OptiBlog

Geothermal Energy!

Filip Chocholak -

Slovakia, relatively small country has high potential of using Geothermal Energy. According to Geofar portal, the efficiency of geothermal use in Slovakia is around 30 percent and that is mostly seasonal thing due to the fact that geothermal water is used primarily for recreational and somewhat for agricultural purposes. These sources of heat that are used for recreational purposes are called ‘low-heat’ sources, where the temperature is below 100 Celsius. The ones that can be used for electricity production purposes must be either ‘middle-heat’ or ‘high-heat’ sources, where the temperature rises over 150 Celsius. Nowadays, Slovakia is using only 5 percent of these geothermal water sources of energy, which is definitely a shame and we should re-evaluate our energy-oriented strategy. The highest potential has Kosice region, where are the most sufficient locations for geothermal energy usage.

How does it work?

I have decided to use this specific description by Geofar portal, because I think it is very comprehensive and illustrative.

=> “Utilization of this geothermal energy is achieved by drilling wells into these reservoirs to bring such steam from the high pressure hot water, and direct the steam and separated hot water to drive turbines in power plants. The heat energy is thereby converted to electrical energy. The cooled geothermal fluid is injected back to the reservoir where it is reheated and preserves the resource mass balance and sustainability.”

I also want to share one illustrative scheme of geothermal power plant.

Some facts!

Geothermal energy, in the fact, is:

  • CLEAN:

=> the most common emission is hydrogen sulfide, in combination with dioxide from the atmosphere will change into sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide is widely known as harmful chemical compound that generally causes acid rains, for instance. However, it is necessary to mention that the total amount of SO2 emissions is approximately 30 percent lower in megawatt-hour than from coal plants (Kagel, 2007).

  • RELIABLE:

=> the energy that is produced by geothermal water as same as normal water can be extracted 24 hours/day. The energy from water sources, either ground or geothermal, has high advantage in comparison with wind or solar energy.

  • RENEWABLE:

=> geothermal energy provides security of energy supply reducing need for conventional fuel imports (Geofar, 2009).

Also, there are some negative aspects of geothermal energy:

  • the actual smell of air, as I mentioned before there is a high amount of hydrogen sulfide and this substance has specific smell like rotten eggs, which might be quite annoying for surrounding population.
  • there is also evidence that hydrothermal plants can lead to an even greater earthquake frequency (NREL, 2012).
  • the last thing I would mention is the fact that first initial investment is relatively high (about 10’s millions of euros)

Reference:
ENERGIE-PORTAL.SK. 2015. Retrieved from: http://www.energie-portal.sk/Dokument/geotermalna-energia-vyhodna-cista-ale-aj-nebezpecne-draha-101428.aspx

Geofar. 2009. What is Geothermal Energy. Retrieved from: http://www.energia.gr/geofar/page.asp?p_id=12&lng=1

Kagel, A. 2007. A Guide to Geothermal Energy and the Environment. Washington, DC: Geothermal Energy Association.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). 2012.
Retrieved from: http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/.

National Geographic. 2015. Geothermal Energy. Retrieved from: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/geothermal-profile/