Geothermal
Geothermal energy is generated by hot water or steam created by heat from below the Earth’s surface. Lower temperature geothermal sources can be used to heat and cool buildings with heat pump systems. Hot water or steam from higher temperature sources can be extracted with a drilled well and used to power turbines to create energy.
On Haida Gwaii
The K’il Kun Sandspit Airport is heated by extracting groundwater from wells.
Advantages
Unlike the sun or wind, heat from the earth is consistently available and should be for the next billion years. Ground-source heat pumps are similar to air-source heat pumps, but instead of using heat in outside air, they use heat of the earth to provide heating, cooling, and hot water which can make them more efficient.
Considerations
Geothermal systems can be used to heat most buildings, but are quite expensive to set up, and are most economical for larger buildings. Geothermal plants are expensive to drill and are only appropriate in certain areas, usually in tectonic plate boundaries, because high temperatures can be accessed closer to the earth’s surface. Drilling into the earth also can cause small earthquakes in the area. Geothermal energy generally has low carbon dioxide emissions, but it can produce other emissions such as sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulphide.