Photo: https://bkvenergy.com/learning-center/what-is-geothermal-energy/
Welcome back to The Sunstone Way.
When the phrase renewable energy is used, most people think of solar or wind energy. Both are fairly reliable, and come back day after day.
There are other renewable energy sources, including hydrogen (one of the basic building blocks of our world), hydraulic (water) energy as well as ocean wave energy. Our planet offers up one more energy source as well – geothermal, the heat from beneath the earth’s surface.
An Ancient Power
Like sun, wind and water, the power of the earth’s core has been with us since the beginning. We just didn’t always realize it was there, or how to harness it.
The definition of geothermal energy is simple – it is the heat from the Earth’s core coming to the surface in a variety of ways. In some places, it manifests as steam rising from geysers or hot mineral springs; volcanic eruptions are a more potent display.
In fact, those geysers and hot springs are primarily located near the Ring of Fire, which describes the circle of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean. Volcanoes spew magma (molten rock) when they erupt, and the magma beneath the earth’s surface is the source of heat we try to harness. Geo-thermal equals earth heat.
Tapping The Energy
In the last century, humans have begun to find ways to harness geothermal energy. There are two primary approaches – geothermal heat pumps to control temperature in individual buildings and generating electricity by using the heat to operate steam turbines.
Geothermal resources first generated electricity in 1913. Today, it supplies a significant amount of electricity in Iceland, El Salvador, New Zealand, Kenya and the Philippines, and meets more than 90% of heating demand in Iceland.
The United States has been a bit of a late comer, partially because spots where the magma is close enough to the surface to get water hot enough to generate electricity are found in only a few places. There currently are geothermal power plants in seven states. In 2023, they generated 0.4 percent of the country’s electricity – but that still was 17 billion kilowatt-hours.
California is far and away the most active state when it comes to geothermal electricity generation, with 66.6 percent of the country’s geothermal electricity production. The Geysers dry steam reservoir in northern California is the largest dry steam field in the world and has been producing electricity since 1960.
A Worldwide Power Source
Advocates for clean energy from geothermal sources created a World Geothermal Energy Day in 2021. The date is Oct. 17 annually – that’s the day Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and destroyed the city of Pompeii.
Organizers call the day “an ambitious expansion, reimagination, and rejuvenation of the understanding of the transformative benefits of earth-based, renewable energy.” It is a part of the puzzle I call the new Clean Energy Economy.
Here at Sunstone, we work closely with American Lending Center (ALC). I’m happy to say that ALC has put its money behind the concept of clean energy, and has partnered with X-Caliber Rural Capital to help finance the first phase of a huge new next-generation geothermal project in Utah.
That’s an investment into the 21st Century technology that is making use of the bounty the earth offers in clean, non-polluting energy sources.
Next Steps
As we continue to move into the Clean Energy Economy, we need to explore and use all the tools available to us. Geothermal energy is an important tool, whether it’s used through a heat pump to make a home comfortable or a utility-sized power plant to provide electricity to an entire region.
I applaud the research taking place to make even more and more efficient use of geothermal energy. It’s a natural way to power our Clean Energy Economy.
And that’s The Sunstone Way.
Remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone Management, Inc.
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©Sunstone Management, Inc. 2024