Solar and geothermal energy Hailey Montville Period 1 April 14 th 2011

Geothermal energy Geothermal energy is generated and stored in the earth Dry steam, flash, and binary plants are used to convert this into usable electricity (depends on heat and depth) People use this form of energy to heat their homes and produce electricity by digging wells and pumping the underground water to the surface

Solar energy Solar energy is the suns rays that reach the earth This energy can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat and electricity. Can be used to heat water, spaces, and fluids Photovoltaic cells convert energy directly into electricity

Benefits Solar energy does not produce any air pollutants or carbon dioxide When located on buildings, they have little environmental impact Geothermal energy produces 97% less acid rain causing compounds than fossil fuels It releases less than 1% carbon dioxide

Drawbacks The amount of sunlight the arrives on earth varies on location, time, and weather and the sun doesn’t produce a lot of energy in one place There cant be many geothermal plants because they have to be near a hot spot, which are usually located near volcanoes Some waters that are collected have contained high concentrations of toxic elements such as boron, lead, and arsenic. A gas that has been found in geothermal water and steam is hydrogen sulfide.

Implementation and conversion The worlds largest geothermal plant, The Geysers, is located near San Francisco, CA There isn't enough funding to support these plants in the united states The largest solar power installation in the world is the Solar Energy Generating Systems facility in California There is not enough funding and it is not a fully reliable resource

Why it isn't used These sources of energy cannot be used as our main source because they are not fully reliable The number of people using these sources has gone up recently, yet not enough to make them our number one resources Its also expensive to build these energy converting plants, and funding cannot be produced

Bibliography eothermal_home-basics eothermal_home-basics olar_home-basics olar_home-basics _United_States _United_States _in_the_United_States _in_the_United_States ideas.com/articles/disadvantages_of_geothermal _energy.html ideas.com/articles/disadvantages_of_geothermal _energy.html