GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Renewable energy source

Contents
➢Introduction
➢How geothermal energy is harnessed
➢Equipments and working mechanism
➢Applications
➢Development as a global application
➢Pros and Cons
➢Growth of renewable energy
➢Energy prospects in Pakistan
➢Conclusive remarks
 Introduction:

 The adjective geothermal originates from the Greek

roots γῆ (gê), meaning Earth, and θερμός (thermós),
meaning hot.
 Geothermal energy is the energy generated and stored
in the Earth.
 Thermal energy is the energy that determines the
temperature of matter.
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 The geothermal energy of the Earth's
crust originates from the original
formation of the planet and from
radioactive decay of materials (in
currently uncertain but possibly roughly
equal proportions).
 Geothermal power is cost-effective,
reliable, sustainable and environment
friendly.
How is Geothermal
energy harnessed
How is Geothermal energy harnessed?
➢This is a natural source of power far
below us.
➢There are pools of water heated by
magma (or molten rocks). These pools
make up our geothermal reservoirs.
➢Geothermal power does not require the
burning of any fossil fuels.
➢The hot water or steam used is returned
to the ground after it is used where it can
be used again, which makes it a
renewable energy source as well.
Geothermal Power Plants:
Powering to plants on industrial scale
allows you to harness geothermal energy
below the earth.
• Dry steam power plant:
They work by piping hot steam from
underground reservoirs directly into
turbines from geothermal reservoirs,
which power the generators to provide
electricity. After powering the turbines, the
steam condenses into water and is piped
back into the earth via the injection well.
• Flash Steam Power Plant:
These flash steam plants pump hot water
at a high pressure from below the earth
into a “flash tank” on the surface. The
flash tank is at a much lower temperature,
causing the fluid to quickly “flash” into
steam. The steam produced powers the
turbines. The steam is cooled and
condenses into water, where it is pumped
back into the ground through the injection
well.
• Binary cycle power plant:
In this plant, the main difference is that
the water or steam from below the
earth is pumped through a heat
exchanger where it heats a second
liquid—like isobutene. This second liquid
is heated into steam, which powers the
turbines that drives a generator. The hot
water is recycled into the earth through
the injection well. The second liquid is
recycled back into the heat exchanger
where it can be used again.
Geothermal heat Pumps:
On domestic scale, Powering your home with a geothermal heat pump
allows you to harness the temperatures below the surface of the earth
to heat or cool a structure.
Even though the temperatures above ground fluctuate during the
seasons throughout the years, the temperature below the surface
remains consistent between 50˚F - 60˚F year round.
There are four types of pumps,
• three closed-loop systems
• open-loop systems
Each depends on the type of soil, climate conditions and land available.
Closed loop system:
• Closed loop horizontal systems are the most cost-effective for
residential areas.
• In closed loop systems, a water/antifreeze mixture circulates
through a loop of pipes underground (or beneath a body of
water) and into a building.
• In the winter, the temperatures underground are warmer than
the air, so the fluid pumping in is warmer. Then the electric
compressors and heat exchangers transfer the heat through
ducts in the building.
 Conti..
• In the summer, the pipes
draw heat away from the
building and it is absorbed
into the earth or water. Since
the fluid is already cool in the
summer and warmer than the
air in the winter, the
heater/AC system doesn’t
have to work nearly as hard.
 Open loop system:
• In open loop systems, the water is
taken directly from a water source
and into the heat pump where it then
can either be recycled back into the
same source or pumped into another
water source (without polluting).
• The only difference with the water
going in and out is a slight change in
temperature.
Equipment’s and Mechanism for
Geothermal Energy
Equipment's/Components: -
The primary pieces of equipment used to convert geothermal energy to
electrical energy are: -
• Turbine
• Generator
Other Equipment's that are also used in this whole process are: -
• Heat Exchanger
• Condenser
• CoolingTower
• Heat Pump
Mechanism: -
There are mainly four steps involve in the power generation from
Geothermal Energy : -
1. DRILLING OF WELLS
A production well is drilled into a known geothermal reservoir. Typically, an
injection well is also drilled to return used geothermal fluids to the
geothermal reservoir. Hot geothermal fluids flow through pipes to a power
plant for use in generating electricity.
2. TURBINE TURNING BY STEAM
Hot, pressurized geothermal fluid is
allowed to expand rapidly and provide
rotational or mechanical energy to turn
the turbine blades on a shaft.
3. TURBINE DRIVES THE ELECTRIC
GENERATOR
Rotational energy from the turning
turbine shaft is used directly to spin
magnets inside a large coil and create
electrical current.
TRANSMISSION - POWER LINES DELIVER ELECTRICITY
Electrical current from the generator is sent to a step-up transformer
outside the power plant. Voltage is increased in the transformer and
electrical current is transmitted over power lines to homes, buildings, and
businesses.
Applications:

 Natural air conditioning: In natural cooling, water with flat surface

temperature is used directly to cool the building.

 Maintenance of Civil Works: Another direct application is to avoid

the freezing of bridges, roads, or airports. This includes laying water
pipes without frost.
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 Geothermal heat process:. The ideal temperature required for
vegetables and plants to grow is relatively different. Hence, the water
temperature supply varies on the demand for heat by greenhouses
which ranges from 50- 10000 Celsius.
 Surface geothermal power: It’s also similar to geothermal energy that
can cool any establishment during the summer season. The subsoil
portion can be used as a source for intense climates. This will save
users from costly cooling applications in air-conditioning control
systems.
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Development as a Global
application
Development as a Global application
Top ten countries that use the most geothermal energy are: -
 Development as a global application
• Electricity
• Direct use

Electricity
• Electricity is produced by geothermal in 24 countries, five of which
obtain 15- 22% of their national electricity production from geothermal
energy.
• The world geothermal electricity production increased by 16% from
1999 to 2004 (annual growth rate of 3%).
• Ten developing countries are among the top fifteen countries in
geothermal electricity production.
 Direct use: -
• Direct application of geothermal energy (for heating, bathing etc.) has been
reported by 72 countries.
• China is on top of the list of countries on direct use.
• Direct use increased by 43% from 1999 to 2004 (annual growth rate of
7.5%).
Geothermal heat pump
• Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are one of the fastest growing applications
of renewable energy in the world today.
• In the USA, over 800,000 units have been installed at a rate of 50,000 GHP
units annually with a capacity of over 9,600 MW.
Pros & Cons:

 Pros:  Cons:
▪ Environment friendly ▪ Environmental issues
▪ Renewable and sustainable ▪ Surface instability
▪ Massive potential ▪ Location-specific
▪ Heating and Cooling ▪ High initial cost
Growth of Renewable Energy:
What the Future holds?
Growth of geothermal energy : what does future
holds?
Geothermal Capacity Will Increase 28% By 2024
• The US market for geothermal heat pumps will exceed $2 billion by
2024 as demand for efficient heating solutions increases.
• According to a study by the US government, the global base of
geothermal resources is greater than gas, oil, coal and uranium taken
together.
• Geothermal capacity is anticipated to grow 28%, reaching 18 GW by
2024, with Asia responsible for one-third of global expansion,
particularly Indonesia and the Philippines, followed by Kenya, whose
geothermal capacity is set to overtake Iceland’s during the forecast
period.
 Conti…
• At the same time, other researchers are of the opinion that geothermal
energy is a limited resource, although geothermal activity can usually
range from 5,000 to 1 000 000 years, which qualifies it as a renewable
resource.
• This should not be surprising as some countries are profiting from the
presence of geothermal energy on a larger scale.
• The most famous example is Iceland, whose electricity is 100% stable
and uses wind energy, hydropower and, most of all, geothermal
energy.
• In early
January 2019, the
government of Canada
announced that it will provide
substantial funding for the
country’s first geothermal power
plant.
• Thereis a positive investment
climate in this renewable source.
• Geothermal energy is a
promising future.
Energy prospects in Pakistan:

• Geothermal energy is still one of the unexplored energy

resources for electric power generation in Pakistan.
• Pakistan is found to have been blessed with the potential of huge
geothermal energy recourses that could generate 100,000MW
electricity at the cost of 5-10 cents per unit.
• Import of petroleum products worth $15 billion annually by the
government to meet energy needs.
• Geothermal energy is more feasible as compared to coal and
petroleum.
Conti…
• It is
known that geothermal energy has many advantages
compared with solar and wind systems.
• These advantages include weather proof, base load, great
stability, and high thermal efficiency.
• The total installed capacity of geothermal electricity, however, is
much less than solar and wind.
• Due to unstable economic condition of Pakistan, lack of
equipment's and under developed region, there is no invest
made in geothermal Energy projects yet.
• If we will invest in this area, it will be helpful to reduce energy
shortages and saving oil and gas resources to be used for other
industries.
Location of geothermal reservoir in Pakistan:
Conclusive work
• This is a reliable energy source which serves both direct use
applications and electricity generation. Geothermal energy is
independent of weather conditions and has an inherent storage
capability.
• A project for drilling down to 5 km into a reservoir succeeds, the
power obtained from conventional geothermal fields can be
increased by an order of magnitude.