Geologists from the University of Kansas have begun a $4 million research project on geothermal energy.
The university says the three-year project is aimed at making it easier to power electric plants with geothermal energy.
The project is funded partly with $2.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy. Other funding comes from the university's Geology Department, the University of Oklahoma and the Sierra Geothermal Power Corp.
Associate professor of geology Daniel Stockli and two students began mapping a region in Nevada this month as an initial phase of the project. The team plans to create 3-D maps of the area to assess its underground temperature history.
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Made_in_China (Paul R. Getto) says…
Good project; there is lots of untapped potential here and we need to exploit it as we transform our uses of energy.
Kontum1972 (anonymous) says…
and no basketball tickets were harmed in the making of this energy....
tomatogrower (anonymous) says…
I'm wishing all the luck to these guys. I hope they find the answer, so we can stop or at least slow down the oil and coal usage. I hope you are the ones to find an answer to the mess we've made of this world. My grandkids are counting on it.
grammaddy (anonymous) replies…
Mine, too.
esj2003 (anonymous) says…
I forget what bank, but there is a bank building in Greensburg that uses geothermal coils to heat its floors (then heat rises per 3rd grade science lessons) during the winter. There is no cost to it after the initial installation. Whatever excess heat they need after that is produced from wind and solar energy. Greensburg actually produces more green energy than the town needs. Some day... Some day that will be everyone else, too.
none2 (anonymous) says…
I think people are confusing multiple alternative forms of energy. Unfortunately, the term geothermal has been used so liberally that it conjures up multiple images...
While the article didn't state more details, I'm guessing that these geologists are talking about a large source of heat below the surface of the ground. Nevada doesn't come to my mind as having such heat, but I'm not a geologist. Simple examples, to think about are Yellow Stone, WY; New Zealand; or Iceland. There is so much heat from underground magma that there are hot springs. One can either capture the heat or the steam heated water directly to power electrical plants.
A different use of the term geothermal is for ground-source heating & cooling. Such a system isn't used for generating electricity, but for transporting heat from one place to another. In the case of cooling, you are moving heat from your house to the ground. For heating, you are moving heat from the ground into your house. A regular heat pump works on the same principle but instead of the ground, it uses the outside air. (Even in winter there is some "heat" in the air.)
As for coils in the floor, I bet that esj2003 is referring to a radiant heated flooring system.
I think the future holds many diverse energy solutions for humankind compared to what we have now. While I don't live in daily fear of some carbon-esque apocalypse , I think such a diverse energy future is good for national security, our posperity, and as well the environment. Of course the biggest and cheapest thing to help with our energy needs is to push for more energy efficiency. Insulation in our homes, and energy efficient vehicles and appliances will go a long way to reduce our energy needs.
pendragons (Gene Wallace) replies…
http://www.nevadageothermal.com/i/map...
Lots of geothermal sources in Nevada. There is a 49.5 Megawatt plant on-line at Blue Mountain.
mleanna (anonymous) replies…
Nevada most definitely has hot springs. I've been to one of them (during a geology course led by Prof. Stockli, actually). Yay for nature's hot tub!
DougCounty (anonymous) says…
Thanks for the clear posting, none2!
mdfraz (anonymous) says…
I concur none2. Very reasoned and well written post. You don't see those too often here. And I happen to agree pretty much 100% with your views.
lawrenceguy40 (anonymous) says…
$2.4 million of hard working taxpayers' money thrown down a hole in the ground!
You've got to admire the bare-faced gall of those liberal profs, for even suggesting they take this money in barry o's depression. If they could direct that attitude to the business world and start giving instead of taking, the US may be in much better shape.
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MyName (anonymous) replies…
You are dumb. Why do you even post?
They aren't digging holes in the ground, they are using different tools (including subsurface radar and the like) to map what's under the ground. And one of the big reasons why the business world does so well here is because the government dumps so much money into research. Everything from products created during the space race to Google has come from commercialization of discoveries made in a government lab.
Government covers the cost of research, business covers the cost of bringing things to market, and we all benefit.
MacHeath (anonymous) replies…
Lawrenceguy40 is what one calls a "troll"
Meaning he just comes on to be obnoxious.
Heck, everyone has to be good at something!
Danimal (anonymous) says…
I think we're going to have to move away from the model of having huge, centralized power plants of any kind and move towards each property being a micro-power plant. I'm not sure that gigantic wind farms or endless fields of solar panels are the answer. But if everyone had a couple solar panels, a small wind turbine, and/or a geothermal well at their home I think we can resolve a lot of the energy crunch.
I've always heard that geothermal is probably the least viable of the renewable energies in this part of the country. I have a friend that is an architect. A couple years ago she designed and built a house in KC that had solar, wind and geothermal power, and the geothermal was the least productive for the investment.
none2 (anonymous) replies…
In regards to centeralized power:
I'm not from the energy sector -- I work in IT. So I always thought of the Electric grid similar to the internet -- definitely non-centeralized. I remember the old days (school days) when getting on a computer meant going to a data center, and logging into a terminal attached to a mainframe. The internet back then was limited to parts of the government and universities. Now computers of all sizes are connected to the internet -- it could be your cell phone, your laptop, your desktop, a midrange server, a mainframe, a supercomputer... While mainframes ( the big computers) are important, they aren't the only size systems connected.
So with that analogy, I never understood why they thought that the only producers on the electric grid must be huge power plants (big like mainframes are in the computer world). You DO need them, but why not have power suppliers of all sizes? One problem I've heard about is that if a residence puts surplus electricity back on the grid, you have to make sure that the line workers know that ALL wires should be considered "hot" and dangerous -- not just the side of the wire coming from some big power plant. The other thing I have heard is that long haul transmission lines are too expand unless you are transporting a large capacity. Perhaps, this does propose a problem in that respect.
Liberty275 (anonymous) replies…
>> So with that analogy, I never understood why they thought that the only producers on the electric grid must be huge power plants
I'm pretty sure smaller producers can and do put power into the grid and make a little money doing it. There's a small powerplant on the Kaw behind city hall that still adds to the grid.
# The Bowersock Mills and Power Company
* Energy Production: BMPC depends on the Bowersock Dam for the production of a maximum of 2.35 MW of electricity on a daily basis. BMPC has the possibility to expand production at the Bowersock Dam through the construction of an additional plant on the north side of the river with a capacity of approximately 5 MW of energy production. BMPC produces clean, renewable energy with zero carbon impacts. It is a stated goal of the State of Kansas and the United States Department of Energy to increase the production of renewable, non-polluting, domestic energy supplies in Kansas and for the United States.
http://www.bowersockpower.com/faq
none2 (anonymous) replies…
As to solar, wind, and geothermal:
Like I said earlier the geothermal term is misused. Obviously, you must be referring to someone who installed a ground-source heating & cooling system. They ARE very expensive to put in because of the outside loop, so it does take a while to recoup your investment. (NOTE: The outside loop should last 50 plus years, so for practical purposes it is a one time expense for the loop.) As with any heating & cooling savings you have to make sure you have a well insulated house.
Remember that ground-source is about energy efficiency in heating and cooling only. It isn't about generating energy at all. Also, how much you save depends on many factors. For examples:
1) What are your electric rates?
a) The higher they are in the summer the more you save on your electric bill for cooling.
b) If you have very cold winters (lots of days below 20F) and you are 100% relying
on the ground-source system; odds are the backup old fashion electrical
heating elements will kick in. Electrical heating is expensive. Some people with ground-source have other means for backup -- woodstove, etc.
2) What did you do for water heating?
a) If you got an additional ground-source add on for heating water (in which case you should have a tank), then you should save on your water bill for the hot months when the sytem is being used as it goes ahead and the heat removed from your house is also used to heat your water.
b) If you don't have that add-on OR you put in a tankless water heater, then you haven't saved anything on your water heating bills.
3) How well did you insulate your house? Since this sounds like new construction, I trust that good insulation and good windows were used.
That is just a few of the things that come to mind.
You said that they also produced electricity via solar and/or wind. Did they consider that the ground-source probably reduced the size of solar & wind generation that they needed?
Ground-source excluded, I would think that wind wouldn't do much here. I don't know wind speeds at higher altitudes in this area, but I would think as humid and muggy as it gets here, that we don't have much wind movement during the summer. Growing up in SW Kansas, this area seems so "still". We do have winds from time to time, but nothing like where I grew up.
MacHeath (anonymous) replies…
a buddy of mine that is in the energy business, used to talk about micro-nuke plants.
deathpenaltyliberal (anonymous) says…
"lawrenceguy40 (anonymous) says…
... this money in barry o's depression..."
The correct terms are "Bush recession" and "President Obama".
grammaddy (anonymous) replies…
Thank you for clarifying! As if blame solves anything.
lawrenceguy40 (anonymous) replies…
A year and a half is time enough for barry o to own this disaster.
I'll address the fool with the respect that he deserves.
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MacHeath (anonymous) replies…
and you will be addressed with the respect you deserve.
jaywalker (anonymous) says…
Excellent point of research! Godspeed in your endeavors.