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Geothermal comes from the Greek words meaning earth heat. From earliest times, people have used geothermal water that flowed freely from the earth's surface as hot springs. Today we drill wells into geothermal reservoirs to bring the hot water to the surface. Once the hot water travels up the wells to the surface, they can be used directly to heat buildings or to generate electricity in power plants... [ more ]

The way it works is simple. The geothermal heat pump system moves heat from the ground, which has a fairly consistent temperature year-round, to a building (or from a building to the ground) through a series of flexible pipe "loops" containing water. In the winter, heat from the relatively warmer ground goes through the heat exchanger into the building. In the summer, hot air from the building is pulled through the heat exchanger into the relatively cooler ground... [ more ]

Clean. Geothermal power plants, like wind and solar power plants do not have to burn fuels to manufacture steam to turn the turbines. Generating electricity with geothermal energy helps to conserve nonrenewable fossil fuels, and by decreasing the use of these fuels, we reduce emissions that harm our atmosphere. There is no smoky air around geothermal power plants -- in fact some are built in the middle of farm crops and forests, and share land with cattle and local wildlife... [ more ]

In geothermal power plants steam, heat or hot water from geothermal reservoirs provides the force that spins the turbine generators and produces electricity. The used geothermal water is then returned down an injection well into the reservoir to be reheated, to maintain pressure, and to sustain the reservoir... [ more ]

Geothermal water is used around the world, even when it is not hot enough to generate electricity. Anytime geothermal water or heat are used directly, less electricity is used. Using geothermal water 'directly' conserves energy and replaces the use of polluting energy resources with clean ones. The main non-electric ways we use geothermal energy are DIRECT USES and GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS... [ more ]