Types of Renewable Energy

Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy is the heat generated directly from the Earth. It is clean and sustainable. The steam you see from a hot spring is geothermal energy straight from the ground. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

Most geothermal reservoirs of hot water are located in the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. Wells can be drilled into underground reservoirs for the generation of electricity. Some geothermal power plants use the steam from a reservoir to power a turbine/generator, while others use the hot water to boil a working fluid that vaporizes and then turns a turbine. Hot water near the surface of Earth can be used directly for heat.Many power plants need steam to generate electricity. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity. A majority of power plants still use fossil fuels to boil water for steam. Geothermal power plants, however, use steam produced from reservoirs of hot water found a couple of miles or more below the Earth's surface.