In geothermal energy plants, water is injected into the ground. Underground, there are areas of rock that are heated by the presence of volcanic activity, such as magma near the surface. This heats the water, which comes back out of the ground very hot.
A heat exchanger cools the water, which goes back into the ground. The heat from the heat exchanger boils another pipe of water into steam. The steam spins a turbine, which is connected to a generator, which creates electricity.
Here is a link to a slide show about geothermal power:
http://geothermal.marin.org/GEOpresentation/sld001.htm
HOW IT WORKS
1. It comes from energy released by radioactive substances deep within the Earth
2. Heat warms up the Earth's surface
3. Water is pumped down the pipe towards the heated rock
4. The water evaporates and turns into steam
5. The steam goes up another pipe in high pressure which leads to the generator
6. The steam rotates the generator creating electricity
We can build geothermal power stations in volcanic areas or where there are hot rocks deep below the surface. Water gets pumped down to these rocks to produce steam. Then the steam produced drives turbines at ground level.
Random Facts!
¨ Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal generator on 4 July 1904, at the Larderello dry steam field in Italy
¨ The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located at The Geysers, a geothermal field in California, United States
¨ The Philippines and Iceland are the only countries to generate a significant percentage of their electricity from geothermal sources; in both countries 15-20% of power comes from geothermal plants.
¨ As of 2008, geothermal power supplies less than 1% of the world's energy
¨ The most common type of geothermal power plants (binary plants) are closed cycle operations and release essentially no Greenhouse gas emissions; geothermal power is available 24 hours a day with average availabilities above 90% (compared to about 75% for coal plants)
in some areas the high temperatures within the earth heat up rocks close to the surface. Cold water is pumped into these rocks and the hot water produced can be used for local heating schemes.
Geothermal resources range from shallow ground to hot water and rock several miles below the Earth's surface, and even further down to the extremely hot molten rock called magma. Wells over a mile deep can be drilled into underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that can be brought to the surface for use in a variety of applications. Geothermal technologies include: # Conventional Geothermal #* Binary cycle power plants, which pass moderately hot geothermal water by a secondary fluid with a much lower boiling point than water. This causes the secondary fluid to flash to vapor, which then drives the turbines. The most common type of geothermal #* Hot dry rock geothermal energy: Using deep wells into hot rock, a fluid is heated and used to generate power. Also known as EGS or Enhanced Geothermal Systems #* Dry steam plants, which directly use geothermal steam to turn turbines; #* Flash steam plants, which pull deep, high-pressure hot water into lower-pressure tanks and use the resulting flashed steam to drive turbines; and # Geothermal heat pump: Almost everywhere, the upper 10 feet of Earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 and 60°F (10 and 16°C). A geothermal heat pump system consists of pipes buried in the shallow ground near a building, a heat exchanger, and ductwork into the building. In winter, heat from the relatively warmer ground goes through the heat exchanger into the house. In summer, hot air from the house is pulled through the heat exchanger into the relatively cooler ground. Heat removed during the summer can be used as no-cost energy to heat water. #* Direct exchange geothermal heat pump: A heat pump without a heat exchanger, which circulates the working fluid through pipes in the ground. # Direct Heat: Hot water near Earth's surface can be piped directly into facilities and used to heat buildings, grow plants in greenhouses, dehydrate onions and garlic, heat water for fish farming, and pasteurize milk. Some cities pipe the hot water under roads and pavements to melt snow. District heating applications use networks of piped hot water to heat buildings in whole communities.
Geothermal energy isn't "made". The earth's core is much hotter than its surface, in fact, about 3-5 miles below the surface, anywhere on the earth is about 100o F. This is where the term geo(earth)thermal(heat) comes from. The heat that can be accessed (we don't really have the capability to drill 3-5 miles into our surface) is in places called hot spots, where the relatively low density of the earth at these points allow the heat to escape higher. The heat is used to boil water, spin turbines with the pressured steam and create electricity.
Geothermal energy plants, pump water into wells drilled deep into the Earth where the water is heated, this water then returns to the surface where the plant equipment uses it to heat water into steam to drive a turbine, producing electricity.
Geothermal power plants use steam from water heated underground to spin turbine blades that create electricity.
Geothermal electricity is generated from geothermal energy in dry steam, flash steam, and binary cycle power plants. They each use heat from the earth's core to generate electricity.
Geothermal energy works by first locating the hot spot. Then, heat is captured and used to drive a turbine. The turbine creates electricity which is then utilized or stored.
geothermal energy is used directly for heating and to turn turbines to geberate electrictity.
The energy produced by heat within the earth's crust is called geothermal energy.
using the energy does not deplete the energy source
Geothermal Energy
geothermal is the heat from the earth being used to produce electric power VS tidal use the movement of the oceans tides to produce electric power.
Geothermal is energy, we don't convert it to energy. I think what you're really asking is how can we convert geothermal energy into work. There are geothermal energy fields near Calistoga California. There they simply bore into the ground where the natural hot steam is found from volcanic action and siphon off the steam. That steam is funneled through turbines that turn and power up attached electricity generators. Then the geothermal energy converted to electrical energy is used in the conventional way to power up appliances and such in homes and buildings to do work. The power plant there is called Calpine.
geothermal energy is used to rotate turbines which in turn produce electricity
Geothermal energy might be a good energy sources and it might be commonly used in the future because there are clearly no disadvantages to geothermal energy.
Geothermal energy is thermal energy that is made and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy determines the temperature of things. Geothermal energy can be used for electricity.
geothermal energy is used to heat homes and provide electricity.
geothermal energy is used in the earth something like solar energy but instead the energy comes from the earth and not the sun.
People have used geothermal energy since the dawn of civilization for cooking and bathing
Geothermal energy presently is being used in Hawaii and in parts of the western United States.
geothermal energy is commonly used in the earth something like solor energy by instead comes from the earth and not the sun
The paleo-Indians of North America used geothermal energy 10,000 years ago to cook food. In the 18th century Italy used geothermal energy for industrial purposes, but the first geothermal power plant was put in in 1913.
10,000 years ago geothermal energy served as a source of warmth and cleansing while the minerals of geothermal energy was used for a source of healing
Geothermal energy presently is being used in Hawaii and in parts of the western United States.
Geothermal energy presently is being used in Hawaii and in parts of the western United States.