Google Going Geothermal
Posted by carrie_roll
This we found very interesting.
The branch of Google responsible for doing good in the world (that really is their mission statement) has recently invested $10.25 million into Geothermal research.
But it’s not traditional geothermal that Google is looking into… rather, they’re setting up ways for people to take advantage of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS).
“EGS expands the potential of geothermal energy by orders of magnitude,” explains an official release. “The traditional geothermal approach relies on finding naturally occurring pockets of steam and hot water. The EGS process, by comparison, replicates these conditions by fracturing hot rock, circulating water through the system, and using the resulting steam to produce electricity in a conventional turbine.”
Pretty cool, even though there are concerns that it could cause some seismic activity.
But, the seismic activity pales in comparison when placed side-by-side with the seismic activity that is created by pumping millions of gallons of crude oil out of the ground every year.
Google.org has said that between 3 and 10 kilometers are depths that are easily in reach of current drilling technology. And a recent MIT report on EGS estimates that just 2% of the heat in this range of depths in the continental United States is “more than 2,500 times the country’s total annual energy use.”
That’s a pretty cool philanthropic/business use of some of Google’s vast resources.
Here’s a great video explaining the basics:
They also have a video (below) of the 50 MW Habanero EGS system, currently under development in Australia’s Cooper Basin, which shows how this process works.
If you have Google Earth, you can also get a map overlay of the Geothermal resources available in the US.
What do you think? Does this type of drilling pose a serious threat or serious opportunity?
Voice your opinions using the comments below.
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I have always thought this to be a great way to continue to harvest energy from the earth but always wondered why no one was pursuing it. now I know. I knew they were harvesting steam from the san andreas fault in Calfornia.