How do you used geothermal energy?

Answer 1

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

Answer 2

Geothermal energy is harnessed by tapping into the heat stored beneath the Earth's surface, typically by drilling wells to access hot water or steam. The heat is then used to generate electricity through a power plant. Geothermal energy can also be used directly for heating buildings or greenhouses by circulating hot water through a piping system.

Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

Geothermal power plants use steam from water heated underground to spin turbine blades that create electricity.

Answer 8

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.

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

geothermal energy is used directly for heating and to turn turbines to geberate electrictity.