Humanity’s quest to tap into the inexhaustible power source lying beneath our feet has spanned millennia, with civilizations from ancient Rome to Aboriginal Australia attempting to harness power from the Earth’s core. Geothermal energy — derived from sources like volcanoes in Iceland and hot springs in the United States — presents vast opportunities for electricity production.
However, despite its long history and potential benefits, geothermal power remains largely untapped. In the United States, only a fraction of the nation’s energy — about 1.5% — is sourced from geothermal reservoirs.
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“Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory claimed that every house in the U.S. could be heated from geothermal sources for millennia,” theoretical physicist Sabine Hossenfelder said. “This sounds good, but in reality, geothermal energy presently plays a small role in most places on Earth.”
The Biden administration is hoping to change this by investing over $200 million in various initiatives aimed at expanding and enhancing geothermal energy systems domestically. The administration’s goal is to leverage this technology to power over 40 million American homes, constituting more than a quarter of the nation’s households.
“Geothermal runs day and night, and so with the right investments and incentives, we can increase the power that we generate from the heat beneath our feet 47 fold by 2050,” U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said. “Now, that is enough to power Texas 12 times over.”
One of the advantages of geothermal energy is its affordability for consumers. Geothermal energy costs roughly half as much compared to nuclear power, while also outperforming coal in terms of cost-effectiveness and environmental impact. The Department of Energy hailed geothermal power as a “clean energy source,” emitting only excess steam and minimal amounts of gas, thereby significantly reducing carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels.
Despite its environmental and economic advantages, the widespread adoption of geothermal energy will still be a challenge. The primary hurdle lies in the high upfront costs for developers, with geothermal plants being up to 10 times more expensive to construct than solar or wind farms.
The process of extracting geothermal energy, particularly through flash steam power plants, entails drilling miles deep into the Earth’s crust, which can be time-consuming and capital-intensive. In some cases, developers will have to wait as long as a decade before the plant can get up and running to produce revenue.
“Once the [geothermal power plant] is firmly developed and everything is running well, it is definitely a cash cow — you are making money left and right,” Gerald W. Huttrer, a geothermal geologist and consultant said. “But it takes a long time and people are impatient.”
The accessibility of geothermal resources varies across different regions, leading to higher land costs in areas suitable for geothermal power plants. These plots of land for larger scale operations can be worth tens of millions alone.
Nonetheless, the federal government’s recent investments in this sector signal a significant commitment to expanding renewable energy sources. In the past year, the United States emerged as the leading producer of geothermal energy globally, with continued investment trends likely to unlock even more of the Earth’s subterranean energy potential in the near future.
[JACK AYLMER]
BENEATH OUR FEET LIES AN INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF POWER.
ONE humanity has tried to harness for millennia.
FROM VOLCANOES IN ICELAND.
TO BUBBLING HOT SPRINGS IN THE U.S.
EVEN THE SECRET LAIRS OF EVIL MASTERMINDS.
THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO UTILIZE ENERGY FROM THE EARTH’S CORE TO PRODUCE ELECTRICITY.
AND IT’S NOT A NEW CONCEPT.
EVEN THE ANCIENT ROMANS AND ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIANS TRIED TAPPING INTO GEOTHERMAL POWER.
EXPERTS BELIEVE JUST POINT-1-PERCENT OF THE PLANET’S HEAT CONTENT COULD SUPPLY HUMANITY’S TOTAL ENERGY NEEDS FOR TWO MILLION YEARS.
BUT, DESPITE THE LONG HISTORY AND POTENTIAL BENEFITS, THIS TYPE OF POWER HAS YET TO BE USED ON A WIDESPREAD SCALE.
[Sabine Hossenfelder]
Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory claimed that every house in the US could be heated from geothermal sources for millennia. This sounds good, but in reality, geothermal energy presently plays a small role in most places on earth. –Sabine Hossenfelder
[JACK AYLMER]
IN THE U.S., ONLY ABOUT ONE-AND-A-HALF PERCENT OF THE NATION’S ENERGY COMES FROM GEOTHERMAL SOURCES.
THAT’S SOMETHING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS LOOKING TO CHANGE.
[Secretary Granholm]
“Geothermal runs day and night. And so with the right investments and incentives, we can increase the power that we generate from from the heat beneath our feet 47 fold by 2050 47 fold. Now, that is enough to power Texas 12 times over.”
[JACK AYLMER]
THE WHITE HOUSE is INVESTing OVER 200 MILLION DOLLARS IN A VARIETY OF PLANS AIMING TO EXPAND AND ENHANCE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY SYSTEMS.
THEIR GOAL: EXPAND THIS TECHNOLOGY ENOUGH TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY TO POWER OVER 40 MILLION AMERICAN HOMES.
THAT’S MORE THAN A QUARTER OF THE NATION.
AND IT’LL COME AT AN AFFORDABLE RATE AS WELL.
GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IS RELATIVELY CHEAP.
IT’LL COST PEOPLE ABOUT HALF THE PRICE OF NUCLEAR POWER, WHILE ALSO BEING BOTH CHEAPER AND BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT THAN COAL.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HAS CALLED GEOTHERMAL POWER A CLEAN SOURCE THAT EMITS ONLY EXCESS STEAM AND SMALL AMOUNTS OF GAS.
PRODUCING ONLY ABOUT ONE-SIXTH OF THE CARBON EMISSIONS CREATED BY A NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT AND 99 PERCENT LESS THAN FOSSIL FUELS.
SO, IF IT’S GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND CHEAP FOR PEOPLE TO USE, WHY HAVEN’T WE ALREADY STARTED PRODUCING MORE OF IT?
THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO THE INCREASED USE OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS THE UPFRONT COST FOR DEVELOPERS.
A GEOTHERMAL PLANT CAN BE UP TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE TO CONSTRUCT THAN A SOLAR OR WIND FARM.
THE MOST COMMON WAY OF EXTRACTING THIS ENERGY IS THROUGH A FLASH STEAM POWER PLANT.
THAT’S WHEN LIQUIDS WITH TEMPERATURES UPWARDS OF 360 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT ARE PUMPED UP FROM DEEP UNDERGROUND.
THESE FLUIDS TRAVEL UNDER HIGH PRESSURES UNTIL THEY REACH A LOW PRESSURE TANK ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE.
THE CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT CAUSES THE FLUID TO QUICKLY TRANSFORM OR “FLASH” INTO STEAM.
THE STEAM IS THEN USED TO DRIVE A TURBINE WHICH POWERS A GENERATOR OUTPUTTING ELECTRICITY.
BUT BUILDING A SYSTEM THAT REQUIRES DRILLING INTO THE EARTH’S CORE AT A DEPTHS LONGER THAN THE LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL FIELD CAN TAKE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME.
[Gerald W. Huttrer, Geothermal Geologist and Consultant]
Once the operation is firmly developed, and everybody is everything is running well, it is definitely a cash cow you are making money left and right. But it takes a long time and people are impatient.
[JACK AYLMER]
IN SOME CASES, DEVELOPERS WILL HAVE TO WAIT AS LONG AS A DECADE BEFORE THE PLANT CAN GET UP AND RUNNING TO PRODUCE REVENUE.
AND THIS SUBTERRANEAN ENERGY ALSO ISN’T ACCESSIBLE EVERYWHERE, MEANING ONLY SPECIFIC PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE SUITABLE FOR A GEOTHERMAL POWER PLANT, DRIVING UP LAND COSTS.
THAT HASN’T STOPPED PRESIDENT BIDEN FROM MAKING SOME MAJOR INVESTMENTS IN THIS SECTOR.
LAST YEAR, THE U.S. PRODUCED MORE GEOTHERMAL ENERGY THAN ANY OTHER NATION.
AND IF THE INVESTMENT TRENDS CONTINUE – MORE POWER DWELLING UNDER THE EARTH’S SURFACE COULD SOON BE UNLOCKED.
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