Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy (geo + thermal) is heat energy derived from the ground.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE?

Geothermal resources are underground reserves of hot water that occur at variable temperatures and depths. One or more mile-deep wells may be bored into subterranean reservoirs to access steam and very hot water that can be transported to the surface for use in a number of purposes, such as power production, direct usage, and heating and cooling.

BENEFITS OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Renewable

The pace of energy extraction may be matched with a reservoir’s natural heat recharge rate by efficient reservoir management.

Baseload

Geothermal power plants regularly provide energy, operating 24 hours per day, seven days per week, regardless of the weather.

Domestic

South Africa’s geothermal resources are insufficient to produce power or provide direct heat on a big scale. Depending on the location and heating and cooling requirements, only heat pump technology is viable. Ground or ground water heat pumps are now quite uncommon in South Africa.

Geothermal power facilities have a small footprint, requiring less land per GWh (404 m2) than coal (3,642 m2), wind (1,335 m2), or solar PV with a central station (1,335 m2) (3237 m2).

Modern closed-loop geothermal power plants release no greenhouse gases; life cycle GHG emissions (50 g CO2 equivalent/kWhe) are four times less than solar PV and six to twenty times less than natural gas. Geothermal power plants utilise less water on a lifetime basis than the majority of conventional energy producing methods.