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The problem with geothermal power is access. It's the reason why Iceland is almost entirely powered by renewables, and why the rest of the world isn't. So if I

The problem with geothermal power is access. It's the reason why Iceland is almost entirely powered by renewables, and why the rest of the world isn't. So if Iceland finds pockets of magma at 5km, it's only really a breakthrough if you can access magma at shallow depths in other regions.

evandena 13y ago
Most of Iceland's power comes from hydro, not geothermal.
- _delirium 13y ago
  Electric power, yes, but a significant proportion of Iceland's total energy usage is heating, which is about 90% geothermal.
  - dredmorbius 13y ago
    Agreed. Looking at per-capita energy utilization, you'll find that Nordic countries have markedly high consumption. Another high per-capita energy-use country is Trinidad and Tobago, which puzzled me until I discovered it's a huge exporter of ammonia fertilizer -- the manufacturing process is hugely energy intensive.
  - evandena 13y ago
    Yes, good point, thanks.
lostlogin 13y ago
I was intending to show you how New Zealand was shutting down its geothermal programmes, however I think I was wrong and it looks like it's growing. An interesting PDF (but 24mb!) http://www.geothermalnewzealand.com/NZTE_Geothermal_Booklet_and_Profiles.pdf http://www.geothermalnewzealand.com/NZTE_Geothermal_Booklet_... And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_New_Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_New_Zealand
dredmorbius 13y ago
There is, however, access in a number of regions where geothermal can be quite useful. Iceland doesn't have a large population (332,000), but it's relatively close to Europe (or at least Ireland), and there have been proposals to link it via undersea transmission cables to the European grid. Other significant resources exist around much of the Pacific Rim, including in Hawaii (limited population and a long way from nowhere), Japan (high population and critical energy resource ocnstraints), the Philippines, New Zealand, and the Pacific coast of the US. One of the largest present geothermal installations is The Geysers in California, with just under 1 GW of installed capacity. The largest geothermal resource within the US would be the Yellowstone supercaldera, and though this is presently protected from development, it represents a vast energy potential, as much as 20% of present US electric generating potential under some estimates. The National Park Status means that research is highly limited, so take with a very strong dose of salt. Other significant resources exist in Kenya (another rift zone, as is New Zealand). Given Africa's status as a developing region, this is potentially hugely useful. Geothermal has been significantly developed in many of these areas. I did some digging and apparently the Philippines has developed as much as 50% of its potential, where it provides 16% of the nation's electricity needs. Japan and the US have also done considerable development, as, of course, has Iceland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_the_Philippines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_the_Philip... Geothermal offers a number of very useful characteristics in a renewable / sustainable energy mix, including: ⚫ Base-load potential. Geothermal runs 24/7, is dispatchable (that is, you can throttle it up or down), and balances the nondispatchable nature of wind and solar energy. ⚫ Proven. Geothermal has been in active commercial production for decades. This is proven technology. ⚫ Relatively low local impacts. Plant footprints are small and local environmental disturbance fairly limited. Water needs and the possibility of locally-induced earthquakes (most minor) are possible concerns. But it is still limited to specific locations for high yields. And if you're drawing sufficient amounts of thermal energy from even high-yield caldera, it can take a considerable period of time (decades) for a geothermal zone to recover. This is particularly a concern with "EGS" (enhanced geothermal systems) in which boreholes are drilled into otherwise only marginal zones. Often a single borehole's useful life is limited to a decade or two.
- dubfan 13y ago

evandena 13y ago

Most of Iceland's power comes from hydro, not geothermal.

_delirium 13y ago
Electric power, yes, but a significant proportion of Iceland's total energy usage is heating, which is about 90% geothermal.
- dredmorbius 13y ago
  Agreed. Looking at per-capita energy utilization, you'll find that Nordic countries have markedly high consumption. Another high per-capita energy-use country is Trinidad and Tobago, which puzzled me until I discovered it's a huge exporter of ammonia fertilizer -- the manufacturing process is hugely energy intensive.
- evandena 13y ago
  Yes, good point, thanks.

lostlogin 13y ago

I was intending to show you how New Zealand was shutting down its geothermal programmes, however I think I was wrong and it looks like it's growing. An interesting PDF (but 24mb!) http://www.geothermalnewzealand.com/NZTE_Geothermal_Booklet_and_Profiles.pdf http://www.geothermalnewzealand.com/NZTE_Geothermal_Booklet_... And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_New_Zealand http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_New_Zealand

dredmorbius 13y ago

There is, however, access in a number of regions where geothermal can be quite useful. Iceland doesn't have a large population (332,000), but it's relatively close to Europe (or at least Ireland), and there have been proposals to link it via undersea transmission cables to the European grid. Other significant resources exist around much of the Pacific Rim, including in Hawaii (limited population and a long way from nowhere), Japan (high population and critical energy resource ocnstraints), the Philippines, New Zealand, and the Pacific coast of the US. One of the largest present geothermal installations is The Geysers in California, with just under 1 GW of installed capacity. The largest geothermal resource within the US would be the Yellowstone supercaldera, and though this is presently protected from development, it represents a vast energy potential, as much as 20% of present US electric generating potential under some estimates. The National Park Status means that research is highly limited, so take with a very strong dose of salt. Other significant resources exist in Kenya (another rift zone, as is New Zealand). Given Africa's status as a developing region, this is potentially hugely useful. Geothermal has been significantly developed in many of these areas. I did some digging and apparently the Philippines has developed as much as 50% of its potential, where it provides 16% of the nation's electricity needs. Japan and the US have also done considerable development, as, of course, has Iceland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_the_Philippines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_the_Philip... Geothermal offers a number of very useful characteristics in a renewable / sustainable energy mix, including: ⚫ Base-load potential. Geothermal runs 24/7, is dispatchable (that is, you can throttle it up or down), and balances the nondispatchable nature of wind and solar energy. ⚫ Proven. Geothermal has been in active commercial production for decades. This is proven technology. ⚫ Relatively low local impacts. Plant footprints are small and local environmental disturbance fairly limited. Water needs and the possibility of locally-induced earthquakes (most minor) are possible concerns. But it is still limited to specific locations for high yields. And if you're drawing sufficient amounts of thermal energy from even high-yield caldera, it can take a considerable period of time (decades) for a geothermal zone to recover. This is particularly a concern with "EGS" (enhanced geothermal systems) in which boreholes are drilled into otherwise only marginal zones. Often a single borehole's useful life is limited to a decade or two.

dubfan 13y ago