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of the Sierra Nevada in central California. By taking advantage of the more widespread distribution of moderate-temperature geothermal water, binary systems can add significantly to the overall contribution to geothermally generated electricity. As of the end of 2002, geothermally powered generat- ing capacity was about 2,000 megawatts electric in the United States and 9,000 megawatts electric worldwide. Warm-Water Systems: Direct Use Before the development of high-temperature drilling and well-completion technology, geothermal resources were lim- ited to nonelectrical (that is, direct-use) applications. Thermal water too cool to produce electricity can still furnish energy for direct uses that range from heating swimming pools and spas, to heating soil for enhanced crop production at cool- climate latitudes, to heating buildings. The total capacity for direct use in 2000 amounted to about 600 megawatts thermal nationwide, substituting annually for the equivalent energy from 1.6 million barrels of petroleum. Worldwide, comparable figures are 11,300 megawatts thermal and 20.5 million barrels of petroleum. Low-temperature geothermal water is a rela- tively low-grade “fuel” that generally cannot be transported far without considerable thermal-energy loss, unless piping is extremely well-insulated and rate of flow through the piping is rapid. Yet, much of the world geothermal energy supply is consumed for direct-use applications. Warm-water systems— the most widely distributed of the hydrothermal systems—can locally complement or supplant conventional energy sources. Extensive development of the warm-water systems, most commonly found in volcanic areas but also in a few nonvol- canic areas, can significantly improve the energy balance of a nation. For example, the use of geothermal water for space heating and other direct-use applications in Iceland substan- tially benefits the economy of that nation. Similarly, people living in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho, have used geothermal water to heat homes and offices for nearly a cen- tury, though on a smaller scale than in Iceland. Great potential exists for additional direct use of geother- mal energy in the Western United States. It might be advanta- geous for industry and municipalities to invest in installation (particularly retrofit) costs if energy prices stay at or near their current levels. To date, only 18 communities in the West- ern United States have geothermal district heating systems, whereas more than 270 communities have geothermal reser- voirs suitable for the development of such systems. Geopressured Systems A type of hydrothermal environment whose hot water is almost completely sealed from exchange with surrounding rocks is called a geopressured system. This type of system typically forms in a basin that is being rapidly filled with sedi- ment, rather than in a volcanic area. Geopressure refers to the hydrothermal water being at higher-than-normal pressure for its depth (that is, these systems are overpressured). Such excess pressure builds in the pore water of sedimentary rocks when the rate at which pore water is squeezed from these rocks cannot keep pace with the rate of accumulation of the overlying sediment. As a result, geopressured systems also contain some mechanical energy, stemming from the fluid overpressure, in addition to the thermal energy of the geothermal water. Moreover, these systems also contain potential for combustion energy, because considerable methane gas (otherwise known as natural gas) is commonly dissolved in the geothermal water. The bulk of the thermal energy of geopressured systems is accounted for by roughly equal contributions from the temperature of the water and the dissolved methane. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast served as a natural laboratory for offshore studies of geopressured systems sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Presently, however, the economics of exploiting the geopressured environment are not favorable, and industry has shown no interest in following up the DOE studies. Normal-temperature reservoirs Though not associated with volcanism and related magma systems for their thermal energy, shallow geothermal reservoirs of normal-geothermal gradient are included for the sake of completeness. This type of reservoir consists of ordinary near-surface rock and soil, ranging from dry to water saturated. The term “geoexchange” is commonly used to describe the process of tapping this source of thermal energy. See “Geothermal Heat Pumps” for a detailed discussion. “Dry” Geothermal Environments With current technology, the abundant thermal energy in high-temperature geothermal environments with little or no available water or with insufficient permeability for well production—hot dry rock and magma—cannot be tapped, but these environments are the focus of research to explore the feasibility of harnessing their energy. In terms of temperature, magma has the highest geothermal energy potential known. Though of lower temperature, hot dry rock is present in most drillable parts of the Earth’s crust; it may be able to contribute to energy needs of broad geographic areas, if the currently experimental techniques of energy extraction are improved to a commercially competitive status. In contrast to the wide- spread potential of hot dry rock, energy from magma could be obtained at only a few sites. Nonetheless, if significant tech- nological problems are overcome, a large amount of energy could be extracted from these few sites because of the high temperature of magma. See “Mining the Earth’s Heat” and “Enhanced Geothermal Systems” for further discussion. Geothermal Energy—Clean Power From the Earth’s Heat 17PDF Image | Geothermal Energy 1249 USGS
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