Liquid Hot Magma - A Beneficial Geothermal Accident
Thursday, February 17, 2011 - 16:30
in Earth & Climate
Sometimes good things result from bad things. When scientists drilling near an Icelandic volcano hit magma, they had to abandon their experiments on geothermal energy but it turns out they may have discovered an alternative source of geothermal power. When tested, the magma well produced dry steam at 750 degrees Fahrenheit , enough to generate up to 25 megawatts of electricity, which could power 25,000 to 30,000 homes. Fine, fine, but what does that mean? Only 5 to 8 megawatts are produced by a typical geothermal well, and Iceland already gets about one-third of its electricity and almost all of its home heating from geothermal sources, but this is a terrific new source. read more