Archive for April, 2011
April 15th, 2011 | 
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Today, there exists a significant amount of information relating to geothermal energy. We are going to discuss the many different geothermal energy facts along with the basic geothermal information. This may come as a surprise to you, but the process of extracting geothermal energy has been in existence for over a hundred years. Electricity from the use of geothermal activity was first generated in 1903, in Italy. Today, there are over 40 geothermal power plants in the U.S.A alone.
The term “Geothermal” derives from the Greek words; “geo” (meaning earth), and “therme” (meaning heat). So a quick way to remember what geothermal energy is all about can be found in the phrase “earth heat”.
The most common mistake made when thinking about geothermal energy is mistaking a geothermal boiler (common in homes in specific countries) as a geothermal energy source. This type of energy is actually called “ground source”, and the pump should be referred to as a “ground source heat pump”. This technology relies on the sun (not the earths core? to heat the ground.
Another fact about geothermal energy, concerns the difficult placement of geothermal power stations. This is greatly affected by the geological activity beneath a given location. in some areas, the technology may be useless, whereas in others it may be extremely efficient. An example of this can be found with the 40+ power plants in the U.S.A, where one specific plant in California produces a larger output than the majority put together.
Geothermal activity is greatly affected by fault lines in the earth’s crust, or where there are volcanoes.
This is due to the fact that liquid rock (magma) can be found much closer to the surface in these areas, therefore providing a much greater heating of the ground.
Geothermal energy is said to be one of the greatest natural energy sources in existence, yet the reason we don’t see power plants of this nature everywhere, is due to the geological reasons.
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Wind energy is fast becoming a more popular choice for many large scale renewable energy designs and construction.
A well known wind energy fact lies within the opposition usually met from a proposed wind farm development and this is down to the “NIMBY” factor (not in my backyard). Most people would like the idea of a wind farm proposal to provide clean, cheap electricity from wind energy, yet how many of these people would like a wind farm close to their home? The “NIMBY” factor is something we are going to have to get used to and be prepared to live with in future decades.
In 2007 it was estimated that only 1 – 2% of the worlds energy supply comes from a renewable wind energy source.
In some smaller countries (such as Denmark) the fact that they are able to provide between 20 and 40% (2007 figures) of the countries energy demand through the use of renewable wind energy, shows the potential of wind energy and that this just becomes a way of life. Another fact of wind energy is shown through the effectiveness of one well placed turbine. Some households across the U.K are taking advantage of the average wind energy and have attached a varied amount of small wind turbines to some homes in order to cut electricity bills.
Larger scale wind energy developments have a well known fact of been able to provide electricity to large villages or small towns. A lesser known fact concerning wind energy is the placement of wind turbines and how this can greatly affect the long term efficiency of a small or large scale, wind energy project. If you would like to learn more energy facts relating to other renewable energy sources, we feature an article explaining some geothermal energy facts which you may be interested in.