How is geothermal energy sources utilized for communities?

Answer 1

The most common places geothermal energy is used are found in communities that are built close to active or dormant volcanoes and are near tectonic plates. They use the heat from the molten rock (magma) in the ground as a source for heat and energy in houses. Some of the benefits of geothermal energy are that it is reliable, environmentally healthy, and it does not cost much to use. The United States is the leader in Geothermal energy production and research. How it is used: When natural cracks and pores will not allow for economic flow rates, the permeability can be enhanced by pumping high pressure cold water down an injection well into the rock. The injection increases the fluid pressure in the naturally fractured granite which mobilizes shear events, enhancing the permeability of the fracture system. Water travels through fractures in the rock, capturing the heat of the rock until it is forced out of a second borehole as very hot water, which is converted into electricity using either a steam turbine or a binary power plant system. All of the water, now cooled, is injected back into the ground to heat up again in a closed loop.