The article Geothermal energy can halve electricity costs – and replace power plants first appeared in the online magazine BASIC thinking. With our newsletter UPDATE you can start the day well informed every morning.
According to a recent Stanford study, petrothermal geothermal systems combined with wind and solar power could not only cut electricity costs in half, but also replace baseload power plants.
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) use the natural geothermal heat from deep layers to continuously produce electricity. Stanford University researchers prove in the specialist journal “Cell Reports Sustainability” that this technology can more than halve electricity costs compared to fossil fuels. EGS act as a reliable base load source and can reduce the need for wind and solar systems as well as battery storage.
Engineers use EGS (also called petrothermal geothermal energy) to tap heat at a depth of three to eight kilometers. First they carry out precise drilling into the deep rock. They then pump water into the borehole at high pressure. This targeted pressure breaks up the rock, creating artificial pathways for heat transport.
The water underground heats up due to natural geothermal heat. Pumps then bring it back to the surface. Power plants there use thermal energy directly to generate clean electricity. This technical efficiency enables space savings when expanding renewable energies.
Petrothermal geothermal energy could halve electricity costs
The study shows that an EGS share of just ten percent can reduce the need for onshore wind turbines by 15 percent. This addition would also reduce the required solar area by twelve percent. The technology can particularly significantly reduce the load on the network for battery storage, whose capacity requirements would be reduced by 28 percent.
In the countries examined, the total land use for energy production could fall from 0.57 to 0.48 percent. Particularly densely populated small states such as Singapore, Gibraltar, Taiwan and South Korea would benefit from this low space requirement.
In these regions, many people live in very small spaces, which makes it difficult to build large-scale wind farms or solar fields. EGS promise a solution because the power plants take up little space and generate energy directly from the depths. In this way, these regions could secure their supplies without having to sacrifice valuable land areas.
Secure energy supply without reserve power plants
Switching from fossil fuels to renewable systems can generally reduce electricity costs by around 60 percent. If the health and climate-related costs are also taken into account, total social expenditure falls by over 90 percent. A stable base load source such as EGS has little influence on the pure system costs.
The study proves that weather-dependent energy sources do not require expensive reserve power plants to ensure security of supply. According to the study, EGS have the potential to take over the current function of coal and nuclear power plants in the power grid. As a new baseload power plant, petrothermal geothermal energy would guarantee a secure supply around the clock.
The technology therefore offers a promising way to reduce global warming and air pollution relatively inexpensively.
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As a Tech Industry expert, I am excited about the potential for geothermal energy to revolutionize our energy systems. The fact that it can halve electricity costs and potentially replace traditional power plants is a game-changer. Geothermal energy is a renewable and reliable source of power that has the ability to provide a stable and consistent source of electricity without the harmful emissions associated with fossil fuel-based power plants.
The scalability and efficiency of geothermal energy make it an attractive option for countries looking to transition to a more sustainable energy future. By harnessing the heat from beneath the Earth’s surface, we can tap into a virtually limitless source of energy that is not dependent on weather conditions or daylight hours.
Furthermore, the potential cost savings of implementing geothermal energy can have far-reaching impacts on our economies and the environment. By reducing our reliance on traditional power plants, we can significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Overall, I believe that the widespread adoption of geothermal energy has the potential to revolutionize our energy systems and pave the way for a more sustainable and prosperous future. It is an exciting time to be involved in the tech industry, as we work towards harnessing the power of geothermal energy to create a cleaner and more efficient world.
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