|
Three wells supply geothermal heat to the Masson Radium Springs Farm greenhouses in southern New Mexico. This is an example of direct use of geothermal energy for space heating.
Robb Williamson |
Geothermal energy projects in the states can complement others managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its State Energy Program (SEP).
The earth's natural subterranean heat is an enormous, valuable, and under-used energy resource. The heat can come from shallow ground just a few feet below the surface, from hot water and molten rock located several miles deep, or from depths anywhere in between. The temperature in a deep well or mine typically increases by about 1°F (0.56°C) for each 100 feet of depth.
Geothermal technologies make use of these below-ground temperature gradients and fall into three categories:
- heat pumps use shallow ground energy to heat and cool buildings;
- direct-use piped hot water from low-temperature geothermal reservoirs warms greenhouses and melts sidewalk snow;
- electric power plants produce electricity from high-temperature geothermal reservoirs.
DOE's Geothermal Technologies Program publishes a more in-depth explanation about these technologies on the section of its Web site titled Geothermal Basics."
DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory publishes a series of brief explanations about these technologies that are geared to ordinary consumers as part of its series titled "Clean Energy Basics."
The Nevada Energy Office publishes an online directory of the state's geothermal resources.
|
