Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps (GHPs) make use of a completely different set of principles than the kind of geothermal we commonly discuss. Where the latter relies on the transfer of thermal energy from one fluid to another, like an egg placed in boiling water, the former relies on the principles of refrigeration, i.e., the evaporation and condensation of a substance in an enclosed space.

But considering that many people are unaware of this, how large an effect does public ignorance have? It’s huge, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, which dubs this effect a GHP “energy crisis” in their recent report:

The basics of GHP technology have changed very little over the decades but a geothermal identity crisis has been detrimental to fostering awareness, understanding, and acceptance of the technology. Depending on the perspective, GHPs have been cast as an energy source by many names (renewable, geothermal, solar, earth, alternative, recycled), as energy efficiency or energy conservation, or as an option within a broader category such as utility demand-side management.

There’s plenty to get excited about in GHPs, whose basic concept is that even very cold water or cold air contains an appreciable amount of energy that be extracted and moved very inexpensively.

In the coming month or two, I hope to corral GHP expert and professional consultant Mark Metzner for a webinar on the subject. I’m sure listeners will be surprised and delighted to learn how simple, inexpensive and ridiculously underused this technology is. More soon.

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U.S. researchers have released an interactive database of the nation’s geothermal resources, mapping in detail the areas of exploration that they say could produce roughly 3 million megawatts of energy using existing technologies. Researchers at the Southern Methodist University Geothermal Laboratory assembled geological data from 35,000 sites nationwide, including the depth and temperature of geothermal resources for each state. Those projections, which can be viewed using Google Earth software, suggest there is significantly more potential for geothermal energy than previously believed, particularly in the eastern two-thirds of the nation. While geothermal production in the U.S. has typically been limited to heat-producing, tectonically active regions of the West, recent advancements in drilling and extraction technologies have made it possible to tap into a wider range of geologic regions. The study was funded by Google’s non-profit arm, Google.org.

Click to enlarge

Google Earth Geothermal potential in the U.S.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360 .

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The World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA, has allocated $110 million to Kenya to finance increased production of geothermal power.

The World Bank released a statement commenting, “MIGA has increased its coverage against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance to cover an additional equity investment of $110 million for phase three of the project,” Nairobi’s Business Daily reported.

The geothermal plant, scheduled for completion in two years’ time, is intended to support Kenya’s economic recovery and reduce the country’s dependency on current hydroelectric power generation projects. Given the country’s current energy shortfalls, Kenya Power is presently rationing its 90 megawatt daily output in a program that is constraining the country’s industries.

The World Bank’s MIGA agency has insured OrPower 4 Inc’s Olkaria III power plant for the past decade, which became the first private geothermal power plant in sub-Saharan Africa in 2000. Ormat Holding Corporation President, Mr Yehudit Bronicki said, “MIGA’s continued participation in the project is critical. With its involvement, the political risk profile of the project is much lower.”

In a press release MIGA noted, “An increase in indigenous geothermal generation will guarantee a more reliable supply of energy while also reducing carbon emissions.”

Article by Charles Kennedy, appearing courtesy OilPrice.com.

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Canada gets most of its energy from hydropower, coal and nuclear. But scientists say that geothermal power could meet the country’s energy needs one million times over.

The statement is taken from a federal report on geothermal energy. The document was compiled by a team of 12 scientists led by Stephen Grasby at the federal Geological Survey of Canada and made public on the eve of a conference in Toronto earlier this month.

One of the main advantages of geothermal is that it is available 24 hours, unlike wind and solar, which face intermittency issues.

British Columbia, Alberta, the Yukon and Northwest Territories are the areas where the heat exists closer to the surface, but there are geothermal energy opportunities all over Canada. The researchers estimate that 100 projects would meet the country’s energy needs.

The biggest drawback for geothermal implementation is that upfront costs are very high. The logistics involved are quite daunting: wells must be drilled miles into the earth to bring heat to the surface. And then plants need to be built to turn the heat into electricity. All of this comes with its share of environmental impact, but much less aggressive than the impact caused by fossil fuels.

The report highlights a technique called ‘enhanced geothermal’ as one with great potential. Water or CO2 is injected into the wells so that it can migrate through the cracked rocks to capture heat. The heated water or CO2 is brought back to the surface to produce electricity. Europe and Australia are currently testing this type of hydropower technology.

What do you think? Is geothermal a truly sustainable alternative, and economically viable one as well?

Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.

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A U.S. startup says it has developed an enhanced geothermal energy system (EGS) that engineers say can tap into heat from the Earth’s interior without any associated risks of triggering earthquakes or polluting underground aquifers.

While typical EGS processes require developers to pump liquids into deep wells at high pressure, a process that has on occasion triggered small earthquakes, GTHerm has developed an approach that doesn’t require fracturing or water cooling.

Instead, the process includes installation of a solid-state heat exchanger, or “heat nest,” at the bottom of the well that can more efficiently draw heat from surrounding rock with the help of a highly conductive grout encasing the heat exchanger.

Fluid is sent down the well in a closed loop that carries the heat back to the surface, where it creates steam that drives electricity-generating turbines. “We’re basically a heat pump on steroids,” said Michael Parrella, CEO and founder of the Connecticut-based company.

The company, which is now testing the commercial feasibility of the technology, hopes to have demonstration plants in place as early as 2012.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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If properly harnessed, geothermal energy systems could help China meet its growing energy needs, providing a reliable source of power that comes with negligible carbon emissions. On Friday the Shanghai Institute of Geological Engineering Exploration announced geothermal heating and cooling systems may soon be deployed in the city of Shanghai, saving residents money on energy bills in the long term.

The kind of geothermal setup the Institute has in mind utilizes an air exchange system to draw energy from about 650 feet (200 meters) beneath the ground’s surface. At this depth, underground temperatures tend to stay around 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be tapped year round to keep building temperatures fairly constant. The system could be used not only for heating during the winter, but also to keep buildings cool in summer. Since summer air conditioning is one of the most energy-hungry home enterprises, this could truly make a significant dent in residential carbon emissions.

The upfront cost of a geothermal heating and cooling system would be about 50% greater for homeowners, but over time the system would pay for itself. With reliable coal and oil supplies tightening in China, this ratio could shift over time to put geothermal systems at even more of an advantage.Considering it has the fastest growing economy in the world, China will not be able to meet its energy needs forever and a quick transition to renewable energy simply makes sense.

Using geothermal energy to help power the economy is not a new idea in China. Most of the country’s headline-grabbing clean energy investments have been in wind and solar projects, but China is also exploring its geothermal resources. Last year the Chinese Sinopec Star Petroleum Company announced an agreement with Geysir Green Energy of Iceland, to build geothermal power stations in the northeastern part of the country. China is attempting to build long term geothermal partnerships with Iceland, which has been more successful than any other country in the world at harnessing energy from underground.

Of course as with any energy source, tapping geothermal power can cause problems if it isn’t done properly. The heat exchange systems that could soon start popping up in Shanghai could cause ground water pollution if not done properly. However considering the serious environmental effects connected with burning fossil fuels and China’s desperate need for new sources of low-carbon energy, the benefits of using geothermal power on a large scale seem to greatly outweigh the costs.

Today China is the world’s biggest energy user and the largest annual emitter of greenhouse gases that cause global warming. As energy demand continues to rise in China, the stakes couldn’t be higher in the search for clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. There will be no silver bullet for China’s energy problems, but it seems only logical for the country to make use of every clean energy source at its disposal. Geothermal power will almost certainly be a part of how China meets its energy needs in the future.

Article by Nick Engelfried, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) recently launched by the UK government has been met with mixed reactions.

The £860bn pound scheme is expected to increase green capital investment by £4.5bn by 2020 and will stimulate a new market in renewable heat. The number of industrial, commercial and public sector installations is expected to rise seven-fold by 2020.

Businesses that install low-carbon forms of heating such as Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) will be paid the RHI at 4.3p per kW hour of renewable heat produced for systems less than 100kW and 3p per kWh for systems above 100kW in quarterly installments over periods of up to 20 years. The RHI tariff will reduce the payback period to between 6-9 years on commercial heat pump installations.

Geothermal International, a company with over 80% share of the UK’s commercial GSHP systems, welcomed the scheme, saying it will transform the market. “We are delighted the Government has committed to encouraging a national switch to low-carbon heating. Ground Source Heat Pumps have a vital role to play in meeting targets to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 2050 – the technology is a proven renewable energy heating and cooling solution for the 21st century”, said Patrick Sherriff, Geothermal International’s marketing director.

The company has installed more than 160MW of GSHP systems in the UK, including Europe’s largest lake loop at Mansfield Hospital and the UK’s largest closed loop system at the One New Change building in the City Of London. Amongst its most typical customers are offices, retail developments, police headquarters, schools, hospitals, community centres, sports centres and even the UK’s first carbon-neutral church at Little Walsingham, Norfolk.

GSHP systems work by extracting the natural warmth stored in the ground all year round. A typical system consists of a buried earth loop connected to a heat pump. Liquid is pumped down the loop, where it gathers warmth from the earth, and is then compressed, raising its temperature high enough to be used in space heating a building. For cooling, the process is reversed. Working on a similar principle, a typical Air Source Heat Pump system draws heat from the air outside a building then uses a pump to concentrate the heat which in turn warms water for radiators. ASHP systems can supplement GSHP systems and can be readily retro-fitted.

Concerns
Not everyone is so enthusiastic about the RHI, though. Green charity Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) has issued a warning that the scheme could lead to increasing air pollution, especially in urban areas.

Businesses and households will receive incentive payments to use renewable heat which includes biomass systems such as wood-fired boilers. But these biomass heating systems can release high levels of air pollutants when fuel is burnt, EPUK said. That presents a potential health risk in built-up areas.

According to figures from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, pollutants released by biomass heating systems, similar to those from vehicles, could contribute to up to 200,000 premature deaths a year.

EPUK suggests a location-based approach to renewable heat, with local authorities having a greater say in what types of system can be installed to ensure that pollution levels and potential health risks are minimised.

“The RHI highlights the need for a rethink on the Government’s microgeneration strategy,” said EPUK chair James Grugeon. “It’s a step in the right direction, but this broad-brush approach to installing renewables shows there is a lack of understanding about the local health impacts they can have and also where they work best.”

Friends of the Earth, another UK-based green charity, acknowledged the potential benefits of the scheme but also expressed concerns over the use of unsustainable biomass and incineration.

Article by Antonio Pasolini, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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Iceland’s largest energy company is considering construction of the world’s longest underwater electric cable so the nation can sell its vast geothermal and volcanic energy to the European market.

By the end of the year, state-owned energy company, Landsvirkjun, will complete a study of building a sub-sea cable that could deliver as much as five terawatt-hours (5 billion kilowatt-hours) annually to Europe, enough electricity to power 1.25 million homes.

Based on current energy prices, that would generate 250 to 320 million euros ($350 to $448 million) each year. It would also help Europe achieve its target of meeting 20 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.

The cable would be as long as 1,180 miles (1,900 kilometers), depending on its destination; officials are considering linking the cable to Britain, Norway, Holland, and Germany. “The idea is to meet demand during peak hours in Europe, as well as some base load,” said Ragna Sara Jonsdottir, a company spokeswoman. Landsvirkjun produces about 75 percent of Iceland’s electricity by tapping into the nation’s huge stores of geothermal power.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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Some U.S. colleges and universities are cutting their energy costs by 30 to 70 percent after installing geothermal energy systems, and widespread adoption of the technology could help the nation’s 4,100 colleges and universities save an estimated $2 billion to $7 billion annually.

A report by the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program says that 160 colleges and universities in 36 states have already installed geothermal technology, which uses the constant temperature underground — about 55 degrees F — to cool or heat buildings by circulating fluids beneath the earth.

At Ball State University in Indiana, for example, administrators expect net annual savings of $2 million and a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions using a network of geothermal pumps that are replacing coal-fired boilers that heat and cool 45 buildings. At the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Grant Hall, a new geothermal system has enabled the building to maintain a constant temperature of 72 degrees while also significantly cutting energy costs.

According to the report, the nation’s colleges and universities spend more than $20 billion annually on energy, an average of $5 million per campus.

Article appearing courtesy Yale Environment 360.

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What’s the only country in the world that generates 99% of its electricity from clean, carbon-neutral energy sources? If you guessed Iceland—a nation with a relatively tiny population but vast renewable energy resources—you’re right. Today almost all Iceland’s electricity comes from two renewable power sources: a system of dams fed by melting glacier water, and geothermal power from the country’s geologically active interior. For years Iceland has led the world by example when it comes to harnessing renewable energy, but the far-northern nation’s impact on global energy economics could soon become a lot bigger.

The thing is, while Iceland’s clean grid is great for its citizens (who don’t have to deal with pollution from dirty power plants or worry about the price of fossil fuels), it just doesn’t take that big a bite out of worldwide carbon emissions because the country’s population is so small. Iceland is only home to about 320,000 people—a population the size of a medium-small US city. Further, because it is an island it’s no simple matter for Iceland to export energy through power lines to other countries. However that could be about to change, as engineers and investors look at building the world’s longest power cable to send clean Icelandic energy south to Scotland.

Iceland has long been an exporter of clean energy expertise, with Icelandic experts helping countries from the United States to the Philippines figure out how to develop their own geothermal resources. Soon Iceland could be exporting actual energy as well. Currently the country only uses about 40% of its estimated geothermal reserves, and what’s leftover could meet the energy needs of five million homes in Europe. Clean energy exports could eventually make up ten percent of the Iceland’s economy and help it recover from the 2008 financial crisis.

Iceland’s push to become an energy exporter is part of a much larger trend in Europe, where renewable energy is becoming a product that can be transported over vast distances to reach highly populated areas. Southern Europe is already looking at one day importing electricity from solar farms in the Sahara Desert. Wind-rich countries to the north have set their sites on becoming energy exporters as well. Many places in the United States could similarly cash in on the renewable revolution if the national grid was designed to accommodate them. The sunny Southwest, windy Great Plains, and geothermal-rich Appalachia could become US power houses, supplying the rest of the country with electricity.

Considering Iceland has led the world so long on the renewable energy front, perhaps it is no surprise the country is poised to become a leader in exporting clean power. If plans to transport electricity from Iceland Europe go through, this island nation could make its biggest dent on the global energy market yet.

Article by Nick Engelfried, appearing courtesy Justmeans.

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