news hardware Europe has pulled an energy out of the closet that has remained in the background for years: geothermal energy
While we are in the midst of a gas and power crisis, we must look to other ways of producing energy. Renewable energies, which we know well, are becoming even more important at this time, including geothermal energy, which was thought to have been forgotten.
geothermal energy is one of the most overlooked renewable energy sources. Its high installation costs and limitations have kept it in the shadow of wind, sun and hydropower. However, The current energy landscape has once again brought this heat and power source to the fore.
As you may know, Europe is currently being plunged into a major energy crisis, forcing governments to look a little further. Geothermal energy offers a renewable and relatively clean source of energy as it produces no more emissions than those associated with its installation.
In addition, it is an energy that is supported by the European institutions. The European Commission the EU explicitly supports the research, development and installation of these technologiesboth for those who want to extract thermal energy and for those who use it to generate electricity.
Geothermal energy: different speeds in Europe
Not all countries have the same rhythm at the moment. At the top are countries like Iceland, France and Hungary. According to consultants, the industry in these countries is already in a phase of maturity. and growth this decade would be below average (stabilization). On the other hand, Experts believe that the Netherlands could become the country that uses the most geothermal energy in heating systems.
In particular, the energy crisis may contribute to this increase in consumption, especially given the important role of gas in heating homes.. However, the high installation costs mean that projects cannot be improvised and Europe has little leeway in the energy mix. In the long term, geothermal energy can help to increase self-consumption of energy and thus reduce dependence on external sources.
Geothermal energy: energy at the center of the earth
Geothermal energy uses the high temperatures in the earth’s interior to generate energy. Very often it is the thermal energy itself that is used to heat houses. But it can also be transferred to a turbine to convert it into electrical energy. Geothermal energy can even allow us to do the opposite process – cool our homes by pumping heat underground.
Installations can be carried out by horizontal detection, taking advantage of the constant temperature of the surface layers of the subsoil; or vertically, drill further and reach deeper areas. Surface capture does not require large perforations but does require more surface area. Systems can be divided into indoor circuit (the one that transports heat to the buildings) and outdoor circuit (the one that runs underground).
The deeper it reaches, the greater the heat it accesses. Most vertical drilling covers depths between a hundred meters and five kilometers, but some more ambitious projects plan to dig up to 20 kilometers
What future for geothermal energy?
So far, geothermal energy has only been implemented to a very limited extent. In the United States, one of the countries where geothermal energy is installed the most, it accounted for just 2% of renewable energy consumed in 2021 selon l’energy information management. That is less than 0.25% of the energy mix. Although the trend in 2021 is positive, the production record for this energy was reached in 2014.
Despite this, many people have opted for this system. Geothermal is a renewable and clean energy that has an unusual advantage in this group: its consistency. Unlike wind and sun, geothermal energy is not dependent on weather conditions or climatic conditions, as is the case with hydroelectric power..
In addition, the production of greenhouse gases is zero in its activity, but it is also particularly low throughout its life cycle, the equivalent of 50 g of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity (CO2 eq/kWhe )
Selon le Ministry of Energy from the USA. Geothermal energy has other potential benefits as well. Drilling to access this energy has been used for lithium mining. Lithium is an important element for the production of batteries, especially batteries in electric vehicles. Good for good, even if lithium batteries have certain ecological limits.
