The earth produces clean and sustainable energy in the form of heat, this energy is called geothermal energy. It is a renewable source of energy because the heat inside earth is produced continuously by the replenishment of rainfall. The heat is produced 4000 beneath the earth’s surface and as you go deeper, the temperature gets hotter than that of the sun.
The earth’s innermost part is called the core that contains a solid iron core and melted rocks, called magma. Made up of magma and rock, the mantle surrounds the core at a distance of around 18000 miles and is the second layer of the earth’s interior. The outermost layer forming the floor of continents and oceans is called the crust. When the magma comes close to the earth’s surface near the plates (broken pieces of the earth’s crust), volcanoes occur. Also, as you go deeper into the earth’s layers, the rocks and water gets hotter due to enormous increase in temperature.
Geothermal energy is used in homes to produce electricity and to heat and cool buildings. It is used to heat water for bathing because a majority of people believe that hot water has ultra healing powers. Direct use of geothermal energy can be used for growing crops, fruits and vegetables and also for drying lumber.
Use of developed technology has made the availability of geothermal energy easier. Geothermal plants, which use heat and water to produce electricity, heat and cool buildings, etc. are constructed at many places. These plants are of three types, dry steam plants, flash steam plants and binary power plants.
The use of geothermal energy should be encouraged as its direct use has no negative impact on the environment. Also, these plants are not affected by any change in the weather conditions or seasons. They can offer electricity to remote locations and even big cities depending on the size of the power plant being used, this can save a lot of energy. Geothermal energy is a good replacement for fossil fuels as it is sustainable to a large extent.