Geothermal Energy

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Geothermal Energy
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Intro to Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal comes from Greek words geo, meaning
  earth, and therme, meaning heat.
• Geothermal Energy is the heat produced from the
  Earths core. The cores heat radiates to the
  upper mantle.
• The core can reach up to 9,000F.
• The mantles temperature can vary
  between 900 and 1600F.

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Different Forms of Geothermal

• Direct Energy
• Geothermal Heat Pump
• Geothermal Power Plant

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Direct Energy

• Near-surface hot springs or geothermal reservoirs
  pump hot water to the surface.
• Pipes pull a hot resource up to the surface, a
  heat exchanger takes heat from the resource, and
  the unused water is injected back into the
  ground.
• For example, direct energy is used in hot spring
  pools like Warner Springs.

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Geothermal Heat Pump

• Dirt underground is a constant 50F to 60F.
• Water enters the building through pipes called
  loops and is converted to heat or cool the
  building.
• Used in the Midwest and back east to heat and
  cool buildings.

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Power Plants
use underground steam to drive turbines which
generate electricity.
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Three types of Geothermal Power Plants

• Steam Plants
• Steam directly from a reservoir spins turbines in
  generators, creating electricity.
• Flash Steam Plants
• 300F to 700F water is pumped from an
  underground well. The water turns into steam
  powers a generator.
• Binary Cycle Plants
• Geothermal resource goes into a heat exchanger.
  The heat heats a second liquid, which boils and
  and creates steam to turn turbines.

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How Does Geothermal Energy Get to the Earths
Surface?

• The cores heat radiates outward into the mantle.
  
• The heat melts the mantles rock into magma.
• This magma does either of two things
• Reaches all the way to the surface, turning into
  lava flows.
• Stays below the surface, heating rock and water
  around it.
• The mass of heated minerals and water below the
  surface is known as a geothermal reservoir.
• To create electricity, the geothermal resource
  must be brought to the surface so the heat can be
  extracted.

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Where the energy comes from
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The superheated fluid is an important natural
resource. Its the resource for power.

• Its scrubbed to get clean steam.
• The steam drives turbines and generates
  electricity.

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Why use geothermal?

• It is a renewable energy- Clean and Green!
• It can be used instead of fossil fuels.
• Burning fossil fuels is detrimental to the
  earths ecosystem, causing global warming.
• Using Geothermal Energy protects the Earths
  atmosphere!
• Geothermal is more reliable
• than sun or wind.

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Global Warming
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How is Electricity Generated?

• Most commercial electrical power is based on
  spinning a
• wire coil in a magnetic field.
• Mechanical energy
• (motion) is converted
• into electrical energy.
• Most power plants use fossil fuels such as coal
  or gas to
• drive turbines to generate electricity.

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From Steam to Usable Electricity
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Renewable Energy Generation

• Geothermal plants use steam from
• fluid that is super-heated by magma
• deep under the earths surface.
• Instead of steam, windmills use wind
• and dams use water to drive the
• turbines.

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Reinjection

• Reinjection is the process of returning the
  geothermal fluid that was taken from the mantle
  back into the underground.
• Excess steam is condensed back into fluid and is
  also returned to the mantel.
• This is what makes the geothermal resource
  renewable.
• The geothermal fluid will be reheated in the
  mantle and can be used again.
• If a power plant decides not to use the process
  of reinjection, it runs the risk of diminishing
  the underground resource.

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Reinjection Process Explained
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Geothermal Energy in History

• 10,000 years ago- Paleo-Indians used hot springs
  for cooking and bathing.
• 1830- Hot Springs, Arkansas- Asa Thompson charges
  money for hot springs bath. First commercial
  usage.
• 1900- Hot spring water is pumped to homes in
  Klamath Falls, Oregon.
• 1904- First Geothermal power
• plant in Larderlello, Italy

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History (cont.)

• 1921-Drilling at The Geysers with intention of
  producing electricity
• Unsuccessful at first
• A year later, successful as the first US
  geothermal power plant
• 1960- USAs first large scale geothermal
  electricity generating plant
• By Pacific Gas Electric
• 1970- Geothermal Resources Council is formed
• 1977- US Department of Energy (DOE) is formed

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Gemcor

• Geothermal Energy and Mineral Corporation
• Nevada corporation founded in 1968

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How Energy Gets to You!

• Gemcor owns the land containing the steam wells
• Cal Energy operates the power plant, converting
  the geothermal resource into electricity.
• Southern California Edison transports and sells
  the electricity.

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Gemcor Today and in the Future

• With help from Cal Energy, Gemcors resource
  produces 166 Megawatts (MW) of electricity.
• Two new sites at Black Rock are planned to open,
  which will add 200 MW of electricity to Gemcors
  production.
• The next slide will show a video tour of Gemcors
  first production plant.

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Gemcor Plant - Outside
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Gemcor Plant - Control Room
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EndThank You