Geothermal Heating

One of the most attractive aspects of geothermal energy is the relatively benign impact it has on the environment. There are no fumes and hardly any moving parts to grind up passing animals. However, there are a few types of energy options that require Geothermal Energy Environmental Impact statements to be filed with state and local authorities. However, these systems can very easily be made to operate in a responsible manner with minor modifications.

The most potentially environment-damaging type of geothermal power generation is a large project such as those used to generate electricity from superheated water. Typically, a team of geologists finds a pocket of steam that is actively being generated at the interface of underground water deposits and magma that is several thousand degrees hotter. The steam has nowhere to escape in such pockets and must be released by drilling to harness this energy.

The drilling itself is not as damaging as the construction process to assemble the large machinery that actually generates the power. Just getting the equipment there, including what is usually a very large turbine, may require a road being built, since these sites are almost always located in remote and rugged locales. Such projects are on an industrial scale by their very nature and usually have one or more professionals who deal with that process and nothing else. Environmental consultants are very commonly used to facilitate the permitting process.

The other type of geothermal heating project that is likely to require an environmental impact statement of some sort are open discharge systems that are used with nearby lakes or ponds. Water is a particularly good conductor of heat (or the absence of it) and such systems usually require far less pipe. You will need to prove to someone at the local, county or state level that your system is not harming the local environment by allowing something from your system to seep into the watershed or robbing the water of oxygen.

There may also be local regulations regarding how water may be used. In drought years, you may even be asked to turn your system off, A reputable contractor / engineer will know what type of designs are safe, and a simple inspection from an officer of the regulatory body you need to deal with should he able to sign off on your project in short order.

When installing a geothermal heating or power system, you need to make sure that you're not offsetting your carbon savings with some other type of havoc. Closed loop systems do not have any environmental problem associated with them other than the act of tearing up your lawn where they're buried. If done responsibly, geothermal can be an important part of a clean, "renewable" energy system.

Geothermal Heating |