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Why don't we have more hydrothermal energy? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/askscience@lemmy.world
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[–] 8 points 1 month ago (7 children)

well, AFAIK drilling such a hole would be very costly, you need to take into account that a lot of layers are solid rock and drilling through, maybe hundreds of meters of rock at hundreds of meters deep could make the project so expensive that it doesn't justify the energy output we could get out of it,

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  • [–] 3 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    You're not wrong. But, I want to point out that the value of money is fictional and getting heat and light to people is intrinsically valuable. We can do a lot of really cool shit. We have just commoditized everything to the point where the idea of having currency has prevented us from doing basically anything awesome.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 month ago* (3 children)

    Awesomeness of things is offset by how hard they are to actually accomplish. Geothermal is neat, sure, but actually getting to it is very, very difficult in most places, whereas just having a giant fan that turns when the wind blows or a panel that generates electricity when the sun shines on it (or just using a big fire from coal/oil/gas) is waaaaaaaay easier. For the amount of effort it takes for one geothermal plant, you can have a lot more energy output from various other sources.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago* (2 children)

    I wasn't just referring to geothermal, I was meaning in general. We've stopped doing important and useful things because there's no immediate payout. But, geothermal has properties the above ground and easier options don't. A sense of permanence that storms and clouds can't affect. Always running. That's very valuable. Yes, if you need a kWh, there's cheaper and easier ways to get it. If you want a source of heat and energy that exists when everything else is broken, it's hard to argue with it. A city emergency shelter comes to mind.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago (1 child)

    If you want a source of heat and energy that exists when everything else is broken, it’s hard to argue with it.

    Geothermal is not that. You need the system intact, the pump working, and power to run the pump. If you want heat and energy that exists when everything is broken, that's the sun.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    Money is not fictional. Money is a convenience that allows people to trade items that require effort to produce without the problems of barter trading. Money has been invented multiple times in various parts of the world, and its ubiquity is an indication of its utility.

    The baseline value of money is human effort. That is not a concrete thing but it is by no means fictional.

    If you want to have some carrots for dinner, you can grow them from seed over several weeks and finally harvest them and eat them. For free - well, the seeds have to come from somewhere - but you can allow some carrots to produce flowers and get pollinated and then you have your seeds for free too.

    Or you can buy the carrots off someone else who has made the effort to produce them.

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