Why geothermal energy could make or break our environment

We talk about a lot of clean energy alternatives. Geothermal energy is better than fossil fuels in most ways. Let's talk about it.

What makes geothermal energy so hot?

1. Renewable and sustainable: Fossil fuels are finite. Geothermal energy is not. This is like... the only thing we care about.

2. Clean and low-emission: Yup.. starting to sound like a broken record. Research shows geothermal could be 80% cleaner than fossil fuels.

3. Cost-effective: Once infrastructure is in place, geothermal energy can be very affordable. ("Once infrastructure is in place" is an important piece to this)

4. Reliable and available: Solar and wind only work when the sun and wind are interacting with farms. Geothermal can provide a stable supply of energy because it uses heat from the ground.

5. Small carbon footprint: Geothermal plants also have minimal visual impact to surrounding areas.

Switching to renewable energy sources like geothermal power is crucial. This way, we won't run out of energy sources and suck the Earth dry.

So, how does it work?

Heat comes out of the Earth, as the core is very hot - about 10,800 F. This heat is being produced all the time.

This heat flows outward from the core, heating the Earth's crust. Water and steam end up getting trapped inside of the Earth's crust.

Geothermal plants drill deep wells to access this hot water and steam. The water and steam move up to the surface and spin turbines, which generate electricity.

The cooled fluid is then pumped back into the ground to heat up and get reused.

This sounds great. Why haven't we completely switched from fossil fuels?

1. Availability... or lack thereof: Geothermal can only found in certain areas near tectonic plate boundaries or volcanic activity.

2. Aaaand we're back to talking about cost: It's expensive to set up. Building a new plant requires expensive drilling and infrastructure. The costs are high upfront, it isn't until everything is built where we see cost savings.

3. Earthquakes?: Research shows that geothermal might be cleaner than fossil fuels. But it has other effects too. Releasing gases and unpleasant odors, and earthquakes, to name a few. I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking to invite earthquakes into my backyard.

4. Aaaand cost again: Fossil fuels are still cheap, and they're easy to find. We're talking about an alternative that makes financial sense when we run out of fossil fuels. It's harder to switch over.

But you know what isn’t hard to switch over from? Being someone who isn’t subscribed to someone who is! Voltaic News posts daily about clean energy and sustainability. Just like geothermal energy, we’re hot! And we’re so cost-effective, you can subscribe and share at the cost of: FREE!

We forgot to mention, if you didn’t subscribe, it means you hate the earth. I didn’t make the rules. 🤷