Geothermal solutions for net zero in industry Geothermal has long been praised as a golden ticket for sustainable decarbonisation. Why, then, is this power source not being used to its full potential?
Max Brouwers Getech
T here has never been more focus on the need to decarbonise industry. With around 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions stemming from industrial activities, failure to create sustainable and practical decarbonisation pathways will result in irreversible damage. Limiting climate change is a task in which stakeholders across all industry sectors are united, and the pressure to act now is unavoidable. However, once quick fixes have been made and inroads have been created, many organisations are faced with the challenge of how to further progress their net zero ambitions. There are no misconceptions about the fact that the industry as a whole is lagging far behind on its emissions reduction targets. With a recent Ernst and Young report revealing that only 5% of FTSE 100 companies have so far disclosed transition plans that would be deemed ‘credible’ or sufficiently detailed under draft government guidance (Ernst & Young, 2023), it is evident that the challenge of implementing decarbonisation strategies at scale is prevalent across industry. Determining what practical decarbonisation solutions work best for your business is a difficult process, with a myriad of challenges facing any organisation seeking to reduce its carbon footprint. The technologies needed to achieve the necessary deep cuts in global emissions by 2030 across industry already exist. However, while renewable alternatives to traditional fossil fuels such as wind and solar are promising in theory, issues such as congestion within the national grid and irregular availability make it
difficult to build full sustainable decarbonisation plans on these substitutes. Geothermal has long been praised as a golden ticket for sustainable decarbonisation, with many citing the heat beneath our feet as the best route for sourcing inexhaustible power for decades to come. By capturing the nearly limitless energy from the subsurface, we have the potential to power and heat businesses across the globe for low cost with very little carbon impact. However, with so many positives, why is this seemingly perfect clean power source not being utilised to its greatest potential? It is a source of energy that often goes unnoticed when it comes to identifying our optimal renewable energy mix. And by overlooking it as a source, we overlook the benefits. How much do we know about geothermal energy? Geothermal energy has been around for centuries. Geothermal dates back almost 10,000 years ago to the settlement of Paleo-Indians (US Department of Energy, 2022) at hot springs, which served as a source of heat and cleansing, with the ancient Romans also making good use of its potential. However, the first record of it being used to generate electricity was in 1904, when steam from a geothermal source was captured to turn a small turbine that powered five light bulbs. Today, nations such as the US can generate more than 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of domestic power through geothermal energy plants. That is enough to power around 2.7 million US homes. With governments around the world
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