How is this idea for a clean energy SOURCE?

Question

Drill into the earth until we reach the hot rocks. Then set up a pump to drive water (ocean or regular whichever is cheaper) down to the earth to be heated up then return it back to the surface. Turn the super heated water into all sorts of energy use.

How are some real disadvantages for this method? How much would it cost?

Answer 1

It is called geothermal and is already being done in places like Iceland where there are shallow enough hot rocks. It can't be done in most places in the world because the drill hole would have to be deeper than we can drill..

Answer 2

save money and use a natural vent...

here is a link that will let you see where the industry is..

Answer 3

The biggest disadvantage is that we don't have a drill bit that could reach "hot" rock, second is that we already have hot water and steam geysers and we haven't tapped into them because the only real benefit of this kind of practice would be steam turbine, and even then is no good because it's not a steady flow and also the cost would be comprable to nuclear.  Referring to geo-thermal energy, that is little more than using the technology of building houses with adobe, because all that does it use the ambient and radiant temperature to raise or lower the temperature of a structure, in geo-thermal they only drill down far enough to heat or chill a medium such as ethylene glycol to 65 degrees fahrenheit. Bottom line is you have to take cost, and reliability into consideration, not to mention the technology is still under-developement

Answer 4

Even if it's not an immediate effect, the water would soon cool the molten rocks and the hole would seal up. Good idea though. Keep working on it and maybe it'll develop.