No direct impact on final electricity consumption.
Increases the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix.
Likely to increase energy independence and energy security.
Can provide continuous electricity supply as it is not season or weather dependent.
Reduces global CO2 emissions.
No impacts on deposited wastes.
Could have positive impact on total cost of energy transition, but costs of deep geothermal are currently not very predictable.
May improve balance of payments by substituting fossil fuel and electricity imports.
Several methods exist to use deep geothermal energy to generate electricity, but the principle is always the extraction of thermal energy from deep underground, which has a sufficiently high temperature to be converted in electricity in a thermal power plant with a reasonable efficiency<./p>
It generally consist in injecting water into geothermally active layers, which returns to the surface under pressure as steam.
• The temperature level generally increases in the Earth crust with depth, but drilling costs also increase exponentially with depth (away from the tectonic plates, the mean geothermal gradient is about 25°C per km of depth), with no certainty of discovering a exploitable resource in the exploration phase.
• Near tectonic plate boundaries, shallower drilling is required to reach economically exploitable temperatures, but the risk of man-induced earthquakes due to drilling can cause public resistance and poses liability questions.
At the present moment there is no geothermal power plant for electricity production in Switzerland, that is the reason why there is no data for 2011.
Next tables contain the assumptions that have been introduced in the Geothermal electricity model of the calculator.
Capacity factor [1] | |
---|---|
2035 | 2050 |
0.85 | 0.85 |
Emissions | ||
---|---|---|
2035 | 2050 | |
CO2-eq. emissions [kgCO2-eq./kWhe] | 0.0840 | 0.0840 |
Deposited waste [UBP/kWhe] | 19.8 | 19.8 |
Cost | ||
---|---|---|
2035 | 2050 | |
Specific investment [CHF/kWe] | 11'164 | 6'310 |
MIN Value: 0 GW
MAX Value:
2035 | 0.7GW | The potential for 2050 is estimated to be 4.4 TWh [2], produced by 0.57 GW (Capacity factor = 0.8). |
---|---|---|
2050 |
[3] International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2013
[4] Geothermal Energy Association, Geothermal Power:International Market Overview, September 2013