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GLOBAL RENEWABLES ONLINE - DECEMBER 2011
WHY AREN’T WE USING GEOTHERMAL
POWER NOW?
Many countries including the United States,
Mexico, Japan, Iceland and The Philippines are
already taking advantage of their geothermal
resources for electricity production. It is true that
anywhere in world, at some depth below your feet
exists enough geothermal heat to use for
geothermal power. However, to reach that depth
we must drill, and drilling costs increase
exponentially with depth. At our present level of
drilling technology, we are able to harness the
highest quality geothermal resources, which are
those located closest to Earth’s surface
RING OF FIRE
The distribution of the highest quality
geothermal resources is generally limited to
locations with a high level of tectonic activity,
where the Earth’s tectonic plates are interacting.
You may have heard of the ‘Ring of Fire’ which
circles the pacific ocean; a lot of tectonic activity
occurs along this ring, and the geologic
conditions of this activity permit large amounts of
heat to rise to Earth’s surface (which
occasionally results in volcanism). Therefore, there
are a limited amount of countries that can use
geothermal
power
extensively
given
the
current level of technology. However, research
continues into how we can reduce the expense of
drilling and improve the efficiency of geothermal
power plants, both which will allow more areas to
take advantage of this outstanding resource.
In spite of their proven geothermal resources,
some countries lag behind others in geothermal
power production for political reasons. In their
infancy, most renewable energy markets require
government support, through policy and funding,
to reach critical-mass and compete on price. For
nearly 25 years, geothermal science has not been
funded by the Canadian Federal Government. Our
limited data proves that Western Canada has
extensive geothermal potential. Technology has
improved considerably since the government last
looked at geothermal power.
LOW TEMPERATURE (HEAT PUMPS)
VERSUS HIGH TEMPERATURE
GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES
Recent public interest in geothermal energy has
led to some confusion on the different forms of
geothermal energy that are related to different
types of geothermal resources.
A complicating factor is that different people
use different terms to describe essentially the same
thing. Traditionally, geothermal energy was related
to high temperature resources that are needed for
power generation and direct heating. However, the
value of lower temperature resources for
recreational use and GeoExchange has broadened
the definition of geothermal energy.
GeoExchange is the industry’s term used to
describe an alternative to traditional oil- gas- or
coal-fired heating, ventilation and air conditioning
(HVAC) systems. The idea is to take advantage of
the ground’s heating and cooling properties (the
same properties that make any basement cooler in
the summer and warmer in the winter) to heat or
cool entire buildings. This heat ‘exchange’ between
the ground and the building is accomplished by
using standard pump and compressor technology.
Geoexchange systems have also been referred to as
earth energy systems, or geothermal heat pump
systems
*Care of CanGEA
ALEXANDER RICHTER - GEOTHERMAL
photo provided by ThinkGeoEnergy
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