Geothermal Energy- The advantages and disadvantages of it?

Question

Could anyone help me?!

I need some information on Geothermal Energy overall

and information on the advantages and disadvantages!????

Thank you very much!

Answer 1

search geothermal iceland...apparently it's so cheap they heat the sidewalks...

Answer 2

Geothermal power (from the Greek words geo, meaning earth, and therme, meaning heat) is energy generated by heat stored beneath the Earth's surface or the collection of absorbed heat in the atmosphere and oceans. Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal generator on 4 July 1904, at the Larderello dry steam field in Italy.[1] The largest group of geothermal power plants in the world is located in The Geysers, a geothermal field in California.[2] As of 2007, geothermal power supplies less than 1% of the world's energy.

Advantages



The Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant in IcelandGeothermal energy offers a number of advantages over traditional fossil fuel based sources. From an environmental standpoint, the energy harnessed is clean and safe for the surrounding environment.[4] It is also sustainable because the hot water used in the geothermal process can be re-injected into the ground to produce more steam. In addition, geothermal power plants are unaffected by changing weather conditions.[5] Geothermal power plants work continually, day and night, making them base load power plants. From an economic view, geothermal energy is extremely price competitive in some areas and reduces reliance on fossil fuels and their inherent price unpredictability.[6] It also offers a degree of scalability: a large geothermal plant can power entire cities while smaller power plants can supply more remote sites such as rural villages.[7]

[edit] Disadvantages

There are several environmental concerns behind geothermal energy. Construction of the power plants can adversely affect land stability in the surrounding region. This is mainly a concern with Enhanced Geothermal Systems, where water is injected into hot dry rock where no water was before.[8] Dry steam and flash steam power plants also emit low levels of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur, although at roughly 5% of the levels emitted by fossil fuel power plants.[7] However, geothermal plants can be built with emissions-controlling systems that can inject these gases back into the earth, thereby reducing carbon emissions to less than 0.1% of those from fossil fuel power plants.[9]

Although geothermal sites are capable of providing heat for many decades, eventually specific locations may cool down. It is likely that in these locations, the system was designed too large for the site, since there is only so much energy that can be stored and replenished in a given volume of earth. Some interpret this as meaning a specific geothermal location can undergo depletion, and question whether geothermal energy is truly renewable, but if left alone, these places will recover some of their lost heat, as the mantle has vast heat reserves. An assessment of the total potential for electricity production from the high-temperature geothermal fields in Iceland gives a value of about 1500 TWh or 15 TWh per year over a 100 year  period. The electricity production capacity from geothermal fields is now only 1.3 TWh per year