Geothermal Energy Grayson Greinke, Period 8, 12/12/12

1. Geothermal Energy Grayson Greinke, Period 8, 12/12/12 Description of Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is heat that is turned into steam which turns turbines. Geothermal resources are located in the earth’s core about 4,000 miles deep. It is a renewable resource because it keeps coming as long as we leave enough hot rocks to make steam. Direct uses of geothermal energy include hot springs and geysers. The U.S.A. is the world leader in geothermal energy generation. The very first geothermal energy power station is located in Landrello, Italy. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages 1.Geothermal energy is pollution free, and does not give to the greenhouse effect. 2.Geothermal energy does not use fuel. 3.If you build a geothermal power station, you would only need a little bit of energy to start a pump, but you can get it from the spinning turbines later on. Disadvantages 1.There aren’t many places where we can drill to hot rocks and make geothermal power stations. 2.Geothermal power stations can sometimes run out of steam for a long time. 3.Steam may cause hazardous gases and minerals to come up and they are sometimes hard to dispose of. How Geothermal Energy is Turned into Energy We Use In a power station, there will basically be two holes that we drilled to the earth’s core. One is used to put cold water down and the other one is for the steam to travel up under pressure. When the cold water hits the hot rocks, steam is made and the pressure sends the steam up another pipe. The pipe leads to a turbine that the steam spins creating electrical energy in a generator. Or the steam can go through a heat exchanger which provides heated water and keeps houses warm, like in Iceland. In Iceland, many geysers and hot springs are found. Ancient Romans used hot springs to bathe in.