Not far from the earth’s surface is a source of energy we could use to heat our homes, schools and businesses.
In the latest winning entry of our A-Z of Energy competition, 12-year-old Buckie High School student Nicole Cowie helps us describe what it is and where it comes from.
Again, we had a bumper crop of entries and thank you to all the schools and pupils who took part.
Thanks to Nicole, Buckie High School won an iPad, courtesy of Young Energy supporter Shell.
On it they can access Shell’s Inside Energy app, which is packed with information on energy through videos, animations and galleries, as well as the rest of the world wide web.
The next word in our alphabet is H, for hydrogen. The winning entry will be published in September’s Energy, when we will be setting the next work in our alphabet, I.
What will it be? Find out and take part – help your school win an iPad – by checking our next month’s Energy supplement, published on September 2.
Geo-thermal energy is the heat from the earth. It’s clean and renewable. Hot rocks underground heat water to produce steam.
How it works with a power station: The power station is built on top of rocks and to get heat in there, they drill holes down under the ground. Cold water is sent down from the station and it reaches the “hot region”.
When it gets to there the water warms up and steam is sent back up to the power station, it gets purified and then it is used to drive turbines which drive electric generators. That’s how a geothermal power station works!
The first geothermal power station was built in Italy and the second was in New Zealand. In Iceland geothermal heat is used to heat houses as well as generating electricity. How useful geothermal energy is depends on how hot the water gets. This means that it depends on how hot the rocks were to start with. The steam must be purified before it drives the turbines or else the turbine blades will get ruined.
ADVANTAGES
Geothermal energy does not pollute.
No fuel is needed
The energy is almost free when you get a geothermal power station built
DISADVANTAGES
There are not many places where you can build a power station
You need a suitable type of rock to build a geothermal power station
Hazardous gases might come up from underground and could be difficult to clear up.
By Nicole Cowie, 12, from Buckie High School.
