EddScott

Go-ahead given for new nuclear power stations - Yahoo! News UK

So we are getting more nuclear power stations.

Might sound stupid but why can't we get power from the earth itself? Drill down and use the heat to power turbines.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Have you not seen the film "The Core"????

ChrisGrant

CUS this aint deep enough!!!!


Depth of the Deepest Mine


think you need to go a little deeper!!!

EddScott

Well that states the temps get to 70 degrees after about 3.5K. The deepest holes ever dug are about 12K.

Not saying you have to go to the core or even to the out mantle. Justfar enough down to allow water to boil and the steam and pressure to force it back up.

There must be some obvious reason why it wouldn't work as we'd be using right now I assume.

SJ_Skyline

I can see the sandal-wearing green brigade fuming over their fair-trade nut roast supper tonight at this news...

Power Junkie

iTrader: (1)

They tried this in Cornwall, the Hot rocks project. It worked well until the funding ran out.

[Davey]

I've read about termal power stations and water heating from the outer crust at places in the states.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

But that was after all the test subjects died from inter-breeding?

Ns04

SJ_Skyline

Geothermal is usually only cost efficient in places where the earth's crust is thin - faultlines, which by their very nature tend to be unstable places, not where you would want to build a power station.

Iceland uses extensive geothermal, some 25% of their energy needs.

OllyK

You also need to consider the deeper you go, the higher the atmospheric pressure and the higher the boiling point of water! All well and good to ta in to gysers etc with heat echangers etc when they are near the surface, but elsewhere on the planet it's not so viable

OllyK

Anyway - good news about the nuclear power stations, just wish they'd give up the mad wind power idea.