Oil generation & geothermal generation - Essay Example

Power generation is crucial for all countries and cities in the world today. Homes use electricity for lighting, powering electronic gadgets, heating interior spaces in cold weather, and cooling these spaces in hot weather. Industries also use electricity for lighting, heating, and driving machines that are the workhorses of modern automated industrial processes. The population in most parts of the world is growing, and with it, power demand is increasing. Power generation is, therefore, a major issue for leaders and policy makers in all economies of the world (Kuo 2012).

Electricity comes from an energy source. There are several energy sources in use in the world today. These include wind, tides, solar, biomass, nuclear power, hydroelectric power, coal, natural gas, oil, and geothermal power. The choice of an energy source is dependent factors such as availability of the energy resource, capital costs, prevailing energy policies, availability of technology to exploit the energy sources, and sensitivity to other related issues like the environmental pollution (Kuo 2012).

Geothermal energy resource on the planet is virtually inexhaustible. It is a sustainable resource because geothermal electricity production uses only a small fraction of the earths heat content. The countries that produce geothermal electricity include USA, New Zealand, Germany, Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Mexico. It is noteworthy that geothermal power contributes an exceptionally small percentage of global energy needs (Kuo 2012). Oil meets about a third of global energy. It is one of the conventional energy resources, and the first option for production of electricity in many countries globally.

However, like other fossil fuels, it is non-renewable and unsustainable. Many countries using oil in electric power generation are considering other sources of energy so