 4y ago

Schroedingersat 4y ago

Water doesn't vanish when you boil it. In some areas you can just use it for heating, in other areas condensers are possible (although will not be built if not enforced via regulation or water pricing). There are also more exotic uses for low grade heat. Thermochemical storage, desalination, driving other endothermic reactions. Still a good argument for using wind and solar wherever possible and just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy.

thinkcontext 4y ago
> ... just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy. This is the exact argument people opposed to wind and solar make.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  That's because they treat our habits and systems of organisation as immutable constants and the laws of physics as guidelines.
  - thinkcontext 4y ago
    You'll have to define what you mean by "... collectively calming the hell down when its cloudy". To me this implies pretty drastic demand response behavior changes but perhaps that's not what you mean.
- goodpoint 4y ago
  ...and it's a very poor argument. 1) Energy can be transported and "averaged out" across very large areas, making local clouds or low winds irrelevant 2) Energy can be stored not only in reversible form, but also in form of stored heat to be released later on for building or water heating 3) There is no reason to believe that demand must always be satisfied fully. A lot of countries already have day/night tariffs since decades and making appliances smarter is not difficult at all. A lot of industrial uses can be made flexible.
  - thinkcontext 4y ago
    "... just collectively calming the hell down for a few hours when it's cloudy" sounds like it is quite different than existing demand response. To me it sounds like residential users included should curtail energy using activities in response to cloudy or non-windy times, which will be extremely unpopular. Incidentally, I am signed up for a demand response program with my utility. During summer they pay me for the ability to curtail my AC during times of grid stress.
  - zbrozek 4y ago
    I'm no longer convinced of the transportability of electrical power. At least here in America, NIMBY politics makes it nigh impossible to build new transmission. And here in California our regulators have created an environment where we pay excessively high energy prices, have poor uptime, and regularly set ourselves alight. For any kilowatt hour I pull off the grid I pay at least thrice the national average, and in this month I'll have uninterrupted power 87% of days with 28 hours of total downtime. The future is distributed microgrids even if it isn't the theoretically optimal future.
    - KptMarchewa 4y ago
      As always in recent past, USA can't even think of going outside of it's local maximum.
    - ethagknight 4y ago
      California is not a good example to use as an example of American energy capability, just Californian energy