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CONS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Majority of problems associated with geothermal energy come with the installation of the plant:
 
  • A single geothermal plant cannot generate enough energy to provide an entire region with electricity
-  Requires a substantial amount of heat from the ground to generate energy
-  Removing a large amount of hot water can drain the ground of water needed to run the plant
 
 
 
  • Very Costly
- Requires multiple holes to reach natural heat source
- Drilling is very expensive (hardness of the rock and additional wells to maintain the sustainability
- $ 2700 per kiliowatt compared to $450 per kiliowatt for other natural gas plants
 
 
  • Increase in seismic activity
- May create low magnitude seismicity when removing water and pumping it back into areas
  • Hydrogen sulfide is produced
    - Limited production, however it is still a dangerous gas, even just little amount can possibly lead to great danger
 
  • Geological formation locations are Economically limited
- Geothermal energy often are generated in far places
- Loss of energy when transporting from further areas
 
 

CONS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

CONCLUSIONS

  • Geothermal energy is one of the cleanest and renewable energy sources in the world

  • The pros outweigh the cons, as it produces limited greenhouse gases or toxic chemical products

  • The future of geothermal energy is bright and the applications of it are expected to be further increased in a couple of decades

  • Although there are cons such as it being limited to small regions, this can be resolved by building many smaller geothermal plants near each other, over the same geothermal source to produce the required energy

  • It is often expensive to place geothermal energy systems in the best geographical areas, however they can technically be placed anywhere in the world making it a desirable renewable energy source

  • Being independent of the weather, geothermal energy offers 24-hours worth of energy, making it one of the most reliable source of renewable energy

  • Geothermal energy is a growing resource which will likely be more invested in the years to come, making it a popular topic to investigate and add to environmental courses in the future

References
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22. ImageMakerGlobal (2008) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUQy86ZMpQ&list=UUXB7JK4EEtpCLJl3nSqKk6A

© 2014 by Jim Ding, Melissa Hall, Selena Hussain, Reyam Jajo, Sheldon Roy, Doren Singh (Group 1)

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