Why don't we all just use Geothermal Energy?

Science tells us there's enough energy in the first 10 kilometres below our planet's surface to provide all our energy needs for millions of years. The Romans tapped into it for their hot water spas. Today, we all know it as Geothermal Energy. There's no carbon dioxide emissions and no air pollution with geothermal, and it's literally right there beneath our feet. So why isn't our entire planet powered by it?
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[@mikedixon8741]

Not on the scale of what this video shows, in 2013 I had to replace my heating and cooling system. The contractor drilled 5 holes in my yard, 200 feet deep. They then ran a flexible tubing all the way down and back to the surface equaling 2000 feet of tubing, and linked them all together with a sealed tubing system that runs to my new system which is an indoor unit in my garage which keeps it out of the elements. All total, with approximately 2800 feet of tubing is an ethylene glycol type of fluid that constantly circulates at a temperature of about 64 degrees farenheit. Imagine during the summer months when its 90+ degrees outside and you can simply blow air across 64 degree liquid running through the unit. It drops the ambient air temperature quickly and efficiently. Conversely, when its below freezing outside, it is much cheaper to warm cold air from 64 degrees to 70 indoors than to use electricity to raise air temperature from outside where its below freezing to 70 degrees. I love my system and what it saves me in my monthly power bill will eventually pay for the cost of the system. Sorry this is so long, but if one person sees it that is unaware of the benefits and switches, then it's all worth it!

[@MrMawnster]

Yes my cousin has an excavated geothermal system put in his back yard as well on his acerage. Its pretty neat!

[@somaday2595]

Why are you using ethylene glycol? If the tubing leaks, the groundwater will be poisoned for a long time...and it is not legal. It is a hazmat material. Propylene glycol is acceptable and gives a wide range service temperature, just not quite as large as ethylene glycol. Viscosity may be slightly higher.

[@mikedixon8741]

@@somaday2595 Re read what I wrote. I put in this that it was an ethylene glycol "type" liquid, because actually I don't know what the actual liquid used is. Sorry for the confusion.

[@peterdarr383]

What State are you in ? Florida for example has a 72* ground temp which isn't cold enough for A/C. without a compressor.

[@mikedixon8741]

@@peterdarr383 Good question. I live in Southeastern Virginia. I'm probably 10 miles north of the North Carolina border. My irrigation well is 120 feet deep and I don't know exactly how cold it is, but I try to avoid the water when I move my sprinklers! It's very cold, and I would guess 65-67* in that range.

[@itsnotmeitshim]

"all the other countries in the world that aren't fortunate enough to be located above fault lines" That's a line you don't hear too often!

[@bencrawshaw1227]

Britain has one fault line in Anglesey. I don't know its that any help though.

[@heinuchung8680]

Some would say wait for it.... It wasn’t their fault :)

[@chuckkottke]

Oh boy, if our faults begin to shift we might see a supervolcano in Yellowstone basin again.🗻 But in the meantime, we could tap more geothermal energy there..🌄

[@rcpmac]

It just means you have to drill a bit deeper. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZyvgHymiNZmitk

[@alanhat5252]

@@bencrawshaw1227 there's also history of earthquakes in Herefordshire & I believe Derbyshire, Edinburgh Castle is built on a volcanic plug. There's plenty of activity but is it going the right way? If the crust is being squeezed it will be thicker than average unlike Iceland where it's being pulled apart making the crust thinner.

[@rogerjohnson2562]

I appreciate your technique and tone as well as the information you provide, thanks very much!

[@user-wx2uo8tn8s]

The oil field's drilling technology is the perfect crossover to reaching these high temp zones, practically anywhere in the world. I work in the oil field, particularly in a technology used heavily in exploration drilling where we frequently and successfully drill 8-9km wells. Our equipment and control systems allow us to maintain wellbore stability and instantly react to changing formation pressures which is vital in reaching such depths. And to state plainly: yes, the oilfield is being called on by these geothermal endeavors to help them achieve their goals. It's wonderful to see such a matured, advanced industry being called on to help solve the problems of the future in both renewable energy and space exploration. I believe that our world's future will depend greatly on the success of alternative energies so that we may ween off of oil in its current broad-category uses in order to preserve it for those products we depend on which presently have no feasible replacement for the hydrocarbons used in their making. What are these products? Electric cars, windmills, solar panels, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, thermoplastics, electronics components, and batteries. That is a very short, focused list of products that absolutely cannot be made without oil/petrochemicals. Technology advancements have tried to come up with alternatives to replace hydrocarbons in many of these manufacturing processes and ingredients but many have failed to match or even compare. I can't help but roll my eyes a little when I see someone worked up into a lather about the evils of oil - knowing little to nothing about their dependency on it - as they poke in their latest rant online using their smartphone or computer which are all products made possible only by the use of oil. But please don't misread that as statement that I expect all should bow and thank the oil field for providing it, rather just as a reminder that life rarely offers us problems, especially of our own making, that have pushbutton solutions. If you hate oil, then "know thy enemy" and seek to understand it better so that your thoughts and decisions are better informed in how you deal with its demise. It is my personal hope that in 20-30 years the combined efforts of industries across the globe will have transformed the way we make and use things and that my job in the oilfield is either no longer needed or has morphed into something equivalent in future energy and chemical production.

[@jeffhenze241]

Very well said. I really liked your comprehensive statement from using drilling technology to help geothermal advances to your pointing out many people don't seem to think it through when denigrating hydrocarbons and the profound ways we all use them everyday.

[@user-wx2uo8tn8s]

@@jeffhenze241 Thank you, Jeff, for taking a moment to offer your comments. I hesitated to post my initial comment at all - not much for voicing my own thoughts and opinions online, fearing I offer little value to what can be very unproductive "discussions" on heated topics (no pun intended.. ok maybe just a little). I'm pleased that you have such a level response. In my personal experiences, I've found that it is usually the largest, loudest crowds that speak the most definitively as a group but with the least amount of substance individually. As with any serious problem calling for wise solutions, I hope that we all take time to do our own research of all the facets that define the situation we intend to improve and not just follow the crowd. I believe this would result in well-calculated actions that do the most good with the fewest possible consequences. It is only my own pride stands in the way of seeking and discovering truth. I don't think the world needs to know where I stand - who am I to assert public value to my thoughts - but I believe, at the very least, I should know where I stand on anything that concerns me and, most importantly, why. I hope all of that doesn't come across as preachy to anyone who may give a passing glance at this comment... just some food for thought; myself included.

[@jakublizon6375]

I agree with pretty much everything you said. We are all extremely dependent on oil, yet as dependent as we know we are, we are still a hundred times more dependent than that. Which is exactly why we need to wean off of it...NOW! The steeper the change, the more it will hurt, and we will have no choice. We are still in a place where the transition can be smooth, but we are really running out of time here... Renewable energy is absolutely mandatory if we want to continue to thrive. Acknowledge reality, invest, listen to science, not oil tycoons who profit from our dependence and we may be okay. The chaos doesn't start when oil runs out, it starts when we realize we have nothing to replace it with in time.

[@danielengsvang3126]

You are right mister. It was a LOOOONG time ago i saw anything smarter really. I really hope that your job transforms into something you like even more/better in the future... I work as a refrigeration technician and we are busy converting everything from "worse" to better by changing Chloro-Fluor-Carbons(Freons) to "newer" less Ozon depleting stuff.. But in my world(the real one) we have to absolutely STOP using petrol, coal, and even butane/propane if we want this planet to harbour human life for more than 300 years from now(or something). I think you know even better than me just how insane it is to burn hydrocarbons when our planet is in a state of to much carbon dioxide in air(greenhouse effect). America has ALWAYS strategically Un,Mis,Dis- educated the population, and i don't think there is a bigger "experiment" on human stupidity anywhere in the milky way really.. God bless america... (U know what i mean) . cheers from Sweden :)

[@charlessmithjr.3028]

So, in short, directed drilling might be able to produce a loop, going down about 10 km, across about 5 km and back to the surface, 10 km up. The question here is, could this bore hole be lined with a non-corrodiblemetal lining that would allow adequate heat transfer? Stainless steel comes to mind, but I suspect there are better metals that could be used, while setting up multiple bore holes, as periodic maintenance would be needed to prevent clogging or pipe collapse. (something like the pipeline "pigs" set up as an Remote Operated Vehicle for inspection and repair comes to mind).

[@kiwibob223]

Fyi new Zealand has been using geothermal for generation of electricity since 1958 and in the last ten years have developed proprietary tech that not only removes the silica but does so in a way that allows us to sell a very high value material to tech companies. World leading tech

[@poliestotico]

Noice

[@Patrick-857]

And yet it's an insignificant portion of our total energy, and it cost us a lot of money. Geothermal isn't cost effective.

[@diylife1688]

Excellent. Once I have a snake or deadly spider encounter, ill move over

[@leonesperanza3672]

Does it cause earthquakes?

[@Patrick-857]

@@leonesperanza3672 No, because we have naturally occurring geothermal activity. However we have lots of earthquakes, just not caused by geothermal power.

[@hamnchee]

Q: Why is it solid? A: It's pressure, innit

[@jetbot33]

That was my favorite part

[@ikpesaekevi5373]

Lol, that was funny as hell

[@winderwonder]

🤣🤣🤣

[@babyfacelokito2469]

Hahahahahahaha amazing

[@myeflatley1150]

The Earth's center is not solid. Actually the Earth's center contains a thermonuclear molten liquid of very heavy elements. The thermonuclear reaction supplies the heat that keeps the Earth's interior molten. The reaction is self regulating thru convective cooling by the larger magma sphere. The Earth's interior will be very hot for a very long time because of the reaction in the core.

[@djalil_YT]

Solar and wind are truly renewable, but realistically they are not efficient enough give the current state of tech. Geothermal was always the answer in my eyes. If billionaires and governments would invest in improving the technology and its safety, progress could be fast enough for geothermal to be humanity’s most promising source of energy in a decade or two. Of course the holdup is just money and private interests. Thank you for making this video.

[@AceofDlamonds]

Really? I think even pumped hydro + an upgraded electrical system run by solar + wind is more feasible than geothermal. I was fascinated by geothermal in college but I'm not sure how you deliver for energy demands (which I wish was much lower)

[@seanrathmakedisciples1508]

@@AceofDlamonds kzbin.info/www/bejne/m32ac3x9o89niaM

[@seanrathmakedisciples1508]

@@AceofDlamonds kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXLUoHSdrb2Xr9E

[@affordablesolarguy]

complete BS, this is corporate oil industry propaganda. You have been smitten.

[@OlderBudde]

@@affordablesolarguy what an insightful comment 😂

[@latetotheparty184]

The enhanced geothermal method described at 7:50 describes the geothermal project on the Big Island of Hawaii close to where I live. And in 2018 there were earthquakes in this region and the lava started flowing a few miles away from the geothermal plant and lava did cover part of the land of the geothermal site. The lava also covered about 30 square miles of the island covering over two communities a thousand homes and destroying 2 swimming and snorkeling spots, our boat ramp and more. The possible connection to the geothermal plant was never publicly acknowledged.

[@MSWcryptoworker]

Are u possibly saying we can create more destruction by reforming the inside of the earths insides?

[@williamfelixbradley2002]

Having taken geotech, I would say "no" not possible. Lava flows are how the islands were formed, and until the tectonic plates stop moving, you will have lava. Iceland has industrialized this and I haven't heard any negative effects, have they? Also where you have a natural geyser, you don't get lava flows, right? Cheers.

[@latetotheparty184]

@@williamfelixbradley2002 The way the lava flow has worked here was there is a large lava lake that forms up in a crater (Halemaumau ) which then triggers earth quakes and a rift opens up down hill somewhere and the lava starts flowing out of that weakened area. In the last eruption the rift where the lava flowed out was the geothermal already weakened area. Were you aware that fracking on the mainland US triggered earthquake activity? You may be right that it is no relation, but I do think there is a possibility of what I earlier said. Also, we don't have any geysers here in Hawaii.

[@Humungojerry]

yes it was the geothermal plant that caused it, not the active volcano

[@BodhiPolitic]

@@latetotheparty184 The volcano plumbing between Halema'uma'u and the Leilani Estates area has been known by volcanologists for a long time. The crater lava lake filling and then draining south-eastwards and erupting in fissures along the coast is not a new phenomenon. I very much doubt the power plant has anything to do with that.

[@IceglacierArnar]

We Icelanders have been using geothermal in over 100 years, making electricity, making vegetable in green houses and warm our houses....you are right about Iceland part here

[@Brandon_letsgo]

Iceland is blessed with its geothermal potential.

[@hansfast5912]

Did I hear "..and it makes Iceland a rich country." ? Has the Iceland economy recovered now after the corrupted speculation bubble by some financial crooks a couple of years back? Hope so, it's a beautiful country and people.

[@finnurth]

@@hansfast5912 A couple of years back? Well, more like 13 years ago. Yes, we recovered in a few years. Now we are, like everybody else, dealing with Covid, but we are seeing the light in the end of the tunnel there like many other countries. A currently erupting volcano is also giving the tourism industry a boost, just like in 2010. Geothermal energy can in this way benefit the country in many different ways!

[@RandyRandersonthefamous]

I bet that resource is not being used fully. tons of potential energy not put to use

[@finnurth]

@Charlie Flange We do it in a way by having aluminum producers that import the raw product to Iceland, "Zap" it in Iceland and export the refined aluminum out of the country. 2/3 of the electricity produced in Iceland is used for the 3 aluminum smelters that are in the country.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

OK, Iceland has a giant hot tub with a bar in the middle of it. They have *figured it out!*

[@Kevin_Street]

It's the modern viking lifestyle.

[@IngoBing]

Been there. Worth a visit.

[@pat199rick6]

@@IngoBing Me too. Went there one December. Amazing! Saw the northern lights too.

[@colemcleod941]

@@IngoBing what's the name of it, and what location? I wanna go there!

[@atlif90]

Cole McLeod The blue lagoon

[@geethomson7506]

Your videos are undeniably brilliant. But so much passes through the channel that it’s hard to remember the most important contributions to green energy. As a solution I suggest you produce an ongoing diagram where those technologies which are most likely to reach energy parity at scale maintain a place on the board - they can also be updated. Keep up the good work and optimism.

[@fernandaramirez1896]

I love your content, thank you for bringing fresh information to your followers !

[@Jason608]

217 million years! Excellent. That almost enough time for us to figure out fusion energy :P

[@CraftyF0X]

Hehe yep by then we will be so close, only something like 30 years to get there :D

[@zatar123]

We will get fusion to "work", as in a controlled sustainable reaction with more power out than in. But the net gain will never be enough for it to be practical for base load power. You just have to put too much power into the system to make it work.

[@bruceallen6492]

I have fusion energy figured out. Thermonuclear Fusion requires extremely high plasma densities, which are found in the Sun. Research so far has attempted to substitute temperature for pressure to create a collision rich environment. This has failed. The Sun has the luxury of a gravity well. The reactors designed to date are equivalent of an artist looking at a Ferrari and painting a Yugo. I'm betting on Cold Fusion.

[@CraftyF0X]

@@zatar123 Beside the joke though, that is not what the data suggest. Actually plasma conditions improved faster during the years than computers. (compared to Moore's law) How one interpet this data is up to debate (amongs experts) but knowing that from just everyday experience how much computation improved during the last 30 years one has to be impressed by the fact that as data suggest "fusion technology" actually improved even faster. It is just not that obvious because the avarage ppl knows little to nothing about toroidal confinement, plasma density, plasma temperature, superconductors and whatnots. Again, wheter it leads to a working practical energy source is yet to be seen, but maybe it isn't that hopeless as our joking around would suggest.

[@CraftyF0X]

@@bruceallen6492 The evidence for cold fusion (in this context) is so thin that it is considered a branch of pseudo science. The thing is, we don't know any mechanism which could explain nuclear fusion without certain pressure and temperature. (except quantum tunneling and maybe muon catlysed fusion which are the only two real cold fusion we know to work so far, but neither of them are practical as an energy source)

[@eschdaddy]

As always, a well researched, informative video! Please keep the education coming!

[@DavidGlaude]

Possibly silly question here: By releasing the underground heat, are we also contributing to global temperature increase? How much of the volcanic activity is also responsible for it? Or is it negligible?

[@itsROMPERS...]

We are already creating the heat by burning fossil fuel, but this amount of heat is negligible to the planet.

[@prestonbecker8784]

The earth is continuously absorbing 90000 TW of energy from the sun, meaning that 90000TW of energy are also continuously leaving the earth through infra-red radiation. If all electricity were to be generated by geothermal, it would release 9TW of heat, or 0.01% of the amount of energy that already has to leave the earth every day to maintain a steady temperature. To get rid of that extra 9TW of heat that we are releasing from the ground, the earth will need to get slightly warmer so that it then generates more infra-red radiation, and the amount that it will need to get warmer by is around 0.008 degrees Celsius. So, practically, no this will not contribute to global warning. The other way to have figured this out is to realize that we are already generating 9TW of heat without geothermal, and most of that comes from burning coal, oil, and natural gas, and from nuclear energy, all of which already releases heat in the process. So, if you didn't notice the direct effects of generating all that heat through the current methods (ignoring things like CO2 emissions, which is a different issue) then you won't notice any difference when we start releasing that heat through geo-thermal.

[@Dontlicktheballoons]

It says 2 comments but I don't see either one

[@kimsmoke17]

It’s negligible: 1. Humans produced 6.2e17 Joules of energy in 2020, which is 1.96e10 J/s = 1.96e10 Watts. 2. Surface area of earth is 5.1e14 m^2, so heat flux due to human energy use is 3.8e-3 W/m^2 = 3.83 mW/m^2. 3. Earth absorbs (and black-body radiates) 240 W/m^2. 4. 3.83e-3 / 240 = 0.16% which is less than 1 part in 600. 5. Napkin calculation next: black body temp of earth is 255K. Actual average surface temp is 288K. 288K-255K = 33 deg C. 33 x 0.0016 = 0.05 deg C. 6. Temp rise in past 200 years due to green house gasses from burning fossil fuels is roughly 1.5 deg C. 6. Conclusion: Heat released is negligible compared to the green house effect from the gasses produced in burning fuels.

[@pailyn1904]

Well, I would assume it would slow down the trend. Why I see it this way (please do correct me if I am wrong or complement my incomplete vision): global warming is caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the most important one being CO2. If we are using geothermal energy instead of, lets say, gas, or coal, to produce our electricity, then, the amount of emitted CO2 would be drastically reduced. Therefore, the greenhouse effect would be drastically slowed down (but not reversed). So to me, it looks promising to tackle climate change; as a replacement of current electricity production systems. I hope this answers your question.

[@jessepylvalainen2288]

We had geothermal heating system at our old house, it was really good, cheap to run. Where it wasn't exactly at its finest was when you needed to change the indoor temperature, it would take easily 2-3 days before you could actually feel anything. Here in Finland a system like that would cost around 25-30k€ (-4k€ if you switch from oil heating system) and operating it would cost around 30€/month for a house of around 100m2. Water air source heatpumps are just about 50% less expensive, can achieve similar results at costs although needs far more electricity at around -15C. So this is from my experience but it is what it is

[@hmartinspliff]

Penguins huddle together en masse and use body heat to keep warm in arctic conditions...this is renewable energy in that we convert the food that we eat into heat to keep warm but at what cost to quality of life? Can humans adopt the stoicism of the penguins to battle the cold in an environmentally friendly way?

[@iloveprivacy8167]

Are there any neighborhoods that have switched collectively, and if so: I wonder how much that would save? I'm very frustrated, as an Albertan. We could drill, baby, drill, starting by converting downtowns, office parks, apartment buildings, move on to quieter residential streets.

[@patentleatherkicks]

"This is your planet as you're used to seeing it," he says, while the planet graphic next to him is rotating the wrong way around.

[@linnymaemullins3319]

😜😂

[@altfarthwind]

i just wanted to comment on that as well :D

[@TheKe3lz]

Probably got something to do with cats, yarn, and Amy Wong's silly idea of harnessing rotational energy

[@thatoneguyffs]

Kinda like a wheel on a car where its moving forward butt looks like its rotating backwards.

[@brimleyhillmassive]

Oh No! What do you suggest we do? Is this really bad? Shall we start sacrificing ourselves or is it OK to just let it go, and move on with our lives? (the animation is going backwards, write a comment explaining how bad that is) is it more important to demonstrate your theory or to rip someone else's explanation to shreds for popularity? I would have let it go and thanked the guy for his effort.

[@QuotidianOli]

"Well it's pressure, innit." Somehow this little sentence really charmed me. Your voice is very calming and I love your style. Consider me Subscribed. ;) x

[@8milestreet]

I'm glad I found this channel. Good work.

[@andysmith9913]

Thanks. I shook your hand as you were leaving the stage at fcs. nice panel about keeping up with the rest of the world. Great to meet you and thanks for the great channel.

[@JustHaveaThink]

Cheers Andy. Great to meet you, and thanks for your support. I really appreciate it. All the best. Dave

[@MagnussenDK]

I have an old friend on Iceland, who did some maintenance on some of the steel parts of 1 of their power plants. We met recently at he mentioned, that the giant steel tubes, which they run the heated water through, needs to be replaced, roughly every 4th month or so, due to corrosion, from all the sulphur, that is brought up with the water, as a by product, which is also why, they want to send all of that water down again, or clean it, before release out back into the nature. A potential drawback to geothermal energy.

[@georgetello1247]

It no more different than fracking. I'm working here at the oil field. We try to clean as much water before we send it down. No matter how much we filter it, the water is still radiating.

[@ferkeap]

People need to understand there is no free energy, it all has it's cost and work. Fossil is just dead because it kills us all.

[@GeographRick]

ferkeap You are so correct. Any time we use natural resources the are environmental, human, and monetary costs.

[@joseylastborn8790]

Actually know when you cost engineer for nuclear or geothermal you trying to decide what the maximum cost you can spend is because you have two goals the first is to give the public a false hope that eventually it will scale up and disrupt and the second of course is the minimize the saving so that it doesn't do that . That's fossil fuel cost engineering of the competition a practice that includes British Petroleum creating the photovoltaic industry . I would say that most of the fossil fuels that we have consumed in the history of mankind I've been consumed because British Petroleum got us to waste so much money on photovoltaic panels . I mean that's an understatement but some elementary school kid can prove it for their science project.

[@V.Hansen.]

With all that aluminum, can’t they do something less prone to corrosion?

[@jobu88]

Wasn't drilling into the earth's core how we got Godzilla??? I'm no expert but that seems like a pretty big downside.

[@whisperingsage]

No, Godzilla was a result of nuclear attacks on Japan.

[@jobu88]

@@whisperingsage That's right, I remember that now. Well it must have been some other sci-fi monster disaster.

[@berenedain8427]

@@jobu88 No that was the Balrog from Lord of the rings. "The dwarves delved too greedily and too deep. "

[@tinnitusthenight5545]

You may be confusing with the canon of the new Kong/zilla/pacific rim verse movies

[@Kintsurugi]

@@whisperingsage Godzilla was born from nuclear tests on Bikini Island, not any sort of nuclear attack

[@DulceN]

I’ve had a geothermal system in my SE Virginia home for some 15 years and love it!!! Highly recommend it. When we went to Island years ago at the end of February (Space A military transport) the floors in the lodge were warm (geothermal heat) and that heated the whole place in the freezing weather.

[@ericpierce3660]

You have such a soothing voice, I feel like I could listen to you for hours.

[@dogfacedponysoldier87]

This is THE most interesting vid I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks for doing it !

[@scottt5521]

I worked for many decades in steam generation and had many friends in geothermal generation. My familiarity is mainly with the large geothermal capacity in Northern California. The geothermal wells cool off over time making the plants non-viable far sooner than a normal steam plant. It takes a lot of wells to supply a viably sized but still small (5MW) steam power plant. You might drill 50 holes and not get enough steam to make it viable, and it might only be viable for no more than 10 years. The low pressure steam into the turbine creates a very low steam cycle efficiency. The steam can have corrosive elements in it when it comes up from the ground and may require periodic descaling of equipment. All these things make it more expensive to operate and challenging to expand, at least in the geothermal fields of California. It is a great way to make power but not an easy way.

[@extrastuff9463]

How deep is the typical hole used for that scenario? I guess the only way around it would be to go deeper to the source of the heat to reach a point where you can draw sufficient constant power over the lifespan of the power plant. Do you have any idea of the extra cost involved or if it's even practically possible?

[@abellseaman4114]

Thank you Scott for that eminently logical explanation of why geothermal energy is not useful across most of the planet!!!!!!!!!!!! And HOW SAD that LIE-berals pushing their pie in the sky climate hysteria will IGNORE your logical comments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The govt of ICELAND has just begun construction of a carbon capture facility on their island and of course it is powered by geothermal energy which the island has in abundance - but of course the MAJOR QUESTION is HOW LONG the facility will be able to remain in operation and your comment seems to suggest that the service life of the plant MAY NOT BE LONG ENOUGH even to fully recover the carbon produced while constructing the plant - much less make any real dent in the carbon supply in our air!!!!!!!!!!! Such a penny wise and pound foolish approach to energy is also dooming many of our wind and solar arrays as they dont produce enough green energy to compensate for the carbon footprint that was emitted during construction of the not so green power array!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In related news- LIE-berals completely IGNORE Malenkovitch Cycles which result in our Earth tilting more or less on its axis of rotation - over about a 41,000 year cycle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At the earliest moments of recorded human history our planet has been rotating on an axis titled at about 23 degrees - however ever as a result of the altered gravitational pulls of other passing planets such as Venus and Mars - both currently at their closest point to Earth in over 120 years - and as a result of the erratic passing influence of other planets such as Jupiter - our Earth goes through a cycle where its axis tilts much more towards the vertical and of course this altered angle CHANGES the location of the Arctic Circle - meaning that over centuries the North gets ever more direct sunlight - and this alters the climate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LIE-berals ADMIT that the Arctic Circle has been drifting north at about 15 metres per year - for as long as we have been able to measure such things - and of course NASA and others have tracked the orbits of other planets and ARE AWARE that in some centuries Earth is much closer to other planets and at other centuries it is much farther away - thus altering the gravitational pull!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yet LIE-berals desperately pushing their climate hysteria at any cost - REFUSE TO DISCUSS the reality and logic of Melankovitch Cycles and their obvious effect on our climate!!!!!!!!!!!

[@metatechnologist]

@@extrastuff9463 It really varies depending on location. But "good" geothermal locations are typically 3 km deep.

[@diveinnjim]

I love it when the answer to a scientific question is, "it's pressure innit"

[@HermannKerr]

The information you have presented gives me an understanding why BC Hydro walked away from a Geothermal project near Whistler, though I think it wouldn't be any worse than the Site 3 Dam on the Peace River.

[@rayzorrayzor9000]

I spent a couple of years in South Africa and whilst there I took a job on a building site . OMG the South African sun was killing me so when another mate offered me work in a mine I thought brilliant, anything to be away from the heat of the sun . OMG what a mistake , the further into the crust you go the hotter it gets , now instead of being ‘cooked’ by the South African sun I was being roasted by the heat of the Earth , it was a bad decision taking that job cos atleast under the sun you can find some shade for short term relief, but underground it is sweltering hot everywhere you go . Sometimes my shift times meant I finished work at mid day, and coming out of the mine into the mid day sun was an actual relief . Twenty years later I have never moaned about being out in the sun again, I still remember vividly that year I spent being ‘cooked’ underground .

[@vikraal6974]

Are You The Greatest?

[@SamTahbou]

Yes, but convection heat will cook you evenly, unlike the sun's heat. So maybe it wasn't a mistake afterall.

[@lucienberl]

I did asphalt and sealed parking lots. Suns coming down on you, then hits the ground, which is also hot, and you get hot with the reflection on the sun. It's like a constant heat everywhere and blinding. But if I get off the asphalt it feels like I walked into a cooler. Not as hot as the caves but it's close.

[@RoScFan]

@@SamTahbou Oven cooked is better than grilled right? LOL

[@seanmcdonald5859]

Pfffffft . . . .amateurs . . . .i once got up in 21c air conditioning and walked out into a Darwin afternoon at 3pm . . . .. . BOW BEFORE MY MANLINESS FOR I DID NOT REMOVE MY TRAKKY DAKS !!!

[@slickwillie9526]

I was rock hounding in the mountains near Milford Utah and stumbled upon the Blundell Geothermal Power Plant. I was looking for opal and obsidian, which is all over the area. In the surrounding area there are steam vent pipes sprinkled around the side of the mountain.

[@rehab222151]

Great efforts, I appreciate you

[@zappawench6048]

I don't know why your channel ended up in my recommendations, but I'm glad it did!

[@NinetooNine]

You didn't mention closed-loop systems at all. These solve all of the problems of EGS. Would be awesome if you could do a video on them. Companies Eavor and Green Fire Sytems both are developing these systems. Eavor even has a test system they have had online since 2019.

[@solveigvan808]

The main reason why closed-loop systems aren't as viable is because they output only a fraction of the energy of EGS while incurring similar costs and risks. Closed-loops have far less surface area in which to collect heat which is why their output is so inefficient.

[@NinetooNine]

@@solveigvan808 The same costs maybe, but not the same level of risk. EGS is a far riskier venture. Also, when you consider closed-loop systems can be deployed anywhere and have minimal upkeep costs. Even if these systems don't produce more then say 50-100 MW of power. They will still be a godsend for most small to midrange towns.

[@nickfernhout8402]

Closed loop has get to prove itself a viable option

[@andymetzen]

@@NinetooNine Closed-loop systems currently produce 1000 times less energy per well, they are struggling to produce 0.05 - 0.1 MW of power per powerplant.

[@reflexrefractor]

@@andymetzen which is probably enough to power a small city or town

[@nakke3]

ST1 started drilling 7 km deep hole next to my office in Espoo in about 2012. The project was canceled after 7-8 years due to high costs. They had even finished the drilling (eventually), but I think getting the heat out was the problem in the end. Today the hole remains sadly unused. Ground heating has been trendy in Finland now for 15-20 years since the pay back period can be around 7-10 years.

[@petersimmons3654]

The 'unused hole' could be converted to gravity storage for renewables. When there's plenty of energy you wind a larhege weight up to the top, and when you need energy to balance demand, you allow it to descend again through a turbine. Thde best use for old deep holes ever imagined. Old coal mines could all be converted to energy storage.

[@charlythompson9281]

Would love to see an update to this for the new fusion drilling process. Matt Ferrell did a video on it recently. Exciting stuff! Opens the potential to convert coal and oil plants to geothermal plants for only a couple of million dollars each.

[@scottmichaels1764]

The new drilling technologies are promising. I hope we can find ways to implement these on a large scale.

[@seanburton6007]

​m8ipimiim😅ñiioibu😊😊im😊j😊muibuk😊😅hunjoninmbu😊😊😊ni😊😮ñbubuhbyuñ77uhunubuuuuuujununnujnujnjnnuunnunujiippopppp 1:08 ooplpp

[@seanburton6007]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmiiinnnnnn8îuummmmhnnnnn😅😅n😅😅uuuuuuuuu uuuuuumio?

[@DeathValleyDazed]

So glad that your channel is really picking up steam with increasing subscribers! Excellent production skills are paying off.

[@JustHaveaThink]

Thank you very much!

[@chrisheath2637]

"Picking up steam...", that's really appropriate for the subject matter...

[@mouduge]

Regarding the earthquakes, isn't there a case to be made that by triggering several small earthquakes, GES releases the tension and reduces the risk of large earthquakes?

[@rhayat10]

Great idea. We should experiment with the Yellowstone Caldera, just to see what happens.

[@campkira]

we using it as hot spring... the reason why we don't invest in it due to the heat... since no current tech can get too close to lava.... let alone try since all our tech need stable power to generated power...

[@timpeterson2738]

Yes

[@TexMex421]

No. Has that ever been tested? Doesn't releasing tension in one place just create tension in another?

[@timpeterson2738]

@@TexMex421 that would be a long and expensive model program for each area, could take a lifetime just collecting relative data let alone getting variables to line up but on the upside this would create a vast field of experts, oil and gas drilling companies have a huge inventory of principal data and technology for a place to start with, a handful of uni's have excellent programs to expand on.

[@theoldbuzzard5239]

There are lots of flooded mine workings in the UK. These can be used as a heat source for regional heating. Before Covid it was being planned in Barnsley is South Yorkshire

[@__Andrew_]

Thank you that this is free of background music.

[@abberepair8288]

I heat and cool my home and heat my home water with an active geothermal system. I have a remote, off grid, cabin 40 miles south of Superior, WI. With a little judicious use of insulation, I use passive geothermal to help heat it and have plans to cool it with geothermal, using solar powered fans

[@slazerlombardi]

Be careful with solar panels. Those chemicals are quite dangerous.

[@Bonzi_Buddy]

Fans do not cool anything they blow air. Your home is probably 50 something degrees in the winter and insufferable to guests and family.

[@assassinlexx1993]

Now try that where there is permafrost. Just below the ground is frozen solid. You southerners love to talk about solar and heating your home from a shallow ditch.

[@abberepair8288]

@@Bonzi_Buddy I hate to disappoint you but I’m a freeze baby. The house stays at 70 degrees all winter. I just found a way to tap into the sun. It’s awesome!

[@Bonzi_Buddy]

@@abberepair8288 I call BS unless you have solar power providing electrical heat to make up the difference. A geothermal system cannot get a house in northern Wisconsin to 70 in the winter. On a sunny day if you have all windows it would add a bit more heat but that home would be brutal in the summer. Could have passive solar heating to help a little but it won't work all winter long as any overcast days with wind will render that useless. Solar power and batteries can add to heat. It is definitely not just geothermal. Which is fine because in a harsh climate you need to add creative options to make up the difference.

[@daos3300]

flat earthers look away, this is going to hurt.

[@annebritraaen2237]

nah- because the deepest drill man have ever made was only 12,2 km down, so no-one really knows.

[@AaronSchwarz42]

If we drill deep enough, maybe we can puncture the flat Earth // could you help me understand the ICE walls around the outside & whats on the other side of the flat Earth :P

[@annebritraaen2237]

@@AaronSchwarz42 No one have ever really crossed Antartica, only scratched it. Certainly not my country-man Amundsen. What's out-side, I don't know - maybe paradise?

[@daos3300]

@@annebritraaen2237 ah, you must be a member of the 'i haven't seen it with my own eyes therefore it can't exist except for the things i want to believe' brigade

[@annebritraaen2237]

@@daos3300 Nope, just searching for truth.

[@thanoschermerhorn4864]

You are such a joy to watch... Thank You for investing in us...

[@kntayloe880]

Just returned from Iceland and wanted to learn more! Thanks for this video

[@paintedwings74]

I helped build a solar field that was constructed directly on top of a geothermal field. The geothermal wasn't used for electricity, but for a MASSIVE heating and cooling system that removed a great deal of electrical demand from a large industrial campus. The water pumped down to 150 feet below the surface, where Earth-temperature year-round is 55 F (13C), was then piped out to the individual buildings. That 55F would be used to cool from, which took no more electricity than was required to pump through the cooling array. In the winter, when heat was required, instead of having to heat up from freezing and below freezing temperatures, they only had to heat up from 55F, which is a big reduction in either electrical heating coils or gas-burning for heat. I doubt the solar-geothermal field will pay for itself in CO2 emissions or electricity for quite some time, but it WILL pay for itself, and meantime, it's at least not adding any more CO2 now that the installation is completed.

[@moguldamongrel3054]

Sounds like the opposite of what I do playing rimworld, where I seal off geo thermal vents into air ducts which provides heat for the colony base and keeps the hydroponics bays at temp. I also use freezers and the heat generated from that pumped back into those same air ducts to supplement heat production and keep food, meat and other perishables frozen. It keeps the massive power requirements for standard heating units waaay down and is a very cheap alternative. It's especially useful when setting up an artic base, since theirs such a lack of materials to build with, as I can build my base around said geothermal vent.

[@vaguelyright6833]

What a fallacy that solar energy is green.

[@TheSpecio]

This is not the issue. Heat pumps near the surface in closed-loop tapping temperatures of just 55° F are feasible and maybe even cost-effective in the long run. But this film is about gaining high-pressure steam of at least 300°C out of very deep drillings. That's a completely different scenario. You should pay a visit to a coal- or gas-fired power plant and have a look at the technical installations there and how to bring the steam generator deep into the earth.

[@astranger448]

Fun fact, 3 m/yrd ish is deep enough for an air based system at 13C (55F). It will warm up in winter, and cool in summer. Combined with a heat recovery ventilation system it can almost do away with heating and/or cooling in a correctly insulated house.

[@Kevin_Street]

A few years back my city had an opportunity to redevelop a big chunk of land into a new neighborhood. They were extremely optimistic and ambitious, commissioning a design plan from a Swedish company for a neighborhood of 30 000 people that would be powered by renewable energy. My city is pretty far north and gets cold winters, so the plan was to build a heat sharing network powered by geothermal energy. Instead of being heated by natural gas the buildings in the neighborhood would tap into hot water pipes running under the ground. It was great. But then... reality intervened. They simply couldn't get financing for the project. The provincial government wouldn't help them and no bank would give them reasonable rates, so they had to scrap the geothermal power and go with a "cheaper" natural gas solution. In my country at least, geothermal energy is seen as an expensive vanity addition to any major building project, and that greatly limits its growth as an alternative energy option. Individuals with enough cash and property developers looking for a way to distinguish their upscale suburb from all the others can build geothermal heating on a house by house level, but no one is willing to build the geothermal power plants that would be needed to make it a serious competitor with natural gas.

[@CW-pu4yb]

Reality has no impact on their spending decisions. $210 million for a new transit garage. $85 million for the library renovation. The list goes on.

[@Kevin_Street]

Sounds like you're a fellow citizen of this fair metropolis.

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

Digging conditions in many northern lands are brutal -- because the ancient ice cap scraped all of the soft rocks away. On my own property, the rock starts about 12mm down. All trenching goes way over budget -- and the budget was pretty fat to begin with.

[@Kevin_Street]

12 mm? Whoa, that's shallow. We have almost a meter of soil here, or about 940 mm. But it's clay under that for quite a distance. I'm not sure where the rock starts. It must be incredibly expensive to dig where you live.

[@hasa08ab]

Fantastic video 🙂 very insightful

[@WeDeserveBetterNow]

7:02 😂 Your delivery was flawless.

[@lmtada]

Downhole drilling tools have limitations with heat. Likely melt magnetometer, accelerometers even with shielding. Drill bits, pipes will melt. Heat source needs to be near surface (aka Iceland, sulfuric acid). Heat destroys tools. Must be cost effective. Competition from alternatives cheaper to produce. Bottom line is price. Whereas easy access to geothermal (Volcanic islands) it makes sense.

[@firstnameanonymous9374]

We do alot of geothermal loops here in Colorado.

[@k_tess]

Bruh Yellowstone is crazy. If done right geothermal could cool the supervolcano. But drill wrong and BOOM!

[@rhabdob3895]

Well maybe, if we spent some time and money on that problem instead of destabilizing humanity to suck dead dinosaur jelly out of the ground, we could solve that heat thing.

[@Dex01-Z_WingZero]

Yes tools do cook, i have yet to see a cooling unit for drilling

[@linnymaemullins3319]

@@k_tess 🤔

[@propelegant]

There is a related technology generally called a ground-source heat pump which extracts the heat from warmth provided by the sun during the summer. This is more akin to a giant storage heater made from the surrounding landscape where the temperature remains constant at below about three metres..The heat from the ground is collected by long lengths of buried pipes or vertical shafts then the small temperature difference is extracted (using something similar to a fridge in reverse) and concentrated to heat water or air in a building. The added advantage of this system is that it can be used to cool a building as well as provide heat

[@derekparent752]

Paul Steele I have had to upgrade a few electrical panels at houses that were having these installed in Canada. In a nutshell the electrical requirements was around 80amps at 240 volts. So it’s around 16 Standard size fridges running all the time it’s on. This is where it’s imperative to understand your hydro costs versus Energy Costs (gas, propane, oil) in your location.

[@Karjis]

Quite popular in nordic countries but not always financially best. It might be really expensive if house is on thick clay layer. But it is nice as temperature where heat is extracted is quite stable if borehole is long enough. In Finland there is now projects to drill to 1-2km depth to extract more energy per land area to be able to heat taller buildings with ground source heat pumps as in 1-2 km in finland temp is already 30-50 degrees celsius so compressor power requirement is much smaller.

[@dieselscience]

GSHP is a MORE viable option for climate control, especially in areas where there are large swings in temperature from Summer to Winter (Canada, northern USA and Europe) because it relies on heat _stability over long term_ more than 'get hot, make power.' BUT it doesn't work so well in equatorial areas. It does not go bad from salt deposition and it does not eventually get cooled from constant heat extraction. There is a high school in Roanoke, Virginia (mountains) that installed a large system and it works like a charm. Also, the state history museum in North Dakota (great plains in an elevated city) has a large system and it's a great model.

[@dieselscience]

@@derekparent752 The whole geothermal vs. ground source heat pump is definitely NOT a 'one size fits all' thing. Informed and careful engineering are crucial to a good system design.

[@derekparent752]

dieselscience I would only way the source of electricity to feed your system, as they are a huge electrical load, so if your source of electricity is coal fired or some form that is not environmentally friendly then it truly is working in the opposite direction.

[@martingarza3383]

In Texas there are oilfield locations where oil wells have been drilled and the saltwater comes out at way past 100°F. Some wells are in the 10,000 ft to 15,000 ft depth.

[@imbudda]

Thank you, it was interesting to watch

[@danielhanawalt4998]

Interesting video. Makes sense to tap into all areas of energy production rather than focus on only one or two, which is wind and solar and about all you hear about. Good to know they are talking about other things as well. I think small modular reactors will be a good candidate.

[@PhilLesh69]

We need a new paradigm, too. We are being held back because everything has to fit into or completely supplant "the grid" and it must have exactly the right, extremely profitable system for metering and distributing that resource only to those who are current on their monthly utility bills. Solar will never replace massive coal fired power plants that were designed to power entire cities and all the prerequisite transport and manufacturing that supports these large metropolitan areas, all from the same pipe. It's not supposed to. But we have remote devices out in space that are fully powered by solar. Since the 1970s. It's a *_point of use_* energy source. Meaning you can easily deploy a solar panel and some energy using device anywhere without having to build out infrastructure to carry energy to that device. You can build your home today to be 100% grid independent. But then who would you send your monthly utility fees to?

[@cht2162]

@@PhilLesh69 I know, The Matrix

[@Splarkszter]

My question here is, what happens when some monkeys cool down the core of the planet? Will it loose it's magnetic field? Study basic law of thermodynamics please.

[@danielhanawalt4998]

I don't know a lot about thermodynamics. Sounds interesting. I think we should consider the consequences of our actions if we can even know them. Trouble is we often do things thinking it will help and do something and it turns out it does more damage. An example would be pesticides. We've used them to kill bugs and keep them from damaging crops. Turns out the pesticides have gotten into our bodies and has done much damage. When talking about climate, CO2 is supposed to be bad, and they are pushing "green energy" to stop producing CO2, yet all life on earth MUST have it to survive. That's not about saving the planet. It's about control and power. My comment was along a political view. If they were serious wouldn't they consider nuclear energy as an alternative? @@Splarkszter

[@Splarkszter]

@@danielhanawalt4998 Problem is that we have oil companies (and this isn't conspiration stuff) silencing and bribing anything they can to mislead everyone into thinking ClimateChange isn't a thing or that what they do isn't the problem. In my eyes, Solar in rooftops is the fastest way we can make sustainable energy a thing. We also need to stop using non-renewable resources, i have some ideas about replacing tree wood so we stop deforestation. Chemical carbon capture stations don't work. We need to recoup the excess CO2 that we have released and make sure it stays stored away. Stop using stuff that it's underground.

[@jomiar309]

I'm surprised you only talked about corrosion briefly--one of the major difficulties is pipe corrosion, and it can be quite expensive to maintain.

[@iSoldat]

@@insaaanestuff carbon based plastics expand and contract when heating and cooling. They degrade over time, just like corrosion reactions occur in metal. There isn't any "known" man-made alloy, ceramic or plastic that isn't affected by expansion/contraction issues. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try, but there will always be maintenance costs to maintain these systems.

[@bozbozman1575]

You filter the water clean and no corrosion. As long as it stays full at all times. By the way I find this very interesting and am trying to bring it to my region. Do you know of any other concerns?

[@insaaanestuff]

gregg brady you can just put them back in be hole where they came from. You use a heat transfer system, so you can build it as a closed system.

[@fredsasse9973]

@@insaaanestuff What plastic can withstand 900 degrees C?

[@seanmcdonald5859]

@@fredsasse9973 i was curious about that myself so since its a public holiday i did a bit of googling and from that it looks like the highest temperature a commercially available plastic can stand is 300c (Regal Plastics, Craft tech and the like) . . . there are likely to be experimental plastics that can withstand higher temperatures but nowhere near 900c . . . . .it appears that ceramics are the way to go but they come with their own problems. Interesting dive into plastics.

[@winstonsmith935]

When I toured New Zealand , I came across a Geothermal Plant on a large scale. Geothermal Activity near the surface in New Zeland, they use it well for steam generation .

[@critiqueofthegothgf]

9:38 your comedic timing here sent me into a blender. you need an award my good sir

[@mattiasthorslundjonsson1929]

The multi-family building where I live is heated by geothermal wells, some 300 meters deep. The building was originally heated by fossil gas. A heat exchanger takes heat from the water from the wells and sends it out to the apartments via the original water-carried heating system.It also provides the heat for hot tap water. I believe the geothermal wells use a closed loop system, where the water goes down and up (in separate pipes obviously) in the same well. The bedrock here is limestone, so exposing the carrier water to that would cause clogging by calcification pretty soon. Using heat from the ground for heating seems more straightforward than making electricity, and reduces CO2 emissions just the same. This is southern Sweden, so we use the heating for about 8 months of the year.

[@Drumsgoon]

I agree this low Temperature exchange is only useful for heating directly, not for plant based generation, converting to electricity and back to heating in houses/businesses.

[@deconteesawyer5758]

With all that free energy available to the government in Sweden, why are the taxes so high ?

[@MrRander7769]

Where I live in Oregon, we drilled wells only 85 feet and average about 200 feet. They can produce 200* F water very commonly. Our well is 220 feet and is 195* F out of a completely closed loop. I made a copper heat exchanger from 1/2 copper pipe. The well pipe is 1 inch Pex pipe. I think you could use Ammonia in a heat exchanger because it would boil below the 195* F to produce electricity anywhere in our area.

[@678friedbed]

Umm, no

[@WinSomeLoseNone0]

Bro, my well is just over 600 feet, the water comes up low 50s year round.

[@boringsoaring]

Probably out in Cove LeGrande area

[@rcpmac]

@@678friedbed Ummm yes

[@alanhat5252]

@@678friedbed are you calling Randerz a liar or do you have a meaningful contribution to make?

[@lando_jm4609]

quite enjoyed this vid, thank you

[@jaymacpherson8167]

Spatial scale is the challenge for taking a classic “utility service” approach, as Iceland has done (practical because of high temps relatively close to surface). If the heat or electricity generated from that heat travels long distances, there is an efficiency loss. Coupled with the relatively high capital cost to install, the distribution of convenient geothermal sources is limited globally. Thus, widespread geothermal development is more efficient when applied on small scales because much less drilling/digging is needed. This heat exchanger approach is very efficient at scales of individual structures or small clusters of structures. The problem at the small scale is: does the property owner have the money to spend on that relatively high capital cost?

[@atenas80525]

Video IDEA - would love to see a video on household level geothermal - passive heat, heat pumps and distributed energy. Thanks! Love the videos

[@robheusd]

Drilling costs would be far too high for that (except if you live in Iceland perhaps).

[@geraldcapon392]

I live in l'Hay-les-Roses, a Parisian suburb, and all the large buildings such as apparment blocks schools and gymnasiums are all heated using geothermal heating. They pump water into a hot substrate at a couple of hundred metres down and what comes up is 86° C. It’s not perfect, the water is quite corrosive when it comes back up and eats through the pipe welds over time, but it works. French electricity is mostly nuclear so zero carbon heating. Three suburbs use the network and it heats about half the homes and all the schools for about 80,000 people.

[@randycarroll-bradd4894]

That’s called district heating and is fairly common around the world. The largest system in the US is in San Bernardino, California, heating a majority of municipal buildings since the early 1900’s. They recently expanded it to include several large hotels along the I-10 freeway, providing additional income for the city. BTW they are shallow pressurized wells producing about 60^ C water.

[@HepCatJack]

At the equator, where the sun rays hit the earth directly, there is a significant difference of temperature between the water at the surface and water at the bottom which can be used to produce electricity by boiling Ammonia gas and using it to power steam turbines, then cooling the Ammonia gas with the cold water. This would enable us to store the energy for later use as Hydrogen via electrolysis for shipping and aviation. Using this energy should also reduce the frequency of hurricanes hitting the Caribbean islands, the Southern U.S and central America. Same type of technology but it helps to slow down global warming.

[@kosskrit]

Yea, but the ammonia is toxic and lots of safety meassure would be necessary.

[@samuelluria4744]

Your "explanation" leaves a lot to be desired.

[@GortPredator]

Haha, hard pass. Upfront cost, maintenance cost, safety cost is way too high so you would never see a profit. Then the energy generated is so small from ammonia that the plant would have to be massive to support any real meaningful population. Come up with a new idea that wouldn't go bankrupt right away, pollute the environment and cause harm to local population.

[@HepCatJack]

@@GortPredator the units being built by LMT are 100 Mega Watt each which can power 42,000 homes each. enough for a small town. They are working on making them resistant to the worst hurricanes. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJvdmJZ-o8yEfK8

[@spaulding304]

Greenhouses can be built with a Geothermal Heat and Air Transfer System (GHAT). With a little help with fans, they'll suck the air down through pipes into the ground to store the outside temperature, and when the winter/summer months come, the stored heat/cool air will be withdrawn and replaced, depending on the season.

[@benbrown8258]

I wonder if you would consider Earth tempered structures part of geothermal. In the state of Nebraska in the US it gets pretty cold in the winter they've been growing papayas and other tropical fruits simply by burying pipes in the soil 8 foot down and pumping air through them into a sunken Greenhouse. I believe China also does something like that. No fossil fuels are used. The air is pumped by solar and Battery.

[@guyxmas7519]

Well, god dang it, why didn't I think of it, hehe Very good idea

[@gedofgont1006]

Isn't what you've described the same principle as that used for ground source heat pumps?

[@horstschreiner8088]

This setup is a bit different. The heat does not come from below, from deep inside the Earth. This heat comes from the surface. In summer the ground is heated "from above" and the heat propagates to lower levels. Due to the big specific heat capacity lower ground levels will stay relative warm throughout the winter. More or less this is a natural seasonal heat storage.

[@DunnickFayuro]

There is the video about just that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHXCZJKdqMympM0

[@gedofgont1006]

@@horstschreiner8088 Forgive me, because I'm not really all that technologically educated, but I thought what you've just explained so eloquently is exactly how ground source heat pumps work. Am I missing something?

[@christiane.g.4142]

i learned about geothermal energy from the movie "Man of Steel" They tried using geothermal energy on Krypton and as i recall, it didn't work out too well

[@dsdy1205]

They said "harvesting the core", never said if it was geothermal energy or something else that they were tapping. My theory is the core was some unstable form of kryptonite, so when they started harvesting it it blew the entire planet to hell.

[@indupacs.a.6215]

Very informative video, thanks!

[@anthonytoscano5632]

I have solar and Geothermal, now my monthly energy bill is $ 24 a month for the reverse meter. My total out put was $50,000, saving around $450 a month since 2005. Saving around $5,000 a year 2005 until now 2023, I've saved over $97,000 in those years. Spent the money on home remolding and a large addition, the play room we call it. I'm debt Free as my mortgage will be paid off this year

[@laeneel]

Always love to read the comments from the KZbin trained experts on how easy it is and how they'd easily solve the issues posted by actual engineers who've worked in the field...

[@rocko9451]

You sound like an expert, i'll blindly listen to you.

[@arthousefilms]

The bit about Iceland's uses for extra hot water was really interesting!

[@DogenSuzuki]

I know right? It's so weird to see government action actually result in public benefit. Tourists flock to see this anomaly at the rate of 400% of the local population per year.

[@susansawarin5776]

Exciting news out of Saskatchewan - vertical drilling plus horizontal drilling. Its looking like it could be feasible.

[@matkurcher9469]

More of my tax dollars wasted on that one.

[@pracylopgonzer3176]

And all of the drill bits are held together in a leather pouch made of genuine Saskatchewan Seal Skin leather ! ..... oops. Sorry I thought this was the Super Dave network

[@deaninchina01]

Its nearly 30 year old technology.

[@5DNRG]

Had to watch this as I've wondered about this ever since I learned about geothermal energy. It's so available and efficient!!

[@0MoTheG]

In Hannover-Germany we tried to drill and frack for heat. It did work - for a short time, then the pipes and cracks plugged and the project was over.

[@Vermilicious]

There have been projects around here where they use bore holes for heating buildings using heat pumps. It's very efficient, but costly. It might be the way to go, unless something pretty substantial happens in regards to nuclear fission/fusion. Because of the costs involved, government funding seems to be the solution to get things going. The promise of energy without "fuel" can't be ignored.

[@mikejfranklin7000]

Nuclear fission: we can get good results using thorium in nuclear reactors, as discussed on this channel, but not in time. Ditto, in spades, with fusion.

[@88888888tiago]

The initial planet rotating to the wrong side is upsetting. But good video

[@pdany86]

Maybe it was filmed from low earth orbit so the camera's rotation is faster than the Earth's, that's why it looks like it's rotating the other way. :)

[@DennisMoore664]

It's the Daily Show effect.

[@JustHaveaThink]

I know Gord. Awful isn;t it - I must work on that CGI stuff ;-)

[@SocialDownclimber]

Just pretend it is a satellite POV, then it is fine.

[@LeonardNorrgard]

You're in good company with the Britannica Atlas, by Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Perhaps they have fixed it since I pointed out the error to their sales representative who visited many years ago and gave me a copy with the cover attached upside down.

[@victorcontreras9138]

Well explained and very interesting!

[@jeechun]

Great content. 👍

[@listerdave1240]

One method I once saw for harvesting the heat consisted of drilling deep holes and sinking long vertical tubes into them. The tubes were coaxial and closed at the end so water or some other fluid is pumped down the central tube and flows back up between the inner and outer tube gathering heat from the surrounding rock on the way up. The fluid always remained inside the system, the heat being transferred from the rock through the outer wall of the tube. This meant no issues of earthquakes, contamination and all that. I've no ide what happened to that - it must have had some fatal flaw, perhaps simply that it could not collect enough heat to be viable. But then again maybe it is something that can be solved one day.

[@arminhanik4207]

Does not work. I suggested pretty much this to my son, who is a geothermal drilling engineer. The problem is that you deplete the energy around your borehole pretty rapidly and new energy/heat will not move back in rapidly enough. You end up with a very expensive cold hole with added hardware

[@Benfry57]

I had a similar idea of sinking a highly insulated rod whose tip would eventually reach the temperatures needed to travel all the way back up nearer to the surface where a sterling generator could leverage a steady temperature difference to make electricity rather than steam. Sure, it would take a long time to ramp up and down, but you could store excess in batteries that could be deployed when demand is higher. You might not even have to drill very far. And you could drill a lot more holes.

[@rcpmac]

@@arminhanik4207 That depends on how deep you go. I refer you to kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZyvgHymiNZmitk

[@Ralphie419]

Armin Hanik - But it CAN work! Our house in Oklahoma is heated and cooled by a ground source heat pump connected to a 300-foot-deep concentric double pipe. If one insists that no other source of energy than the heat from the earth be used, then I agree with your engineer son: heat continuously extracted might leave the earth surrounding the pipes too depleated of sufficient heat to be useable. But if you allow the use of electricity to run a heat pump* (ideally from batteries charged by solar, wind, hydro, etc.) then you can recharge the ground during the summer when the heat pump pulls heat out of your house and dumps it in the ground. This use of electricity to MOVE heat is about 4 times more efficient than turning the same electricity INTO heat with resistive heating. Consequently, our yearly heating/cooling costs are about a fourth of what they were when we heated with natural gas (and cooled with a standard whole-house AC system with the outdoor compressor/heat exchanger in the back yard.) One might object that the winter heating season is so long that the "cold hole with added hardware" is still going to happen, but we've never experienced that. Many people in the U.S. have ground source heat pumps and swear by them; I've never heard of a lack of heat by the end of winter in our northern states or too much heat in the hole by the end of summer in our southern states. Air source heat pumps also work well even in air temperatures down to 15 F (-10 C), but because the subsurface temperature stays around 55 F (13 C), ground source heat pumps (more expensive to install, I grant) cost less to run because of their efficiency. They can more easily push heat into or pull heat out of the consistently moderate ground. * If there's anyone who doesn't know, things like refrigerators and window air conditioners are also "heat pumps", except they don't have a reversing valve that allows them to run in reverse. That's the primary difference between them and devices sold as heat pumps, which can both heat and cool because they do have such a valve.

[@Ralphie419]

Lister Dave - That method you once saw - closed-circuit ground-source heat pump - is still alive and well. Many people in our area and elsewhere around the U.S. have ground source heat pumps. No fatal flaws at all. The only "problem" I know of is the initially higher installation cost. That is made up for by the low monthly costs of both heating and cooling.

[@michaeldupree5801]

Another great video...a joy to watch - thank you!!

[@JustHaveaThink]

Glad you enjoyed it :-)

[@hawsrulebegin7768]

I could listen to this man educate me all day. More please.

[@markissboi3583]

Not only geothermal but ponds using seawater in hot deserts lined with black tarps and clear tops to catch evaporation for drinking water the hot ponds also help gas boilers turbines using less gas for heating them . also salt by product.

[@markissboi3583]

Some Aussie fish farmer found he scolded his foot in a pond 1990s then thought about the energy and drinking water Nothing gets done in Australia take some c/o over sea's to make it and sell the energy & water to us xd :) were run by Idiots in OZ who only get elected for there own gain not for the people & the country Corruption run rife here which they try to hide by banning media like friendly Jordie youtube not

[@normanhopkins6114]

If we could harness the hot air coming out of Washington, DC.

[@roberthoovan4130]

We can power the world

[@scallywag4978]

Yeah but the smell would be overwhelming. Still it’s definitely a cheap resource, or more accurately, worthless.

[@amjrpain919]

Now we know the real cause of global warming!!😏

[@PlanetEarth3141]

The cost of federal heating costs taxpayers trillions already and I don't want to hear a CNN congressional debate by a congressman talking to no one coming out of my heating vents while listening to The View.

[@sburgos9621]

Harness the swamp as alternative power.

[@hirsebrei90]

Just a little side note: In the video you have mentioned that in geothermal use cases only water is used to enhance permeability of the rock, compared to the "classic" scenario where also chemicals would be injected. Actually that is not the case. Chemicals are widely used to enhance rock permeability. But still a really informative video! Thanks for that.

[@seekit9768]

Age of EARTH YOU HAVE WRONG ITS YOUNG acordinto GENISIS

[@seekit9768]

Genesis has no room fo miions of years!

[@seekit9768]

Book by ken ham called THE LIE YOU NEED TO READ

[@mikemiller9542]

We already have dead oil wells in Texas that we already know the temperatures under them. These are treated as toxic waste and ranchers have to fill the holes with concrete and monitor any leakage. Imagine if we could take what is essentially an EPA disaster and turn it into clean and efficient energy. That and no matter if the gas pumps freeze over, it will still make electricity.

[@robertgift]

Well done! My question for manyears. Thank you.

[@peterpan4038]

There is one thing speaking for EGA not mentioned here: We already have a lot of experience with fracking/ drilling, aka the infrastructure and qualified manpower is there. And drilling companies obviously don't care for what they drill, it just needs to offer profits.

[@jamescaley9942]

Renewables like solar and wind have proved more successful at generating subsidies than electricity. The source of their "profits" is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of our money.

[@peterpan4038]

@@jamescaley9942 Well, that's true. But even nuclear ate a crapton of tax dollars til it became profitable.

[@magerehenk7579]

@@jamescaley9942 problem with solar and wind is that it takes up a lot of space. which in certain places can be a problem. it fluctuates a lot on production aswel so it's hard to sustain a reliable powersupply when the wind and sunlight are not that strong.

[@GroovesAndLands]

Thankfully there's profits available for extracting energy from earth - else we'd have none to use. Once every few lifetimes there's ONE SINGLE MAN smart enough and altruistic enough to bust his hump to deliver free awesome-sauce to all of humankind (Nikola Tesla, for example) - but everybody else wants to get PAID. I'd prefer someone profit from my desire to have energy - rather than wait a bunch more lifetimes for it to come free.

[@IceManD3]

This was in my recommended for some reason, but it was interesting

[@mercedesvan-doors34]

years ago I was in Lanzarote and it sis on a volcano the people dug holes in the ground down a couple of meters and roasted food in them. The thing I couldn't get my head round was they had a sea water desalination plant that boiled water using oil.

[@jaimeduncan6167]

The earth turns the other way around (as seen by the camera )besides that minor detail great video!!

[@brendaNET]

Why not closed loop system. Would that not get around the fracking earth quakes? AND we could use dry oil wells too?

[@horstschreiner8088]

Earth crust has a very low heat conductivity. If you install just "pipes" you would only be able to extract the heat of the rock very close to the pipes, which soon would be exhausted. You need to "build" something with a far larger surface.

[@gedofgont1006]

@@horstschreiner8088 Thanks, you've answered one of my questions too!👏👏👍🤝

[@rickdees251]

@@horstschreiner8088 That is not 100% true. Actually it's an "anti geothermal power" selective lie that is 100% avoidable. It is ONLY true when the heat energy is removed (harvested) from any sized harvesting area faster than they the zone will recover, from the rocks around them. If you remove the heat at a sustainable rate then they will be able to stay hot enough for continuous running of the plant indefinitely. Think about it! They are surrounded by hot ground (rocks) in ALL directions. They will get too cool inside the harvesting area if the heat is removed fast than it WILL recover. The solution is to put in another other plant far enough away to keep them from interacting.

[@rickdees251]

@James Nicholl Your right!

[@horstschreiner8088]

@@rickdees251 ok, ok. I had been a bit "loose" with my explanation. As you said, the rock near the pipe will "recover" the heat from rocks around them, heat conduction... But this recovery will take it's time, or viewed in an other way: The power, which can be extracted, is limited by the heat conduction. Heat conduction is given by the conductivity of the rocks and by the surface involved. Closed systems with minimal surface get way less power from a borehole than "open Systems".

[@waynes.2983]

We have small earthquakes almost daily since they started injecting the wells at the Geysers in the Mayacamas mountains.

[@claudevieaul1465]

Drilling 40km into solid rock has its drawbacks, but closer to the surface is a viable option. From roughly 1m depth the temperature is fairly steady at 10C, in winter and summer. This can readily be used for cooling in summer, eliminating the need for old fashioned air-conditioning units. Going deeper raises the temperature with about 2-3C per 100m, and you'll can convert that energy into heating with a water to water heatpump. Individual systems (homes) are rarely financially viable, but with a cluster of houses one could do very well indeed.

[@ladibyrd]

omg you're awesome, i love your passionate energy stripey man

[@chrisphillips2134]

State of California has an agreement with the EPA that earthquakes don't exceed the low 2's, which is where a great number of small earthquake activity happens every day. Look at the USGS daily All Magnitudes list.

[@hambonemusk]

There's another idea out there just starting to take hold. Very large underwater turbines at the bottom of the ocean using the deep ocean currents to drive them. HUGE energy there that may be able to be tapped with very little or no environmental issues. Plus the output would be 100% steady and reliable.

[@dsloop3907]

Nah. They might chop up a rare fish or sumting.

[@FlorenceSlugcat]

I live in canada. My parents house use geothermal wells to heat their house in winter and cool it down in summer. Under the house they have built two 750 feet deep wells where water circulates in a loop. In winter, the geothermal heat is transfered to the house’s air using a heat exchanger. In summer, the process is reversed, the geothermal wells become the air conditioning system, keeping it cool by transfering that heat down thoses wells. From what I remember my dad told me, his geothermal AC system works just like a regular air conditioning system, except that instead of compressing air to release it outside, it compressed it to release it down there. Year round, no matter if its a -40C winter or a 30C summer, their house always stays at 21C His system of two 750 feet wells seems quite effective, since it works despite the insane size of their house, it always remains that temperature( I never saw a house as large as my parent’s in my 22 years of living from my own eyes. The only ive seen were on TV or so. (Also not trying to flex their house here, I dont live with them anymore, I live in a small appartment lmao…I just mentioned it’s size to state the point that if two wells at that depth can do that for a huge mansion, in a canadian place nowhere near a faultline, then it can definately work for many much smaller homes. My dad was also an early adopter of geothermal I guess. His house and the system were built in 2002. I am glad to see this technology getting more popular worldwide now

[@divegabe]

I'm just one of the plebs that has never even heard of this type of energy generation, until I saw your video and clicked on it. Thanks and lets hope awareness can be raised.

[@barrycarlson1560]

Having tried geothermal and cost a lot of money to fail. The cost of recovering the heat is not economical in most parts of the UK

[@jacklynch3333]

Agreed. It’s like saying “everyone needs solar panels”. In some places, it’s cost effective and energy efficient. In places where you don’t get much sun, it’s dumb. Check this guy out and see what you think: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHLJc2NrZ9yMb5I

[@GrimpakTheMook]

Pretty much. It has the bit where maintenance might be a nightmare just because of the environment not being conductive to machines operating 24/7 with little to no maintenance (acidic gases, extreme heat). And then there's the issue with location. One thing can condition the other tho. If it's easy to capture geothermal heat, instalation costs come down, remaining only maintenance costs. It's like ocean wave energy generators. It's relatively easy to install it, provided that you put it in the right place. Running costs however? Well... Salt water isn't great for metal. Even boats need to go to a dry dock every now and then to do hull maintenance (which includes sandblasting the entire thing and repaint), and those things are, supposedly, made to last.

[@jimgraham6722]

Most Australian geothermal wells closed down, due to continual need to refrac, corrosion, too low a grade heat recovered at surface. In short environmentally dubious and not cost effective relative to wind and solar.

[@mikebreeden6071]

How about doing another video on geothermal based on the recently announced potential of using micro-wave "drill bits" with the potential to drill more than 10 kilometers down. It sounds like a potentially amazing technology.

[@johngoudge5916]

Another use of those micro-wave "drill bits" is to vitrify the bore hole. Be great to seal off spent oil and gas wells that continue leak methane, far more methane than whole mobs of cattle.

[@agnidas5816]

millimeter wave tech :P haven't seen that mentioned in years... whatever happened to that ...

[@mikebreeden6071]

@@agnidas5816 It has been talked about recently. There will be a test later this year using oil rig tools with a microwave tip. If it works, it could change everything.

[@giin97]

Yeah, read an article last month that a company was planning to start converting coal power plants to geothermal as early as next year using these maser drills. They can reuse the coal plant's turbines and infrastructure, so it's a straight swap from coal burn to thermal tap. Pretty crazy.

[@toddwmac]

Quaise energy, an MIT spin off, has completed initial testing and is now headed towards drilling the deepest bore hole in history (20km deep) using MM wave tech. Boston Globe had a pretty interesting article "deepest hole on earth". AltaRock is another company doing things with non-mechanical drilling companies. While still a lot more questions than answers, some pretty interesting projects in the works.

[@josephchandler5591]

Sounds great! Sounds like a very deep subject

[@carlokop556]

We use heat pumps for individual homes. Basically drill an hole 150 meters deep and run water through a closed loop. This gets heated to about 30/35⁰C goes through a heat exchanger and we can heat our homes with it. It's a great solution and can be used in summer to cool down your home through the floor heating system.

[@DuBstep115]

That would be a key solution to lower the energy consumption around cold countries. So you don't need as much electricity when every home has it's own heat pump. Heating is like 95% of electricity bill at winter.