Archive for category Geothermal Power

Gas Resulting from Geothermal Drilling Causes Respiratory Diseases in Iceland

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power, Pollution on May 10, 2012

A three-year study performed in Iceland revealed that toxic gases associated with geothermal drilling can be dangerous to human health. The study found a link between underground-originating hydrogen sulfide (the rotten eggs-smelling substance) and asthma and various respiratory diseases. The hydrogen sulfide had been measured next to a busy intersection in Reykjavik, from March 2006 [...]

Sewage Geothermal Technology Used to Extract Free and “Filthy” Heat in Philadelphia

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on April 19, 2012

Wastewater is and will always be warm, and its heat so far has usually been lost, without powering anything (but bacteria). To prevent this precious (filthy) energy go down the drain, NovaThermal Energy LLC, based in Philadelphia, wants to implement what they call a “sewage geothermal” technology, meant to recover most of it. “It’s just [...]

Hawaii Extending Geothermal Industry

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on January 11, 2012

Hawaii is set on becoming more than just “the” touristic destination – the Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) is putting in an effort to increase this year’s geothermal exploitation through a Geothermal Request for Proposals. Plans include an increase to 50 MW out of geothermal power alone, not to mention the wind, solar, biomass and [...]

NEXT-Drill: Norway's New $4 million Geothermal Project

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on January 8, 2012

Two things do geothermal and solar heat have in common: they are both clean and “bottomless bags.” Still, unlike solar, geothermal heat does not vary according to the weather forecast, the moment of the day or the season we’re in. It’s there to stay and make our lives better, less dependent on perennial sources like [...]

Huge Geothermal Potential Revealed Beneath U.S. by Google-Funded Map

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on December 7, 2011

The recently revealed map, released by the Geothermal Laboratory of Southern Methodist University, shows once more that massive resources of potential energy lie hidden beneath America. After years of development, carried out with funding from Google, the newly revealed map shows that there are enough resources to equal 10 times the amount of energy that [...]

Simbol Materials to Extract Cheap But Precious Lithium From Geothermal Wells

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Energy Storage, Geothermal Power on December 2, 2011

Electric cars produced nowadays use lithium ion batteries. As this market will rise over the next few years, so will the lithium demand, ultimately driving new extraction technologies for the industry to keep pace with the demand and to lower the prices. While some 12 years ago the U.S. had been producing 75 percent of [...]

How Old Oil Wells Could Become Geothermal Energy Sources

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on November 24, 2011

One of the main costs when harvesting geothermal energy is the digging itself. Just like oil wells, geothermal wells have to be several kilometers deep, because temperature rises along by 50 degrees Celsius with every kilometer. This is where abandoned oil wells could help generate clean electricity. A team of researchers from the Chinese Academy [...]

Siemens Designs New 60 MW Steam Turbine for Geothermal Applications

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on November 4, 2011

Siemens Energy has recently developed a new 60 MW steam turbine for geothermal power plants at the GEA Geothermal Energy Expo in San Diego. Designed for geothermal applications, the new steam turbine combines the casing and turbine-generator package with the steam path technologies developed, tested and applied by TurboCare, the steam turbine service provider. The [...]

U.S. to Become World's Main Geothermal Energy Producer by 2020, Research Says

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on October 3, 2011

The United States is about to become the world’s first geothermal energy producer. New statistics from Pike Research says that the goal will be reachable within the next 10 years or less. Pike Research says that the total geothermal output in the U.S. will reach 4.2 GW, which is about 36 percent more than the [...]

Iceland To Have World's First Data Center That Operates Without CO2 Emissions

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on September 28, 2011

Iceland is one step closer to have the world’s first zero-carbon data center. The IT company Colt will build this new data center which will be exported to Iceland as a pre-fabricated kit by the end of next month. Iceland is known as a country that has large geothermal resources, the perfect location for a [...]

Conventional Geothermal in Japan Could Replace All Existing Nuclear Power Plants

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on September 26, 2011

According to some reports, only 16% of Japan’s energy is generated domestically, but being located on the ring of fire, Japan is considered the third country in the world with the most geologically active terrain. Facing threats such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, Japan is the perfect location for geothermal energy development. Japan’s Geothermal [...]

Canada's Geothermal Resources Enough to Power Everything in the Country

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on September 19, 2011

Canada may free itself from oil and gas in the not-so-distant future due to its geothermal capacity. A new report says that the country’s possible geothermal wells would not only be enough to provide power to all of its inhabitants, but could provide a million times more energy than it really needs. Geothermal energy has [...]

Berkeley Project Stores CO2 Underground and Harvests Geothermal Energy

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on August 9, 2011

A new project aimed at sequestering CO2 and at the same time extracting energy from geothermal resources is being developed by Berkeley Lab researchers. Their plan is to build a CO2-enabled geothermal system in Cranfield, Mississippi a year from now. “This is the first project intended to convert geothermally heated CO2 into useful electricity,” says [...]

Earthquake-Free Geothermal Drilling Technology Proposed by GTherm

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on May 17, 2011

Earthquakes are a serious drawback and side effect of geothermal drilling and that could be damaging to the industry, especially after Japan’s nuclear experience. GTherm, a Connecticut-based company founded in 2008, thinks they can overcome the issue through their proprietary geothermal extraction process that doesn’t involve fracturing rock, which is apparently causing the quakes.

Unxepected Discovery Proves Magma More Potent Than Geothermal Reservoirs

Posted by Mihai Sandru in Geothermal Power on April 29, 2011

Scientific breakthroughs have been known to come by accident, not necessarily after a nice, long study: look at Newton’s apple! This is roughly what happened at the Krafla volcano in Iceland: instead of testing geothermal energy harvesting, the team of researchers discovered the amazing power of magma.