Why don't we all just use Geothermal Energy?

Science tells us there's enough energy in the first 10 kilometres below our planet's surface to provide all our energy needs for millions of years. The Romans tapped into it for their hot water spas. Today, we all know it as Geothermal Energy. There's no carbon dioxide emissions and no air pollution with geothermal, and it's literally right there beneath our feet. So why isn't our entire planet powered by it?

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[mikedixon]

Not on the scale of what this video shows, in 2013 I had to replace my heating and cooling system. The contractor drilled 5 holes in my yard, 200 feet deep. They then ran a flexible tubing all the way down and back to the surface equaling 2000 feet of tubing, and linked them all together with a sealed tubing system that runs to my new system which is an indoor unit in my garage which keeps it out of the elements. All total, with approximately 2800 feet of tubing is an ethylene glycol type of fluid that constantly circulates at a temperature of about 64 degrees farenheit. Imagine during the summer months when its 90+ degrees outside and you can simply blow air across 64 degree liquid running through the unit. It drops the ambient air temperature quickly and efficiently. Conversely, when its below freezing outside, it is much cheaper to warm cold air from 64 degrees to 70 indoors than to use electricity to raise air temperature from outside where its below freezing to 70 degrees. I love my system and what it saves me in my monthly power bill will eventually pay for the cost of the system. Sorry this is so long, but if one person sees it that is unaware of the benefits and switches, then it's all worth it!

[itsnotmeitshim]

"all the other countries in the world that aren't fortunate enough to be located above fault lines" That's a line you don't hear too often!

[kiwibob]

Fyi new Zealand has been using geothermal for generation of electricity since 1958 and in the last ten years have developed proprietary tech that not only removes the silica but does so in a way that allows us to sell a very high value material to tech companies.
World leading tech

[IceglacierArnar]

We Icelanders have been using geothermal in over 100 years, making electricity, making vegetable in green houses and warm our houses....you are right about Iceland part here

[wxuotns]

The oil field's drilling technology is the perfect crossover to reaching these high temp zones, practically anywhere in the world. I work in the oil field, particularly in a technology used heavily in exploration drilling where we frequently and successfully drill 8-9km wells. Our equipment and control systems allow us to maintain wellbore stability and instantly react to changing formation pressures which is vital in reaching such depths. And to state plainly: yes, the oilfield is being called on by these geothermal endeavors to help them achieve their goals. It's wonderful to see such a matured, advanced industry being called on to help solve the problems of the future in both renewable energy and space exploration.
I believe that our world's future will depend greatly on the success of alternative energies so that we may ween off of oil in its current broad-category uses in order to preserve it for those products we depend on which presently have no feasible replacement for the hydrocarbons used in their making. What are these products? Electric cars, windmills, solar panels, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, thermoplastics, electronics components, and batteries. That is a very short, focused list of products that absolutely cannot be made without oil/petrochemicals. Technology advancements have tried to come up with alternatives to replace hydrocarbons in many of these manufacturing processes and ingredients but many have failed to match or even compare. I can't help but roll my eyes a little when I see someone worked up into a lather about the evils of oil - knowing little to nothing about their dependency on it - as they poke in their latest rant online using their smartphone or computer which are all products made possible only by the use of oil. But please don't misread that as statement that I expect all should bow and thank the oil field for providing it, rather just as a reminder that life rarely offers us problems, especially of our own making, that have pushbutton solutions. If you hate oil, then "know thy enemy" and seek to understand it better so that your thoughts and decisions are better informed in how you deal with its demise. It is my personal hope that in 20-30 years the combined efforts of industries across the globe will have transformed the way we make and use things and that my job in the oilfield is either no longer needed or has morphed into something equivalent in future energy and chemical production.

[djalil_YT]

Solar and wind are truly renewable, but realistically they are not efficient enough give the current state of tech. Geothermal was always the answer in my eyes. If billionaires and governments would invest in improving the technology and its safety, progress could be fast enough for geothermal to be humanity’s most promising source of energy in a decade or two. Of course the holdup is just money and private interests.
Thank you for making this video.

[andysmith]

Thanks. I shook your hand as you were leaving the stage at fcs. nice panel about keeping up with the rest of the world. Great to meet you and thanks for the great channel.

[anthonytoscano]

I have solar and Geothermal, now my monthly energy bill is $ 24 a month for the reverse meter.
My total out put was $50, 000, saving around $450 a month since 2005. Saving around $5, 000 a year
2005 until now 2023, I've saved over $97, 000 in those years. Spent the money on home remolding and a large addition, the play room we call it. I'm debt Free as my mortgage will be paid off this year

[Jason]

217 million years! Excellent. That almost enough time for us to figure out fusion energy :P

[hamnchee]

Q: Why is it solid?
A: It's pressure, innit

[scottt]

I worked for many decades in steam generation and had many friends in geothermal generation. My familiarity is mainly with the large geothermal capacity in Northern California. The geothermal wells cool off over time making the plants non-viable far sooner than a normal steam plant. It takes a lot of wells to supply a viably sized but still small (5MW) steam power plant. You might drill 50 holes and not get enough steam to make it viable, and it might only be viable for no more than 10 years. The low pressure steam into the turbine creates a very low steam cycle efficiency. The steam can have corrosive elements in it when it comes up from the ground and may require periodic descaling of equipment. All these things make it more expensive to operate and challenging to expand, at least in the geothermal fields of California. It is a great way to make power but not an easy way.

[latetotheparty]

The enhanced geothermal method described at 7:50 describes the geothermal project on the Big Island of Hawaii close to where I live. And in 2018 there were earthquakes in this region and the lava started flowing a few miles away from the geothermal plant and lava did cover part of the land of the geothermal site. The lava also covered about 30 square miles of the island covering over two communities a thousand homes and destroying 2 swimming and snorkeling spots, our boat ramp and more. The possible connection to the geothermal plant was never publicly acknowledged.

[rayzorrayzor]

I spent a couple of years in South Africa and whilst there I took a job on a building site . OMG the South African sun was killing me so when another mate offered me work in a mine I thought brilliant, anything to be away from the heat of the sun . OMG what a mistake, the further into the crust you go the hotter it gets, now instead of being ‘cooked’ by the South African sun I was being roasted by the heat of the Earth, it was a bad decision taking that job cos atleast under the sun you can find some shade for short term relief, but underground it is sweltering hot everywhere you go . Sometimes my shift times meant I finished work at mid day, and coming out of the mine into the mid day sun was an actual relief .
Twenty years later I have never moaned about being out in the sun again, I still remember vividly that year I spent being ‘cooked’ underground .

[incognitotorpedo]

OK, Iceland has a giant hot tub with a bar in the middle of it. They have *figured it out!*

[abberepair]

I heat and cool my home and heat my home water with an active geothermal system. I have a remote, off grid, cabin 40 miles south of Superior, WI. With a little judicious use of insulation, I use passive geothermal to help heat it and have plans to cool it with geothermal, using solar powered fans

[rogerjohnson]

I appreciate your technique and tone as well as the information you provide, thanks very much!

[lmtada]

Downhole drilling tools have limitations with heat. Likely melt magnetometer, accelerometers even with shielding. Drill bits, pipes will melt. Heat source needs to be near surface (aka Iceland, sulfuric acid). Heat destroys tools. Must be cost effective. Competition from alternatives cheaper to produce. Bottom line is price. Whereas easy access to geothermal (Volcanic islands) it makes sense.

[DeathValleyDazed]

So glad that your channel is really picking up steam with increasing subscribers! Excellent production skills are paying off.

[MagnussenDK]

I have an old friend on Iceland, who did some maintenance on some of the steel parts of 1 of their power plants. We met recently at he mentioned, that the giant steel tubes, which they run the heated water through, needs to be replaced, roughly every 4th month or so, due to corrosion, from all the sulphur, that is brought up with the water, as a by product, which is also why, they want to send all of that water down again, or clean it, before release out back into the nature. A potential drawback to geothermal energy.

[geethomson]

Your videos are undeniably brilliant. But so much passes through the channel that it’s hard to remember the most important contributions to green energy. As a solution I suggest you produce an ongoing diagram where those technologies which are most likely to reach energy parity at scale maintain a place on the board - they can also be updated. Keep up the good work and optimism.