Geothermal Energy Dry Steam Process

Learn about the uses of geothermal energy and their history and about their economic and environmental pros and cons.

Geothermal energy dry steam process.

They work by piping hot steam from underground reservoirs directly into turbines from geothermal reservoirs which power the generators to provide electricity. The steam eliminates the need to burn fossil fuels to run the turbine. The hot water or steam powers a turbine that generates electricity. This video explains the concept and working operation of a dry steam type geothermal power station.

At peak production these dry steam geothermal power plants are the world s largest single source of geothermal power producing up to 2 000 megawatts of electricity an hour. Also eliminating the need to transport and store fuels this is the oldest type of geothermal power plant. Dry steam power plants systems were the first type of geothermal power generation plants built they were first used at lardarello in italy in 1904. Dry steam plants are the most common types of geothermal power plants accounting for about half of the installed geothermal plants.

Dry steam is the oldest type of power plant to generate electricity using geothermal energy. Today the dry steam power plants at larderello continue to supply electricity to more than a million residents of the area. About 6 percent of the energy used in northern california is produced at 28 dry steam reservoir plants found at the geysers dry steam fields in northern california. Geothermal power plants require high temperature 300 f to 700 f hydrothermal resources that come from either dry steam wells or from hot water wells.

The first dry steam power plant was constructed in larderello italy in 1911. Dry steam or hot water is brought to the surface through pipes and processed into electricity in the power plant. Steam plants use hydrothermal fluids that are primarily steam. This is the oldest type of power plant to generate electricity from geothermal energy it was first constructed in italy in 1911 2 3.

People use these resources by drilling wells into the earth and then piping steam or hot water to the surface. Dry steam power plants rely on natural underground sources of steam. Geothermal energy form of energy conversion in which heat energy from within earth is captured and harnessed for electrical power generation space heating and cooling and various direct uses. Steam technology is still effective today at currently in use at the geysers in northern california the world s largest single source of geothermal power.

The steam goes directly to a turbine which drives a generator that produces electricity. Power plants produce geothermal energy by utilizing geothermal dry steam or geothermal hot water accessed by digging wells.