The peculiar geology combined with the felsite intrusive body below will create the condition of steam production. The Geysers prove the practicality of geothermal power for dependable electricity in generation twenty-four hours a day through 18 power plants, which generate a total of about 835 megawatts of electricity. These show that steam reservoirs are tapped through wells to demonstrate how geothermal power converts the earth’s heat into a reliable power source.
Geothermal energy: This vintage renewable resource
Geothermal is a naturally occurring form of energy. Thousands of years ago, ancient civilizations would create hot springs into public baths; the Romans had hot water utilized by their buildings for heating. It was in the latter part of the 19th century into the early part of the 20th that geothermal heating came into play, with the first commercial power plant opening in 1911.
Geothermal energy has a long history, but it has not grown as much as other renewables. It had at the end of 2021, a global installed capacity of just 16 GW. Key hurdles include high exploration and drilling upfront costs and problems transmitting heat over long distances because of energy losses.
These barriers have further limited the technology to countries that do not have raft-of-the-at-capture hydrothermal resources. Geothermal energy will give some specific benefits. Unlike wind and solar electricity, it is weather-independent and thus provides steady supply, potentially filling the generation gaps left by non-dispatchable renewables. Such baseload potential for geothermal energy seems to put it on the critical path for global transitioning to cleaner sources of energy.