Growing Geothermal Energy Grids

As governments quickly look for ways to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives, there could be huge potential for developing geothermal natural resources underground. Investing in geothermal energy on the grid could provide heating and abundant clean electricity for millions of households and businesses around the world. Although countries with abundant geothermal resources have taken advantage of the natural energy source for thousands of years, governments have only recently funded greater research into the use of advanced geothermal systems aimed at expanding the use of the energy source.

Geothermal energy is a type of renewable energy that comes from the Earth’s core. Energy can be extracted from thermal sources stored in rocks and fluids several miles below the Earth’s surface. Underground geothermal reservoirs of steam and hot water can be used for electricity generation and other heating and cooling applications in rich geothermal regions. Accessing geothermal energy requires drilling a borehole two to three miles underground, running cold water at low pressures through hot rocks, and transporting the hot water to the Earth’s surface through a second borehole for use as heating or electricity. generation.

In the UK, a 2023 report suggested there was significant potential to develop the country’s geothermal resources to provide clean heating and electricity. The report highlights several untapped geothermal energy regions in the UK that could be developed to supply geothermal energy to the grid. Many of these areas happen to coincide with cities and towns included in those of the government Level Up White Paperwhich lists several disadvantaged parts of the UK that require greater attention and investment. These areas include Redcar and Cleveland, Middlesbrough, East Lindsey, Hartlepool, Northumberland and Bassetlaw. Other areas with potential for geothermal energy production include Newcastle upon Tyne, Northeast Derbyshire, East Riding of Yorkshire and Nottingham.

Kieran Mullan MP, who managed the production of the report, said there was a “strong overlap” between the areas where investment is needed and the best geothermal locations, which could encourage greater support for renewable energy development in these areas. Mullan said of the potential to tap into Britain’s geothermal resources: “Unlike wind or solar, this technology provides baseload – it’s constantly there. And our North Sea drilling expertise means we are well placed to move forward.”

Britain is estimated to have vast amounts of untapped geothermal energy, with enough geothermal energy underground to heat every house for a hundred years. However, Mullen pointed out that there is “catch up to do because across Europe there has been much stronger government intervention to support the developing deep geothermal industries in those countries”.

The US is also looking to take advantage of natural energy stored underground by investing in new technologies to tap geothermal resources and distribute the power. At the beginning of this year, Eversource Energy has been commissioned the first grid-connected geothermal district in the US to be run by a utility, in Framingham, Massachusetts. There is great optimism about the project’s potential for expansion, as much of the equipment needed to tap into the geothermal resources is already in place. Utilities can use gas pipeline equipment to deploy geothermal energy into the grid, circulating fluids rather than gas, with the potential to set up grids anywhere.

Audrey Schulman, executive director of nonprofit climate solutions incubator HEETlabs, he stated“Ultimately, what we would like is for gas utilities to become thermal utilities.” Eversource is using a geothermal loop in Framingham that could eventually be connected to an adjacent neighborhood and another to expand the grid. Schulman explained: “Each individual shared loop can be interconnected, like Lego blocks, to grow bigger and bigger.”

While switching to geothermal power might have seemed impossible just a few years ago, there is increasing pressure from the White House for utilities to decarbonize. Last year, New York became the first state to ban natural gas hookups in most new buildings. This ban is expected to be implemented in several states in the coming years, including California, Vermont and Colorado. This leaves utilities with little choice but to look for clean heating alternatives. There is also a wide range of incentives, provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and other climate policies, to invest in renewable energy and clean technologies. Eversource Energy and two dozen other utilities, which together account for 47 percent of the nation’s natural gas customers, are joining forces to establish an information-sharing coalition, known as the Utility Networked Geothermal Collaborative, that is expected to encourage more many geothermal power grid projects around the world. US

After several decades of stagnation in the geothermal energy sector, governments are once again looking to the abundant source of renewable energy to provide heating and power in place of natural gas. Greater investment in the sector could support the development of large geothermal energy networks, providing millions of households with clean heating. Some countries, such as Iceland, are already well-acquainted with geothermal energy, and countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States are expected to soon follow.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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