Geothermal Energy: Need of the hour

It is widely discussed fact that the world is facing an energy crisis. All our major resources of power are diminishing in strength and demand is increasing steeply. We all know energy is the basic resource for the nation’s economic development. The role of energy play a very important role in the production or service in all sectors of economy, industry, transportation, commerce and reliability of supply and quality of energy resources are deteriorating. It is only since 1973 that the constraints of the several finite fossils and fissile resources which are over graduate of economic growth and high standards of living have begun to be appreciated. In addition to the scarcity of materials and energy, environment and ecology constraints are placing limitations on the exploitation of natural resources. The industrialised and developing world must work together to ensure energy-efficient technology and sustainable energy options. Renewable energy resources are vast and free, but their extraction may be costly. Economic conditions, quality and type of energy needed by the end-user play a crucial role in the technology developments.
What are some of the advantages of using geothermal energy to generate electricity for your Settle home?
Significant Cost Saving: Geothermal energy generally involves low running costs since it saves 80% costs over fossil fuels. Over the long run, the cost savings of using geothermal electric systems are significant and make up for the initial investment of installation.
No Pollution: This is one of the main advantages of using geothermal energy since it does not create any pollution and helps in creating a clean environment. Because it is a renewable source of energy, geothermal energy has helped in reducing global warming and pollution.
Reduce Reliance on Fossil Fuels: Dependence on fossil fuels decreases with the increase in the use of geothermal energy. Geothermal “fuel'” – like the sun and the wind – is available to everyone, and the economic benefits of using geothermal energy remain in the region.
Geothermal energy (from the Greek roots geo meaning earth and therme meaning heat) is energy generated by heat stored in the earth or the collection of absorbed heat derived from underground in the atmosphere and the oceans. Heat is a form of energy and geothermal energy is literally, the heat contained within the Earth that generates geological phenomena on a planetary scale. ‘Geothermal energy’ is often used nowadays, however, to indicate that part of the Earth’s heat that can, or could be recovered and exploited by man, and it is in this sense that we will use the term from now on. Geothermal energy is a renewable, clean and cost-effective alternative to conventional fuels for heat and power generation. The source of the geothermal energy is the Earth’s internal heat. Its constant reproduction of heat is caused by radioactive decay of minerals such as uranium, thorium and potassium in the Earth’s crust and mantle. It emerges on the Earth’s surface as a flow of hot water and steam, naturally in hot springs and geysers or through man-made boreholes. According to the World Energy Assessment (2000), geothermal energy has the highest potential of technically harness able renewables, estimated to be up to 5.000 EJ/year, compared to 1.575 EJ/year for solar- and 540 EJ/year for wind energy. Geothermal energy can be used directly for heating and cooling purposes as well as power production. There are countless opportunities for using direct heat (20°C-150°C) originated from geothermal energy, such as heating homes, offices, and greenhouses; in aquaculture and food processing plants; and a variety of other applications.
Geothermal Energy focuses on fundamental and applied research needed to deploy technologies for developing and integrating geothermal energy as one key element in the future energy portfolio. Contributions include geological, geophysical, and geochemical studies, exploration of geothermal fields, reservoir characterization and modelling, development of productivity-enhancing methods, and approaches to achieve robust and economic operation. Geothermal Energy serves to examine the interaction of individual system components while taking the whole process into account, from the development of the reservoir to the economic provision of geothermal energy.