Geothermal Energy Pros and Cons

Geothermal energy is basically the energy derived from within the Earth, which can be recovered in the form of steam of hot water and used to generate power. Being cost-effective and environment friendly, geothermal energy is looked upon as an alternative energy source which can replace harmful and ever depleting fossil fuels. Many countries have initiated projects to tap this energy stored below the Earth's crust and in fact, till 2007, geothermal plants world over had the capacity to generate approximately 10 Gigawatt's of electricity. This number is expected to increase in the near future, as many other countries are considering geothermal energy pros and cons in order to check the feasibility of exploiting the heat energy stored within the Earth.

How does Geothermal Energy Work?
There are three types of geothermal power plants - dry steam plants, flash steam plants and binary cycle plants. These plants produce energy by using geothermal dry steam or geothermal hot water derived from the Earth. The steam or hot water accessed by a digging well is brought to the plant at the surface through pipes and is used to rotate turbines in order to generate electricity. In dry steam geothermal power plants, the steam is directly brought to the plant through the pipe. In flash steam plants, hot water is brought to the plant and sprayed into a tank in order to create steam, while binary cycle plants use moderately hot water derived from the Earth and mix it with some chemicals to form steam required to produce electricity.

Geothermal Energy Pros and Cons
Like any other source of energy, geothermal energy advantages and disadvantages do exist. On one hand, it's comparatively inexpensive, while on the other hand, the initial costs incurred are too high for several nations to afford. Let's take a detailed look at various pros and cons of geothermal energy.

Geothermal Energy Pros
After it is produced, geothermal energy is absolutely non-polluting, and hence, is considered to be an environment friendly source of energy. Once established, geothermal power plants don't require much funding for operations. Geothermal energy is a source of renewable energy, as it is entirely dependent on heat, which is produced within the Earth continuously. Not just the energy, but the plants which produce this energy are also equally environment friendly. A large part of the credit for this goes to the exclusion of fossil fuels from the process of generating electricity in geothermal plants. Owing to all these pros of geothermal energy, many believe that this form of energy is an apt replacement for harmful fossil fuels.

Geothermal Energy Cons
Although there are many positive points of geothermal energy, you can't ignore its negatives when you compare geothermal energy pros and cons. One major problem with geothermal energy is its availability. This form of energy is only available in certain regions on planet Earth. Although it is considered to be a relatively cheap source of energy, the initial cost of setting up a geothermal plant is enormous. Due to this high initial expenditure, not many countries are keen in exploiting this source of energy. The process involved in tapping energy from the ground is quite complex as well. More importantly, there is no guarantee that the site being drilled will facilitate access to steam or hot water forever, or that the site in which one has invested will continue to provide steam or water in desired amounts.

These were some of the most prominent geothermal energy pros and cons, which need to be assessed before coming up with a final conclusion about replacing fossil fuels with it. It would be biased to come up with any opinion without considering the various geothermal energy facts compiled by researchers over a period of time. Existing geothermal power plants have proven that this form of generating electricity is quite successful. Now, we have to put in some efforts to optimize the initial investment, and make it an economically viable option of power generation. Success in these efforts will enable us to combine it with other alternative energy sources, and put an end to use of fossil fuels, as well as the pollution caused by them.