4 ms·

iirc it works well in Kenya because the thermal gradient is really steep and the heat is right near the surface. I don't think that's common around the world.

by AdamN 3y ago

iirc it works well in Kenya because the thermal gradient is really steep and the heat is right near the surface. I don't think that's common around the world. Local expenses (labor, etc...) are also cheaper than in many parts of the world. Geothermal is however one of the electricity sources with the fewest negative externalities so definitely should be pursued where possible.

nathancahill 3y ago
Touring the geothermal at Hell's Gate Park in Kenya is wild. If you've seen The Lion King, it's the inspiration for "the shadowy place over there" where the hyenas live.
hollerith 3y ago
Extract enough heat from Earth and Earth loses its magnetic field and then its atmosphere and oceans (from the effects of the solar wind) which sounds like a negative externality to me.
- jesse9766 3y ago
  We'll (and humanity itself) be long dead by then
  - hollerith 3y ago
    If you haven't done a calculation incorporating an estimate of the heat content of the Earth's interior, then you cannot know whether humanity will be dead by then.
    - ben_w 3y ago
      Assuming just the inner core, using the lower bound for its temperature, specific heat capacity of iron, 20 TW being extracted, ignoring the extra power inputs in the form of radioisotope decay, crystallisation, tidal heating, I get 800 million years, which is close to when photosynthesis stops because of geological processes locking all the carbon away (trees stop working at about 600 million years, not sure about plants in general).
- andrewflnr 3y ago
  While it's true we would die first, I bet we'd transition to other power sources even earlier. If we ever get fusion working reliably, that will probably be more convenient than geothermal, and at that point the geothermal plants will start slowly going defunct with no replacements.
- Zardoz84 3y ago
  Extracting enough energy to do that, would probably meltdown the earth crust.

by AdamN 3y ago

nathancahill 3y ago

Touring the geothermal at Hell's Gate Park in Kenya is wild. If you've seen The Lion King, it's the inspiration for "the shadowy place over there" where the hyenas live.

hollerith 3y ago

Extract enough heat from Earth and Earth loses its magnetic field and then its atmosphere and oceans (from the effects of the solar wind) which sounds like a negative externality to me.

jesse9766 3y ago
We'll (and humanity itself) be long dead by then
- hollerith 3y ago
  If you haven't done a calculation incorporating an estimate of the heat content of the Earth's interior, then you cannot know whether humanity will be dead by then.
  - ben_w 3y ago
    Assuming just the inner core, using the lower bound for its temperature, specific heat capacity of iron, 20 TW being extracted, ignoring the extra power inputs in the form of radioisotope decay, crystallisation, tidal heating, I get 800 million years, which is close to when photosynthesis stops because of geological processes locking all the carbon away (trees stop working at about 600 million years, not sure about plants in general).
andrewflnr 3y ago
While it's true we would die first, I bet we'd transition to other power sources even earlier. If we ever get fusion working reliably, that will probably be more convenient than geothermal, and at that point the geothermal plants will start slowly going defunct with no replacements.
Zardoz84 3y ago
Extracting enough energy to do that, would probably meltdown the earth crust.