Geothermal & Algae By: Courtney Nelson Period 5 th

Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is produced from steam heated by magma deep in the earths crust. The steam from hot springs is an unharnessed type of geothermal energy. The heat is converted to mechanical energy to power machines.

Continued Advantages Clean energy Releases no pollution Easy on land Renewable Long lasting Drawbacks Needs to be near geothermal hot spot Difficult to access due to depth Water pumped into the rocks may have unpredictable consequences Difficult to control where the water goes Expensive

Geothermal This energy source is to #1 in the US because of unsustainable building locations. The only places to create a geothermal plant is by a hot spot usually found by volcanoes. It takes a long time to create these plants due to the fact that the land must be surveyed and that could take decades. The heat is unstable and can come and go at random.

Algae The lipids algae use to make energy themselves is harvested and converted to useable bio-fuel. This is a somewhat cleaner alternative to fossil-fuels. Can be used as fertilizer. Research is still being done with further ideas about ways to implement this.

Advantages & Drawbacks Advantages Cleaner Doesn’t use drinking water, but dirty or salt water Can be used as livestock feed Processed into ethanol. Grows practically anywhere Can reduce carbon emissions based on where it’s grown Relatively harmless if spilled Drawbacks Produces unstable biodiesel Relatively new technology Biodiesel performs poorly compared to it’s alternative