Elvin Vuong

Kobe Cheung

Phy 301

7 Feb 2018

Summary of Geothermal Energy

1. Geothermal Energy

a. Geo - Earth

b. Thermal - Temperature

c. Heat energy from Earth

2. YouTube Video

a. U.S. Department of Energy - Energy 101: Geothermal Energy i. https://youtu.be/mCRDf7QxjDk

3. Pros

a. Geothermal energy is generally considered environmentally friendly and does not cause significant amounts of pollution.

b. Geothermal reservoirs are naturally replenished and therefore renewable (it is not possible to exhaust the resources).

c. Massive potential – upper estimates show a worldwide potential of 2 terawatts (TW).

d. Excellent for meeting the base load energy demand (as opposed to other renewables such as wind and solar).

e. Great for heating and cooling – even small households can benefit.

f. Harnessing geothermal energy does not involve any fuels, which means less cost fluctuations and stable electricity prices.

g. Small footprint on land – can be built partially underground.

h. Geothermal energy is available everywhere, although only some resources are profitably exploitable.

i. Recent technological advancements (e.g. enhanced geothermal systems) have made more resources exploitable and lowered costs.

4. Cons

a. There are some minor environmental issues associated with geothermal power.

b. Geothermal power plants can in extreme cases cause earthquakes.

c. There are heavy upfront costs associated with both geothermal power plants and geothermal heating/cooling systems.

d. Very location specific (most resources are simply not cost-competitive).

e. Geothermal power is only sustainable (renewable) if the reservoirs are properly managed.

Work Cited

Maehlum, Mathias Aarre. “Geothermal Pros and Cons.” energy informative, 1 June 2013,

energyinformative.org/geothermal-energy-pros-and-cons/. Accessed 7 Feb 2018.

“Energy 101: Geothermal Energy.” YouTube, uploaded by U.S. Department of Energy, 30 July

2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCRDf7QxjDk&feature=youtu.be.