Sustainability Written Report - Essay Example

Originally, geothermal energy was used in hot springs as early as Paleolithic times according to a study made by Cataldi (1993) about the history of hot springs before the Modern Period. Technically, the first geothermal energy harnessed lighted a few light bulbs. The following accounts relate how the world recognized geothermal energy: On July 4, 1904, Prince Piero Ginori Conti tested the world’s first geothermal generator at the Larderello dry steam field in Italy. Merely a couple of years later, this invention was deployed commercially and used to operate drilling equipment.

Soon the small town of Larderello was using geothermal power for all its electricity requirements. (History of Geothermal Energy, http://www.economywatch.com) Because of the said event, it is no wonder that Italy maintained the position as being a top producer of geothermal energy for many decades. New Zealand followed suit only fifty-years later. The United States took the risk and invested in the Geysers Geothermal Field in California which is currently the largest producer of geothermal energy in the world.

This location has five power plants and Chevron Corporation spearheads in providing geothermal energy to millions of American homes. Uses of Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy has many useful purposes, with electricity generation as its most widely-known use. Bioeconomicfuel.com cites the 5 different uses of geothermal energy (Stern, 2009): 1. Industrial and Agricultural Uses A good example of which is the role of geothermal energy in drying up timber. In New Zealand, the “Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill uses geothermal steam in heat exchangers to heat kiln air to 140?

C for timber drying”( Stewart, 2009). Aside from timber, crops can also be dehydrated using geothermal energy which makes this type of energy very useful for agriculture. 2. Food Processing The food processing industry can harness the heat from geothermal energy for sterilization process as well as drying. In India, Chandrasekharam (2001) published a paper that advocated the use of geothermal energy in food processing since India’s topography is viable for this type of food processing. However, the United States had already applied that concept way back in 1978 when it opened the geothermal food processing plant in Brady Hot Springs, Nevada.

In fact, “More than 25 million pounds of dehydrated onion and garlic are now being processed annually in Nevada “(nrel.gov, Oct 2001). This fact just attests to the huge capacity of geothermal energy in providing clean energy at a lesser cost. 3. Electricity Generation The Geothermal Energy Market Report shows that in 2005 alone, the top ten countries used 97% of geothermal energy for electricity generation purpose (refer to Appendix A). According to the International Energy Agency, “geothermal energy currently supplies less than 1% of the world's total energy demand”.

Nevertheless, it has an enormous potential to mitigate climate changes by reducing the use of carbon fossil fuels. It is a considerable source of renewable energy. In the case of Philippines, (which is second to the United States in using geothermal energy), it has a potential to become one of the world’s largest producer of geothermal energy. Currently, geothermal energy supplies 27% of the country’s electricity (www.philippines. hvu.nl). During the World Geothermal Congress in 2000, it was declared that the “