The hope of EGS

A few days ago, I read in the dotearth blog of the NY times about Google's investment in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). The technology is quite interesting. Typical geothermal systems utilize natural steam pockets near volcanoes. EGS involves drilling into the earth's crust about 4km's. Water is then pumped into the drilled area to open fissures. Heat from magma would result to steam build up in the fissures. During operation, there would be inlet pipes for water and outlet pipes for steam. Harvested steam would be transported to a turbine and generate electricity. EGS would make geothermal power feasible almost anywhere in the world. This would be a better alternative to coal fired power plants, one of the main causes for the climate crisis.

Video taken from dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com courtesy of google.org