Geothermal Power - Harvesting Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy has its own limitations, which are well known now. Although geothermal energy has the potential to be one of our most promising sources of energy, there are still a lot of things that we need to learn about geothermal energy. We know that geothermal energy can be used to heat homes. It can also be used to create electricity. And this can be a major contribution to global warming because many countries are now working to convert to geothermal energy as their main source of energy.

One of geothermal energy's biggest limitations is that it cannot produce heat at temperatures lower than about minus 16 degrees Celsius. We are not that far away from reaching this limit. This was proven by research and testing done on geothermal wells in different parts of Australia. They found that there can be some geothermal energy left in the rocks when it is pumped with enough pressure. So basically, this means that there are some pockets in the earth's crust where the temperatures can reach those extremes. In addition to this, geothermal energy does not account for the freezing and thawing of temperatures, which happens naturally every time the Earth's axis spins.

There are two other types of geothermal energy. One is called thermal steam and the other is known as borehole hot water. Thermal steam is generated by heating rock beds. There is a great amount of heat present, but this can only be achieved at temperatures lower than about minus 100 degrees Celsius. But we need to remember that even at these low temperatures, magma can still move around, so eventually, there would be enough heat to generate electricity for the people living in that area.

borehole hot water systems are installed underground through a series of borehole tubes. When heated, these tubes produce steam which is then used to generate electricity in geothermal systems. They have been successfully used in different countries across the world such as the United States, South Africa, Canada and Japan.

The use of geothermal energy has its own pros and cons. For one, the whole process is very expensive compared to other sources of energy. This is due to the high initial cost of the geothermal power installation. On the other hand, once the initial cost is covered, the entire cost of operation is also very low. Another drawback of geothermal energy harvesting is that this method cannot be used during emergencies or during severe weather because it is based on the movement of magma. Seismic activity can cause damage to the ground, so this method should only be utilized during routine monitoring.

The main advantage of geothermal energy harvesting is that it uses a natural resource that does not require extensive mining procedures or even ongoing maintenance. Geothermal power systems can produce free energy for a long period of time without depleting the supply. Moreover, there is no chance of encountering magma migration during operation. In fact, geothermal energy systems can operate continuously for hundred of years without consuming any source of energy.