Thursday, October 21, 2010

Geothermal energy, revisited


Volcanoes and geysers bear witness to the enormous reservoir of energy--in the form of heat--that lies in the earth's interior. This geothermal energy can be used to generate electricity wherever there is a source of heat close to the earth's surface. Unlike the non-renewable fossil fuels, geothermal energy will last until the earth's internal engine runs out of fuel, millions of years from now.

But geothermal energy has its limitations as an alternative energy source. Production of geothermal energy is limited to relatively few areas with the required local geothermal source, and drilling to tap these sources can have unintended consequences. A geothermal project in Switzerland was canceled in 2007 after drilling caused a magnitude 3.4 earth tremor.

Source: E. Kintisch, Science 329:789, 13 Aug. 2010

Photo from here, along with a list of "Top 10 alternative energy sources"

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