About Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy
History tells us that Romans used geothermal water to treat various diseases and, at Pompeii, to heat buildings. Some 10,000 years ago, Native Americans used hot springs for cooking and medicinal purposes. For centuries the Maori of New Zealand have cooked “geothermally,” and, since the 1960s, France has been heating up to 200,000 homes using geothermal water.
Geothermal energy is heat from Earth’s interior. Geothermal heat originates from Earth’s fiery formation more than four billion years ago. At Earth’s core—4,000 miles deep—temperatures may reach over 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Geothermal resources are found in three types of locations: in shallow ground; in the hot water and rock located a few miles beneath the earth’s surface; and even deeper into the earth where molten rock reaches extremely high temperatures.
Today we drill wells into the geothermal reservoirs to bring the hot water and steam to the surface. Geologists and engineers do a lot of exploring and testing to locate underground areas that contain this geothermal resource, so we’ll know where to drill production and injection wells. Once the hot water and/or steam travel up the wells to the surface, they can be used to generate electricity or for other energy-saving purposes.
This heat, called geothermal energy, provides warmth and power without polluting the environment.