Renewable geothermal energy

It comes from the thermal energy of the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth’s energy comes from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals. The geothermal gradient, which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface, drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface. The word “geothermal” comes from the Greek words “geo” – earth and “thermos” – heat. It is an inexhaustible energy source and the same way as the power from the Sun, Wind and Water it preceded life, the life that we explore in a form of fossil fuels.

History of geothermal energy

Hot springs have been used for bathing at least since paleolithic times. The oldest known spa is a stone pool on China’s Lisan mountain built in the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century BC, at the same site where the Huaqing Chi palace was later built. In the first century AD, Romans conquered Aquae Sulis, now Bath, Somerset, England, and used the hot springs there to feed public baths and underfloor heating. The admission fees for these baths probably represent the first commercial use of geothermal power. The world’s oldest geothermal district heating system in Chaudes-Aigues, France, has been operating since the 14th century. The earliest industrial exploitation began in 1827 with the use of geyser steam to extract boric acid from volcanic mud in Larderello, Italy.

In the 20th century, demand for electricity led to the consideration of geothermal power as a generating source. Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the first geothermal power generator on 4 July 1904, at the same Larderello dry steam field where geothermal acid extraction began. It successfully lit four light bulbs. Later, in 1911, the world’s first commercial geothermal power plant was built there. It was the world’s only industrial producer of geothermal electricity until New Zealand built a plant in 1958.

Types of use

Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power plants, flash steam power plants and binary cycle power plants. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 24 countries, while geothermal heating is in use in more than 70 countries.

Geothermal power is  immune to wind fluctuations or sun radiation. However, capital costs tend to be high. Drilling accounts for over half the costs, and exploration of deep resources entails significant risks.

Geothermal power is highly scalable: a small power plant can supply a rural village, though capital can be high.

Geothermal energy equipment manufacturers

What is wind energy?

Wind on our planet is the movement of air caused by the unequal heating of large zones of Earth’s surface by the sun. What is wind energy? It is the ability of air movement to do work. Today, wind energy turbines are used mainly for production of electricity. It is a clean and renewable energy source that can produce enough electricity to power huge areas.

The simplest way to think about the process of producing electricity from the movement of air is to imagine that a wind turbine works in exactly the opposite way to a fan. Instead of using electricity to make wind, turbines use the wind to make electricity.

The generator is a machine that produces electrical energy from mechanical energy.

Wind energy turbines

Today’s wind turbines could be put into two main categories based on the direction of the axis. The most common type of wind turbines used today are the horizontal-axis wind turbines. Horizontal-axis wind turbines have turbine blades that look like airplane propellers, while vertical–axis wind turbines have blades that go from top to bottom. A small percentage of wind turbines used today are vertical-axis wind turbines but they are constantly increasing popularity as they are very suitable for small-scale installations..

Size and capacity of Wind Turbines

The size of wind turbine differs widely. Small turbines are used to provide power to a single home or business and the capacity of these small wind turbines are less than 100 kilowatts. Larger commercial sized wind turbines can have a capacity of 5 megawatts. These larger turbines are frequently grouped together into wind farms providing power to the electricity grid. Wind farm normally has dozens of wind turbines that are scattered over a large area. They are lined in a way that allows the utilization of the windflow.

History of wind energy

The wind energy was the natural power that allowed the humans to exploit the surface of the planet. Sails of the ships were the wind-catchers used for transportation of men and goods over a large water areas. The windmill blades converted the wind power into physical for different purposes. One of the first electricity generating systems was constructed of 144 blades made out of cedarwood. It functioned for 20 years and charged the batteries in the basement of its inventor. During WWII, a Danish company began manufacturing bi and tri-blade aerogenerators and in the 50´s, the first alternating current turbines were developed. The first oil crisis generated a real interest in wind energy.

Large Wind Turbine Manufacturers

Small and Vertical axes wind generators