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By the
beginning of the 1900s, people were beginning to understand that heat from the within the Earth's crust could be
utilized for commercial purposes. By 1904, at Italy's region now known as Larderello, successful attempts
were made to generate electricity from geothermal steam. This made clear that there were industrial possibilities with geothermal
energy. Soon, several countries were motivated by the success at Larderello.
In 1919, Japan's first geothermal site was drilled, followed,
in 1921, by wells constructed at The Geysers in California. In 1958, a geothermal power plant began operating in New Zealand,
and one started up in Mexico in 1959. After that, many other countries started creating electricity with geothermal power.
The first thorough study of the potential of geothermal in nearly 30 years
(the previous one was the U.S. Geological Survey of 1979) was published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
in 2006. The report, put together by an 18-member panel, is titled, The Future of Geothermal Energy, Impact of Enhanced
Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) is the
industry of "mining heat" from the crust of the Earth. Water is injected into hot, fractured rocks, the water rises
up as steam, and the steam drives turbines to generate electricity.
The MIT report states "EGS resources
have a large potential for the long term."
At the beginning of the report, it is explained that the MIT study
focuses on "what it would take for EGS and other unconventional geothermal resources to provide 100,000 MWe [megawatts
electric - one MWe equals 1 million watts or 1,000 kilowatts] of base-load electric-generating capacity by 2050."
100,000 MWe are approximately 10 times the amount of geothermal electric production from what it is today.
MIT's 2006
Future of Geothermal Energy report points out that geothermal power plants, unlike solar or wind energy sources, operate
24 hours per day, every day. "Solar and wind energy are inherently intermittent," states the study, while geothermal
steam rises up around the clock.
The Future of Geothermal Energy says solar and wind are parts
of the energy future of the U.S., but will not be enough. Also, the study notes that geothermal power production, because
it happens mostly underground, would have "minimal environmental impacts."
Interestingly, the report
points out that existing American nuclear and coal-fired generating plants will have to be retired. States the study,
"It is likely that 50 GWe [gigawatts electric - one GWe equals one billion watts or 1 million kilowatts] or more of coal-fired
capacity will need to be retired in the next 15 to 25 years because of environmental concerns. In addition, during that period,
40 GWe or more of nuclear capacity will be beyond even the most generous relicensing procedures and will have to be decommissioned."
Still, says the report, the potential of geothermal has been ignored in the United States. The government has provided
insufficient support "for more than a decade," states the study. Therefore, EGS technology development has occurred
primarily outside the United States, even though the 18-member panel concludes commercial viability can be achieved in the
U.S. "if a national-scale program is supported properly."
| Nevada is one of the nation's geothermal centers |
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| Nevada requires relatively shallow geothermal wells. Graphic courtesy Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. |
In the report, the 18-member panel concludes that a strong federal commitment
should support the advance of "extraction and conversion technologies" so geothermal sites - beginning in the West,
including Nevada - can lead the way to show EGS thermal mining is viable and valuable for the future of the
United States' energy needs.
In the initial 15 years of the federal program, states MIT's Future
of Geothermal Energy, "a number of sites in different regions of the country should be under development."
Nevada is already one of the top providers of geothermal power. In the future, without a doubt, the state will
remain one of the first, and one of the most studied, regions in the realm of Enhanced Geothermal Systems. Nevada is
one of the "high-grade" areas for EGS development referred to in The Future of Geothermal Energy.
| Geothermal power plant |
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| Source: Canadian Business Resource |
According
to nevadageothermal.com, "Geothermal heat can be harnessed for clean electrical power generation wherever there
is high heat flow in deep, fractured rock formations and a shallower, non-fractured or sealed caprock." In the rock
fractures, water is heated to steam, and then the steam rises to turn turbines that produce electricity.
Note: These final paragraphs were added
on March 27, 2008:
A Las Vegas Sun March 27, 2008, article written by Phoebe Sweet reports
Nevada Power Co. announced a 50/50 ownership with Ormat Technologies, a geothermal developer, of a proposed 30-megawatt geothermal
plant near Fallon, Nevada. It is called the Carson Lake project. It will need to be approved by the Nevada Public Utilities
Commission.
The plant will be able to generate enough electricity for at least 22,000 homes, according to
the story.
Other geothermal projects are in various stages of completion in other areas of Nevada. Nevada Geothermal
Inc. is publicized as having geothermal projects at Blue Mountain, Pumpernickel and Black Warrior sites, all located in Nevada.
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