Geothermal Energy: How Big is the Potential?
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Published 2023-02-18
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There is a lot of energy right under our feet, a relic from Earth's hot past as a ball of plasma. But how much can geothermal energy realistically do for us? What technologies are currently being pursued, what are the risks, and is it even carbon neutral? In this video we have collected all the relevant facts and numbers for you.
The footage of Staufen at the beginning of the video comes from Tom Scott's video that you can watch in full here: • The German town that's literally crac...
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00:00 Intro
00:53 How Much Geothermal Energy is There?
06:37 What are the Challenges?
13:08 What Can New Technology Do?
16:07 What Are the Risks?
19:51 Summary
20:21 Into The Impossible With Brian Keating
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All Comments (21)
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This video comes with a quiz that lets you check how much you remember: quizwithit.com/start_thequiz/1694173328172x2343595…
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Your intelligence and “dry” sense of humor is such a hilarious and productive mix. Your message is so much more effective because of your creative delivery.
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I was an exchange student in Basel near Stauffen at that time. 😵 The geothermal project in Basel lead to several earthquakes within a few months... It really scared us because the old buildings aren't designed to resist so many earthquakes!
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In Dr Hossenfelder's Wikipedia bio, it mentions her post-doctoral work at U-of-A, Tuscon. When she said, "and before you know it, you have people driving around in pickup trucks with bumper stickers complaining about the government," I blurted out, "she HAS been to Arizona!"
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at least to the best of my knowledge. You are one of the best impartial science communicators.
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As a drilling engineer who has been drilling geothermal wells since 2009, I approve this video.
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Wow! I've never seen such a thorough reporting on geothermal development. Thank you! Fascinating!
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About 15 years ago, I had my house installed with a geo system (a heat exchange , 15,000 dollars US). They dug about 10 feet in the ground to put the pipes. It actually worked quite well. My furnace didn't go on very much. Even the manufacturer was surprised. They said it would go on when the temperature drop below 40 degrees f. I found it to be better (more in the 30s f.), but the water table level is quite high in my area. I live in Michigan U.S.
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I love the way that you explain things. You keep it simple, you use relatable examples and your deadpan one liners are hilarious!:face-green-smiling:
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Seems so easy, complicated in detail. Very interesting and informative. I was in Staufen last summer by bicycle, I can report, it still exists
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So much more than just “drilling a deeper hole” Thanks for the insights.
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Typical drilling depths in New Zealand are about 2.5km in the Taupo region. It helps greatly to have a supervolcano handy that you can drill into.
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Your well prepared, succinct, intelligent and informative videos keep my mind alert! The subtle and dry ironic touch is unmissable!
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" ... including Pluto." Finally, Pluto gets some love ❤️. (I knew SH was the best!)
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Love the dry humor. I have worked in a similar office.
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Thanks! It’s an interesting subject that I have often wondered why it isn’t pursued more often…Living in Tuscany, there are dozens of thermal spars around where water flows out of the ground at temperatures in excess of 40c. Also, the entire area around the Gulf of Naples is highly volcanic. I was unaware of the serious difficulties in trying to harness this font of energy though.
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You are a genius !! I have never heard Geothermal energy explained so clearly, THANK YOU !! The mass media in the USA never covers this with experts clearly and take their experts analyst out of context. I'm looking forward to your other videos.
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My brother worked at The Geysers, one of the largest geothermal sites in the world, for about 10 years. He said keeping the equipment running was a challenge. The sulfur content in the steam meant the equipment was constantly being eaten away. They also had large piles of sulphur to get rid of.
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150 km north of Stauffen, is Strasbourg, a French city with half a million people. Here too there was a geothermal project started in 2019. The plant caused 15 earthquakes. The last 2 where at a magnitude of 3.5. This killed the project
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I've often wondered what became of this technology. When I attended MTSU in the '70s, there was projects related in heat pump technology, and there were projections that geothermal energy would save us from the situation that now exists. Steam drives turbines and heated water is easily done with heat generated close to the earth's core. I appreciate this report on something that I thought was dead due to the stranglehold carbon based fuels had on energy production.
