2. Aren't there other uses geothermal energy?
There are three main categories, corresponding to progressively lower resource temperatures: electrical power generation, direct heating, and geothermal pumps. Direct heating pipes the warm geothermal fluids directly from the ground to heat greenhouses, homes, and workplaces. An example is the circulating geothermally heated water under the sidewalks in Klamath Falls Oregon that keep the pavement clear of snow and ice. The geothermal heat pump utilizes the ground temperatures to move heat in either direction -in the winter heat is extracted to warm a building and in the summer heat is removed from the building into the earth. In sharp contrast, electricity production requires a power plant industrial complex consisting of turbines, high voltage transmission lines, sump ponds, wellfields, 3-feet in diameter pipelines carrying 400-degree Fahrenheit geothermal fluids and numerous injection wells traversing a large land area.

3. How is electricity created from geothermal reservoirs?
Steam and hot water are utilized for the generation of electrical power. Heavy-duty high power rigs must drill down into the earth, sometimes to depths of 10,000 feet to tap into the 400-degree Fahrenheit steam or hot water, which is then brought to the surface and piped to turbines that spin generators to create electricity. Prior to actually producing electricity the geothermal wells must be "flow tested" and injected into the earth.

4. Electricity production is not the same as direct heating and geothermal pumps? That's correct, they are not the same. It is a common misunderstanding. Unfortunately, there are lots of serious environmental impacts resulting from geothermal electricity generation.

5. What kind of environmental impacts result with geothermal electricity production? First imagine a mining operation or an oil & gas field-massive drilling platforms are constructed and other forms of heavy equipment are used to clear-cut the forests and build new roads. Football field size dump ponds are constructed at each well pad which require liners because heavy minerals like mercury, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic are brought to the surface from the geothermal reservoir which would contaminate ground water. There are also substantial quantities of air emissions associated with geothermal energy production, which can impact the surface waters and wildlife life. Geothermal electricity production has the potential to impact the quality and quantity of water resources by drilling, blow-outs, discharges of toxic wastes, leaks and ruptures of pipelines & dump ponds, and from the fall-out of hydrogen sulfide & mercury to surface waters. Earthquakes are documented in many areas as disruptive to the surrounding communities; changing the flow and quality of springs, creeks, & groundwater; and releasing toxins from deep within the earth. The rumble and hiss and smells of the power plant turbines, cooling towers, and well drilling are part of the process to create electricity.

6. Air emissions from geothermal energy production? I thought it was clean? This is another misconception about geothermal electricity production. All of the current geothermal electricity producing areas in the U.S. have 'smoke stacks' except one, the binary power plant in Long Valley California. The dry-steam and dual-flash power plants have substantial air emissions that occur with geothermal electricity production---NO x [the precursor to ozone/smog], toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide [which is a neurotoxin and smells like rotten eggs], and other heavy metals like arsenic and mercury. Large quantities of diesel fuel are required to drill each well that produce tons of particulate matter [i.e. dust] that have been determined to be cancer-causing by the California Air Resource Board. The flow-testing and the operation of the actual power plant produce tons of the toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and depending on the resource, various amounts of the heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, chromium, and arsenic. Let me give you an example of the two 50 Mw power plants proposed at the Medicine Lake Highlands. If constructed, these projects would produce over 36 tons per year of hydrogen sulfide gases during 'normal' operations. This number does not include increased emissions from maintenance, power transmission line outages, or venting from the wellfield. Currently, there are no significant sources of this toxic gas in the Medicine Lake Highlands. Hydrogen sulfide monitoring equipment and alarms would be required at the campgrounds if these power plants were built.

8. Don't we need the renewable power? Won't the geothermal electricity help our country? The United States has vast potential for truly clean green renewable energy without geothermal electricity production. Geothermal reservoirs eventually decrease their productivity as the reservoir is depleted and thus are not truly renewable like solar or wind. California and the West have tremendous amounts of untapped solar power. In addition, energy efficient technology and conservation education would create jobs and a sustainable economy without jeopardizing our last remaining wild places and precious water resources.

9. So geothermal electricity production is not really green or renewable? No, it is not. The most "renewable" part of geothermal electricity occurs when nature is left wild and pristine and as a place to "renew" oneself. However, the geothermal industry needs you to believe that you are doing something good for the environment while they collect millions of your dollars in subsidies earmarked for "renewables" to construct geothermal power plants that perpetuate the technology of well-drilling, resource extraction, and the similar environmental impacts as those associated with oil and gas operations.

Simply put, the greenest thing about geothermal electricity production is the state and federal money given to the energy companies to build the industrial complexes.