Can U.S. Geothermal Power Fulfill Its Potential?

摘要

Geothermal power and conventional fossil fuel-powered technologies have similar power production cycles, and both generation types can be dispatched. Geothermal power's primary advantage is its renewable fuel. Its primary disadvantage is that its fuel requires large investments over many years to characterize uncertain sources. Enhanced recovery techniques that use fracking may be the future of this renewable resource. Underachiever. That's what comes to mind when considering the state of geothermal power in the United States. By all accounts, geothermal energy is a very attractive source of electric power. The heat of the earth is essentially endless, providing a sustainable source of energy - and power - far into the future. The technology is fairly well known. The U.S. has produced electricity from the stored energy in our planet's crust since 1960. Furthermore, electricity from geothermal heat, unlike that from the wind or the sun, is dispatchable, and plants typically have capacity factors of 80% to 90%.