For years, we’ve been told that geothermal energy is the future of renewable power. We’ve been led to believe that it’s a game-changer, a clean and sustainable way to generate electricity that will save us from the clutches of climate change. But is it really all it’s cracked up to be? The truth is, geothermal energy has been woefully misunderstood, and its limitations are far more significant than we’ve been led to believe.
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One of the biggest problems with geothermal energy is that it’s only viable in a handful of locations around the world. These areas, known as “hot spots,” are typically located near tectonic plate boundaries, where the Earth’s heat is closer to the surface. But even in these areas, the geothermal resource can be unreliable, and the cost of extracting it can be prohibitively expensive. In fact, a 2019 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) found that only about 600 megawatts of new geothermal capacity was added globally in 2018, a tiny fraction of the 40 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity added that year.
And yet, despite these limitations, geothermal energy remains a darling of the renewable energy crowd. Politicians and industry leaders continue to tout its benefits, often without doing their due diligence on the actual numbers. For example, the US Department of Energy has set a goal of adding 30 gigawatts of new geothermal capacity by 2050, a goal that many experts say is overly ambitious. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that even in a scenario where geothermal energy grows to 10% of global power generation, it will still only provide about 2% of the world’s total energy needs.
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So why do we continue to fetishize geothermal energy? Part of the problem is that it’s a sexy idea – who doesn’t love the idea of harnessing the Earth’s heat to generate power? But another part of the problem is that it’s just easier to talk about geothermal energy than it is to talk about the actual challenges of transitioning to a low-carbon economy. Carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, and even fossil fuels all have their own set of challenges and controversies, but geothermal energy is often touted as a magic bullet that can solve all our energy problems with ease.
The reality is that geothermal energy is just one of many tools in our energy toolkit, and it’s not going to be the savior of our planet that we’ve been led to believe. Instead, we need to focus on developing a diverse range of renewable energy sources, from solar and wind to tidal and hydrogen power. We need to invest in energy efficiency and grid modernization, and we need to be honest about the challenges and limitations of each different technology. Only then can we truly make progress on the transition to a low-carbon economy, and make the most of the incredible energy resources that our planet has to offer.
