Geothermal Energy
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Geothermal/ˌdʒiːəʊˈθɜːml/ | Energy obtained from heat inside the Earth. |
| turbine/ˈtɜːbaɪn/ | A machine in which moving fluid, such as water, steam or air, turns a rotor to produce mechanical work. |
| Volcanic/vɒlˈkænɪk/ | Volcanic |
| renewable/rɪˈnjuːəbl/ | Describing a resource that can be replenished naturally on a timescale relevant to its use. |
Heat from deep below
- Deep inside the Earth, rock is intensely hot.
- Geothermal 地热能 energy taps that underground heat.
- In some places the heat comes close to the surface.
- We can use it to warm buildings and make electricity.
How it makes power
- Water is pumped down to the hot rock deep below.
- The heat flashes the water into high-pressure steam.
- The steam rushes up and spins a turbine 涡轮机.
- The turbine drives a generator, and the water is pumped back down.
A geothermal power station in Iceland. Steam from hot rock below is piped to the plant to drive turbines
Geothermal energy comes from…
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Geothermal energy taps the natural heat stored inside the Earth.
Where it works best
- It is easiest where hot rock is near the surface.
- Volcanic 火山 regions like Iceland are ideal.
- There, geothermal supplies heat and electricity cheaply.
- Elsewhere the hot rock is too deep to reach easily.
How geothermal power works
Follow Earth's underground heat up to electricity in the wires.
Geothermal power is easiest where…
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Where volcanic activity brings hot rock close to the surface, like Iceland, geothermal is cheap and easy.
Because Earth's heat keeps flowing, geothermal is a ____ energy source.
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Earth's internal heat is effectively endless, so geothermal is renewable.
The benefits
- Earth's heat keeps flowing, so it is renewable 可再生.
- It releases very little CO2 — no burning.
- It runs steadily day and night, in any weather.
- So it avoids the intermittency problem of solar and wind.
Geothermal power releases far less CO2 than burning coal.
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Geothermal uses Earth's heat, not combustion, so it emits very little CO2.
Select all advantages of geothermal energy.
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Geothermal is renewable, low-CO2, and steady day and night — but only easy where hot rock is near the surface.
Geothermal's one big limit is location. It's renewable, low-carbon, and steady — better than solar or wind in some ways — but it's only cheap and easy where volcanic activity brings hot rock near the surface. A cloudy, wind-poor country over a volcanic hotspot (like Iceland) is perfectly placed; a flat, stable continent is not.
Iceland's advantage:
- It sits on a volcanic hotspot, so scalding rock is just below the surface.
- Water pumped down comes back up as steam, spinning turbines for electricity — and piped hot water heats nearly every home.
- The same setup would cost a fortune to drill on a stable, cold plain far from any volcano.
Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the Earth: water pumped to hot rock returns as steam that spins a turbine. It is renewable, low-CO2, and runs day and night — avoiding solar and wind's intermittency. Its one big limit is location: it is easy only where volcanic activity brings hot rock near the surface.