Geothermal Energy Source Of Green Energy

Today we are at such a crossroad that we have to seriously think about our future and about the sustainability of our resources and most importantly the quality of life that we are living and would be leaving for our future generations. This is because our scarce resources are being used indiscriminately and this is nowhere more apparent than in the energy sector. Here we have seen that the indiscriminate and overuse of the fossil fuels have not only started the scarcity, but also has led to environmental pollution and adverse environmental changes like the depletion of the ozone layers. Thus there is an urgent need to tap other resources that are sustainable and at the same time eco-friendly and hence a new term Green Energy has been coined.

At present research is going on tap natural resources like the wind, the sun, the water and even the heat of the core of the earth. These sources are very good sources for Green Energy as they are present in abundance, are sustainable, are renewable and cause very less pollution.

The energy that is released from the core of the earth is popularly known as the 'Geothermal' energy and is a very good source of Green Energy. It is a non-polluting and sustainable energy and at the same time easily available at certain geographical locations.

The most common resources being the hot springs, shallow ground, hot rocks deep inside the surface of the earth and the earth-core where the temperature is so high that all the minerals and the metals present there are in the plasma state and in the continuous process of radioactive decay and thus releasing more heat and energy. At present, geothermal power can only be tapped at the areas that are closer to the boundaries of the tectonic plates.

At these places, geothermal wells are dug through which the geothermal energy is tapped and utilized. Geothermal energy is one of the most clean and Green Energy resources as we do not have to produce it; we just have to tap it and transmit it optimally. But due to non availability of technology at present, it has not been possible to use it widely as it should have been done. Though many countries are working on it, they have found that at present using it for direct heating is much more efficient and optimal than using it for the electricity generation. It is also more efficient in those places that have low temperature requirements for the heat resource. The heat is tapped through co-generation through geothermal electrical plants, from the small wells or the heat exchangers that are buried in the shallow ground. Due to this geothermal heating is quite economical at few areas only as compared to the generation of the geothermal electricity.

At present many applications are supported by the geothermal Green Energy. District heating application uses the network of hot water pipes in order to heat multiple buildings across many communities. Though geothermal does not require any fuel except for running the pumps, it gives immunity from the various fluctuations of cost of fuel, but the capital cost of setting up the tapping plant is quite high. It would take some time for proper technology to be developed to make it more cost-effective.