The important role Geothermal energy can play in the World’s new energy paradigm has to date been largely overlooked. One of its major advantages is the reliability of the power supply, the emmanating heat of the Earth.
Yesterday I was in attendance and taking notes at the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association’s AGM. I learned alot and definitely gained more respect for this technology and resource. There is some confusion as to what is meant by “Geothermal Energy”. In professional circles in refers to the drawing of deep heat resources, reservoirs of water that are heated, sometimes to many hundreds of degrees, by the fire inside our planet. “Geo-Exchange” is the term for utilizing the ambient temperature six to 12 feet underground, and this is what is being used on a residential and commercial building level. This is also an important form of using geothermal energy on an individual basis. In fact it also represents a major, firm, source of renewable energy that deserves more support. See the Canadian industry association’s site at www.geo-exchange.ca for more information.
EGS, or Enhanced Geothermal Systems, represent a breakthrough in the harnessing of the Earth’s heat resources. This technology could feasibly provide a large amount of “baseline power”, the firm electrical reservoir that we have created with hydro dams, nuclear and coal plants, but is now maxed out and in danger of system failures. An article has just been published at Renewable Energy World on this particular aspect of geothermal energy.
