Hot Flashes

摘要

The beauty of geothermal energy is that it's conceptually simple: a virtually unlimited heat source beneath our feet. All that we have to do is drill for it, right? The problem is, we need rock that is not too deep, is highly permeable and comes with its own water supply for making steam. Such places exist. Most folks are familiar with The Geysers Geothermal Field in California, which has produced electricity for 44 years with no end in sight; it still maintains a capacity of almost 1,000 megawatts (MW). Collectively, geothermal energy provides more than 2,800 MW of electricity in the United States―comparable to 60 million barrels of oil per year, enough for 3.5 million homes. And this is only a small fraction of U.S. potential. There are also geothermal power plants in the Philippines, Mexico, Italy and 17 other countries.