. Site Navigation Links : Please click on SITE MAP:
Geothermal Energy
On page 1 we have an estimate of the Geothermal energy flow from the interior of the Earth. The rate of energy release is about 3 x 1013 Watts. This is much less than the incident Solar radiation which is 1.1 x 1017 Watts, ie several thousand times less. An added complication is that favourable Geothermal sites are in locations that are prone to volcanic activity so that this form of energy is not as benign as other forms of Renewable Enegy. Wikipedia gives a summary of the installed capacity to date -- 1 x 1010 Watts so there is an abundance of Geothermal energy to be extracted.
In the UK we are luckily not near volcanoes but the granite rocks in Cornwall could provide a "hot rock" geothermal system that would provide a significant energy output. www.theiet.org . Roger Dettmer discusses several possibilities in the Engineering and Technology magazine, Volume 4, Issue 16 26 September 2009.
| Index Page | Top of Page | Next Page |