Geothermal Energy

Geothermal Energy Basics

Geothermal

Geothermal energy refers to energy that is stored in the Earth’s crust that can be used to both generate electricity and for space heating and cooling. But since its utilisation would require drilling deep below the Earth’s surface, geothermal energy is used for generating electricity only in areas that are rich with hot spots such as Iceland that generates 17% of its electricity from geothermal energy. Regions without hot spots, on the other hand, use geothermal energy for space heating and cooling, using geothermal heat pumps. These exploit the constant temperature below the Earth surface which is 0 to 12 degrees Celsius regardless of the season of the year. In the winter, this constant temperature is taken advantage for space heating and in the summer, for space cooling.

Advantages of Geothermal Energy

Disadvantages of Geothermal Energy