'Exponential Spin-up' In Geothermal Energy Projects Brings Hope for Green Power (newyorker.com)
- Reference: 0176593243
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/25/03/02/229216/exponential-spin-up-in-geothermal-energy-projects-brings-hope-for-green-power
- Source link: https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/geothermal-power-is-a-climate-moon-shot-beneath-our-feet
And one drilling expert tells them there's been an "exponential spin-up of activity in geothermal" energy projects over the last two years. (Ironically it was the fracking boom also brought an "explosion of new drilling practices — such as horizontal drilling and magnetic sensing — that inspired a geothermal resurgence.") In 2005 one research team calculated that just 2% of the heat just four miles underground in America "could meet the entire country's energy needs — two thousand times over," according to the article.
So their new article checks in on the progress of geothermal energy projects around the world, including a Utah company using a diamond-bit drill to dig nearly a mile into the earth to install a 150-ton steel tube surrounded by special heat-resistant cement — all to create "a massive straw" for transporting hot water (and steam).
> The biggest problem is drilling miles through hot rock, safely. If scientists can do that, however, next-generation geothermal power could supply clean energy for eons... At 6:15 P.M. on May 3rd, cement had started flowing into the hole. Four hours later, part of the cement folded in on itself. The next morning, the cement supply ran out; the men had miscalculated how much they needed. This brought the three-hundred-million-dollar operation to a maddening halt... The cement truck from Bakersfield arrived around 8:30 P.M. By ten-thirty, the men were pouring cement again, gluing the enormous metal straw in place. Next, the team scanned the borehole with gamma rays...
[1] https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/geothermal-power-is-a-climate-moon-shot-beneath-our-feet
On the political upside ... (Score:2)
Accessing geothermal meets the technical definition of "drill, baby, drill" ... :-)
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Geothermal is a good replacement for nuclear for those who don't like that technology for whatever reason. Having consistent and stable power isn't always going to align with human needs, but it's better than wind or solar in many regards, or at least doesn't suffer from the same sort of problems. That makes it useful in several cases. I'd like to see more investment in it because outside of grabboids or some hereto undiscovered species, there isn't a lot of ecology down there for us to impact by tapping in
How "green" this power will be... (Score:2)
... is currently a pretty open question. If it taints natural water reservoirs or takes as many chemicals as fracking to crack the hot rocks below, that may be quite bad for the environment. If it takes many Gigawatt hours of energy to drill a deep hole, only to later find that the heat harvested from the hole runs low quicker than expected, that may be a waste of energy. If draining fluids from below causes the ground to shake and sink, that may turn out to be financially unsustainable. But I am all for ex
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I think that you are babbling lines from Oligarchs, and Big oil corps, and I have no respect for that.
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You are obviously not informed about existing and past geothermal power plant projects. The issues I mentioned have been observed in several project, in some cases leading to the projects to be shut down entirely. And "Big oil corps" would certainly not mention risks of fracking and drilling in general, as I did.
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My understanding is that old oil wells could be used for geothermal. My understanding is also that Rich people just want the black oil stuff. That is all in my humble opinion, and I would like it to be examined by scientists.
Re: How "green" this power will be... (Score:2)
I worked for a old engineer businessman who acquired 5 patents around geo thermal energy generation around 15 years ago. Worked on the business plan for him, and did competitive market analysis at that time.
My own conclusions were close to what you're saying. There are many significant drawbacks, some of which altered the direction of the company.
1. Drilling was by far the most expensive part of the process. Also, competition for the super heavy drilling equipment with the oil industry meant waiting and sch
aaaaand it's gone (Score:2)
sorry folks, this power has already been spoken for by crypto and AI farms. I hope no actual humans wanted it
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it seems sad to me too that ai will suck up all of the "extra power" for the next few years... maybe crypto too. it seems like a waste to me...well.. crypto is a waste.. ai may be useful.
Earth Source Heat (Score:3)
Cornell has been working on a pilot earth source heating project for quite some time: [1]https://earthsourceheat.cornel... [cornell.edu] As I recall Bill Nye (The Science Guy), who is a Cornell graduate, attended one of the initial ceremonial events.
[1] https://earthsourceheat.cornell.edu/
Exponential growth (Score:1)
Back in aught-nine, I was doing a stint in grad school. A fellow student was writing a paper on the economic feasibility of solar-powered something-or-other as opposed to the diesel version.
The cost numbers just about closed, but not quite, unless the then-recently-rising cost of crude oil were extrapolated into the future as exponential growth. It almost worked. Except by that time the recession had hit and oil dropped off a cliff. Not such a good exponential fit anymore.
Nuclear fission inside of the earths core. (Score:2)
That is my impression, that heavy elements are under immense pressure inside of earths core, and I would like to learn from other peoples impression as to how this heat is developed.
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The pressure is not relevant for unstable isotopes in the earth to decay, they would do that with or without pressure. But I would also like to know how much of the geothermal heat harvested comes from the radioactive decay, and how much is just residual heat from when the planet formed.
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estimated forty-four trillion watts of power, seems like a lot to me, but a tesla magnet seems like a lot to me too.
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I recall an article where (past) Uranium particles were heated up and found... it was a story where there was a bunch of heat near the surface of the earth. The atoms broke down by today. Half life and all of that. So... I respect what you said.