Earth's Hidden Power
Beneath our feet lies an enormous reservoir of thermal energy. The Earth's core, at roughly 5,500C, continuously radiates heat outward through mantle convection and radioactive decay. Geothermal power plants tap this heat where it approaches the surface - at tectonic plate boundaries, volcanic regions, and hot spots. Unlike solar and wind, geothermal provides continuous baseload power, operating 24/7 with capacity factors exceeding 90%.
From Reservoir to Grid
This simulation models the thermodynamic conversion of geothermal heat to electricity. Hot geothermal fluid arrives at the surface carrying thermal energy proportional to its temperature and flow rate. A power cycle (flash steam or organic Rankine cycle) converts a fraction of this thermal energy into electricity. The efficiency is inherently limited by the relatively low source temperature - even ideal Carnot efficiency at 200C is only about 38%, and real cycles achieve 25-40% of Carnot.
Deep Wells and Hot Rocks
Reaching economically useful temperatures typically requires drilling 2-5 km deep, where temperatures increase along the geothermal gradient (typically 25-30C per km, but up to 100C/km in volcanic regions). The visualization shows the temperature profile from surface to reservoir depth, the wellbore path, and the plant at the surface. Deeper wells access hotter rock but cost exponentially more to drill.
The Future: Enhanced Geothermal
Conventional geothermal is limited to locations with naturally occurring hydrothermal reservoirs - hot rock with permeability and fluid. Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) aim to create reservoirs anywhere by fracturing hot dry rock at depth and circulating injected water. If successful at scale, EGS could provide hundreds of gigawatts of clean baseload power globally, transforming geothermal from a niche resource into a major energy source.