How is geothermal energy made

Steam technology is still effective today at currently in use at The Geysers in northern California, the world's largest single source of geothermal power. Flash steam plants are the most common type of geothermal power generation plants in operation today. If any liquid remains in the tank, it can be flashed again in a second tank to extract even more energy. Heat from the geothermal fluid causes the secondary fluid to flash to vapor, which then drives the turbines and subsequently, the generators.

Binary cycle power plants are closed-loop systems, and virtually nothing except water vapor is emitted to the atmosphere. Geothermal Technologies Office Electricity Generation. Geothermal power plant in the Imperial Valley, California. A geothermal resource requires fluid, heat and permeability in order to generate electricity:. Dry steam power plants at The Geysers in California.

The United States is the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world, and hosts the largest geothermal field. The energy source is also prevalent in Iceland, where it has been used since This is due to the hot springs and volcanoes in the country. Its potential production could reach at least 35GW and as high as 2TW.

However, there are some drawbacks to the energy source. Despite low CO 2 production geothermal has been associated with other emissions like sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Similar to fracking, geothermal power plants have been the cause of mini tremors in the area they operate in and also has a high initial cost to build.

As such, it is limited to countries such as the aforementioned US and Iceland, alongside Kenya and Indonesia. Dry steam power plants draw from underground resources of steam. There are only two known underground resources of steam in the United States:. Since Yellowstone is protected from development, the only dry steam plants in the country are at The Geysers.

This very hot water flows up through wells in the ground under its own pressure. As it flows upward, the pressure decreases and some of the hot water boils into steam. Any leftover water and condensed steam are injected back into the reservoir, making this a sustainable resource.

Binary cycle plants use the heat from the hot water to boil a working fluid, usually an organic compound with a low boiling point. The working fluid is vaporized in a heat exchanger and used to turn a turbine.

The water is then injected back into the ground to be reheated.