Geothermal Energy Cost

The quest to find and implement alternative energy sources in our lifestyles has led to some extensive research by the scientific fraternity in the field of power consumption and alternative energy sources. Geothermal energy, an energy that utilizes the Earth's interior heating systems has been very productive in countries where hot geysers and hot water springs are found in abundance. Worldwide geothermal energy has been recognized for being a viable alternative energy source. Globally, geothermal heating and cooling systems have been used in various homes for desalination works, spas and framing systems. Like, every energy system, there are various pros and cons of this form of energy and the most important factor that can go a long way in the implementation process, is its financial viability.

Cost of Geothermal Energy
If any of the alternative energy sources is to be considered as a long term solution to address the increasing global energy demands, then it must be cost-effective and easily available to people so that it can be included as an economical source of energy. On the contrary, if the operational cost for alternative energy is very high, then it would be not feasible for the private firms and governments to invest billions of dollars in it. So, indeed cost turns out to be a major factor that will determine the success of this energy form.

Consider the cost of geothermal energy producing heat pumps that are installed in homes. In general, they cost about $2,500 per ton of the capacity. For the normal home sizes, a three ton pump is generally required and this makes the cost to be near about $7,500. Added to these costs, are the costs of various parameters like the cost of drilling, that can range between $10,000 to $30,000. So, for home owners the total cost incurred, turns out to be nearly two to four times than the cost of a regular heat pump system. But then the rate of return is substantial and you can drastically cut your home electricity bills. The maintenance cost for geothermal energy is quite low as the heat pumps have been known to be very durable.

Generally, the cost depends on the types of plant installed. In the US, generally, geyser plants sell power at the rate of $0.03 to $0.035 per kWh. Some plants may even charge more, when the demand for this energy form is high during a certain period especially for electricity generation purposes. Besides this, the cost of establishing a plant to harness it is quite high. The early expenses in maintaining the plant is usually more than required in various other energy plants. Well drilling, pipeline construction and resource analysis are some of the crucial steps that are required to set up a geothermal energy plant. In the US, generally, $25,000 per installed KW is the cost of installing geothermal plants.

The maintenance costs of geothermal energy is usually between $0.01 to $0.03 per kWh. Geothermal plants are just like nuclear energy or solar power, as it is capital intensive. The cost for geothermal plant installation is nearly $1000 per Kwh.

The costs face certain limitations due to the technology that is required for drilling and exploring a geothermal site. Besides, not every place can be explored for geothermal energy as hot water under the ground is not found in many regions of the world. When oil prices are very high, the drilling costs simultaneously are pushed up which eventually, makes the overall costs higher.

According to experts, as long as innovative technologies are not developed to harness this energy, it is highly likely that the costs to harness it can be quite high. Also, this energy can only be tapped in geographically active areas so it is costlier to transfer it to other areas. As people have shown increased interest in these energy forms, they've become popular in the US and we can hope that this renewable energy will help us meet our increasing energy demands, by at least a few percent.