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Geothermal Energy Presented by: William Murray March 28, 2007 What is Geothermal Energy? • Defined: Energy that is generated by converting hot water or steam from deep beneath the Earth’s surface into electricity. • Unique renewable • Natural Energy Flow – Heat Mining – Enthalpy The Heat Source • Tiny quantities of radioactive isotopes liberate heat as they decay • Core heat transfer through convection • Accessible in locations where heats interior is brought within reach – Lithospheric Plates • Significant heat flow • Volcanic activity The Heat Source Cont’d • High enthalpy systems are divided into two categories – Vapor Dominated • Best and most productive • Free of liquids – Liquid Dominated • Relies on water at boiling point • Often results in steam “flash” • Two-phase zone Geothermal Potential • Nature of the resource – Fluid Temperature – Salinity – Fluid Pressure – Gas Content • Economies of Scale • Maximum efficiency Four Main Types • • • • Dry steam power plant Single flash steam power plant Binary cycle power plant Double flash power plant Dry Steam Power Plant Single/Double Flash Steam Binary Cycle Power Plant Ground Source Heat Pump Global Capacity • Worldwide use of geothermal 9.3GW – 28 GW used directly for heating – 100GWt through ground-source heat pumps • Potential for 65-138GW • MIT claims 100GWe by 2050 • 0.3% of US energy consumption Environmental Impact • Gaseous emissions – Less than 1/10th of coal-fired carbon emissions – Dissolved gasses • Land use • Noise • Potential ground subsidence Geothermal Usage • Iceland generates 26.5% of energy from geothermal – .1% Fossil fuels – 73% Hydro • In the US – Alaska (1 Plant) – California (4.8% of electrical energy, 2.4GW installed capacity) – Hawaii (30MW on largest island, 20% of electrical energy) – Nevada(15 plants, 254MW) – Utah (reconstructed developing plants) Applications in Belize • Belize is the only country in Central America that does not have the potential for geothermal energy according to the US Department of Energy QUESTIONS?!!