Nowadays, it is unimaginable for people, at least in industrialized countries, not to have any access to energy sources. For the industry sector it is the basic precondition for its existence. For every little step within the production process, being the production of a good itself, the handling with raw materials or the transportation of the final product to the customer, plenty of energy is required. Private households also consume a lot of energy. But due to the global population growth, the available earth’s resources have come under enormous pressure to meet the humans’ energy needs (Pérez Latorre, 1999, p. 2). In the last 30 years the world’s population has grown by more than 30% (www.weltbevoelkerung.de) and reached the present status of about 6.6 billion people (www.cia.gov). The total energy consumption has even increased more quickly comparing to the number of people on the planet. At the same time the population continues to grow and is estimated to reach about 9.1 billion people by the year 2050 (www.un.org).
As the supply of oil, gas, coal and uranium, so called classic energy resources, is quite limited, the increase of population could result in the energy supply shortfall with considerable economic and social consequences. But this is not the only problem. The reserves of fossil fuels are distributed unequally over the globe (BMU, Renewable Energies – Innovations for the future, 2006, p. 11). The high dependence of energy-hungry industrial countries from energy supplying countries can even lead to political conflicts. Furthermore the use of these energy resources has significant environmental effects. The capacity of the environment to absorb the waste produced by the energy consumption is strictly limited, too. These waste products not only damage the environment, but also are harmful to the human health (BMU, Renewable Energies – Innovations for the future, 2006, p. 12).
The challenge of this essay is to analyse, whether and if so which alternative energy sources are to be considered as an answer to the problems mentioned above. Thereby I want to examine sustainable energy resources in order to find out, whether their utilization make sense politically, economically and environmentally. First I will provide general information about renewable energies and give an overview of main renewable energy sources. Finally I will focus on geothermal energy, analysing this energy source more detailed.
Table of Contents
1. Challenge and Objectives of this Essay
2. Renewable Energies
2.1 Status and Perspectives
2.2 Global Potential of Renewable Energies
2.2.1 Solar Energy
2.2.2 Biomass
2.2.3 Wind Energy
2.2.4 Hydropower
3. Geothermal Energy
3.1 History
3.2 The Nature of Geothermal Resources
3.3 Technologies
3.4 Potential and Utilization of Geothermal Energy
4. Summary and Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores the growing global demand for energy in the face of limited conventional resources and environmental concerns, aiming to evaluate whether alternative, sustainable energy sources can provide a viable solution. The analysis specifically focuses on the potential and practical application of geothermal energy as a key component of a renewable energy strategy.
- Global population growth and increasing energy consumption
- Environmental and political risks associated with fossil and nuclear energy
- Overview of major renewable energy sources
- Technological methods for exploiting geothermal energy
- Economic and political feasibility of sustainable energy resources
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 The Nature of Geothermal Resources
Our planet consists of a crust, a mantle, an outer core and an inner core. The crust and the upper layer of the mantle make up the lithosphere, which is 80 to 200 km thick and solid. The even more plastic zone below the lithosphere is 200 to 300 km thick and is called asthenosphere. Because of the different temperatures in the different parts of the asthenosphere convective movements were formed millions of years ago and are maintained by the heat coming from the decay of the radioactive elements in the earth’s interior. This continuous decay of naturally occurring radioactive elements (principally uranium, thorium and potassium) is also responsible for perpetual regenerating of the enormous energy potential in the earth’s interior, making it inexhaustible in spite of permanent escaping of the earth’s heat into the space. The long-living radioactive isotopes in the earth's interior are responsible for producing the largest part of our earths’ heat. About 70% of geothermal heat comes from this source and only 30% comes from gravitational energy and the residual heat from the earths’ genesis.
The heat from the earth flows from hotter to colder regions, from the earth’s interior towards the surface, with a tendency to create the uniform conditions. These flows are responsible for building spreading ridges in ocean areas (the lithosphere in there is very thin and can be broken by the very hot material coming from the asthenosphere), transform faults and subduction zones. These three form a network, which divides our earth into lithospheric plates. Emerging tensions caused by the flow of heat in the earth’s interior force the plates to drift slowly up against each other. At the borders of those plates therefore occur intense seismicity, a lot of volcanoes and a high heat flow. This has a socioeconomic and political importance, because these zones include many developing countries. For the nations within these zones the fact of availability of geothermal energy opens the opportunity to strengthen their own economy by gaining the renewable energy and limiting or even stopping the import of fossil fuels for energy.
Summary of Chapters
1. Challenge and Objectives of this Essay: This chapter outlines the global energy crisis driven by population growth and discusses the environmental and political hazards of relying on conventional fossil and nuclear fuels.
2. Renewable Energies: This section provides an overview of various naturally replenishing energy sources, discussing their political benefits, economic impacts, and the current legislative support for their implementation.
3. Geothermal Energy: This chapter details the historical development, geological nature, technical extraction methods, and the global potential of utilizing heat from the earth's interior.
4. Summary and Conclusion: This section synthesizes the findings, emphasizing the necessity of transitioning to sustainable energy while acknowledging the economic and environmental risks that must be managed.
Keywords
Renewable Energy, Geothermal Energy, Sustainability, Fossil Fuels, Climate Change, Energy Consumption, Nuclear Energy, Hot-Dry-Rock, Hydrothermal Systems, Energy Policy, Environmental Impact, Global Potential, Energy Security, Greenhouse Gases, Sustainable Development.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this essay?
The essay examines the global necessity for alternative energy sources due to the limitations of fossil fuels and assesses how renewable energies, specifically geothermal energy, can address these needs sustainably.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The work covers environmental protection, the socioeconomic aspects of energy dependency, renewable energy technologies, and the political and economic challenges of transitioning away from conventional energy.
What is the main objective of this research?
The goal is to determine if sustainable energy resources are politically, economically, and environmentally viable answers to the current global energy supply shortage.
Which scientific methods were utilized?
The author conducts a literature-based analysis, utilizing data from international organizations like the UN, the EU, and the BMU to compare the potential and costs of various energy sources.
What topics are discussed in the main section of the paper?
The main part analyzes the status of renewables, provides an overview of solar, biomass, wind, and hydropower, and dedicates a substantial portion to the history, technologies, and potential of geothermal energy.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Renewable Energy, Geothermal Energy, Sustainability, Climate Change, Energy Security, and Fossil Fuel Dependency.
How is geothermal energy classified in terms of sustainability?
Geothermal energy is described as a clean, inexhaustible, and sustainable source because it relies on the internal heat of the earth, which is continuously generated by the decay of radioactive elements.
What is the "hot-dry-rock" method described in the text?
It is a technology for deep geothermal energy extraction where water is injected into artificial fractures within hot, dry, and impermeable crystalline rocks to extract heat for surface use.
Are there risks associated with geothermal energy?
Yes, the text mentions potential environmental impacts and risks, such as induced seismicity, which has been linked to certain geothermal projects using the hot-dry-rock method.
- Quote paper
- Ludmilla Deines (Author), 2008, Renewable Energies. Geothermal Energy, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/90338
