Sunday, April 24, 2011

CO2 + geothermal = awesomeness squared

In an interesting combination of technologies, a new method of producing geothermal energy could also sequester CO2 beneath the earth's surface. Geothermal uses a lot of water, but using CO2 instead could generate power in a cleaner way. During the process, a portion of the CO2 will be permanently trapped in porous underground rocks. The process emits no carbon, in fact it may store some of it underground.

This is a positive development for the desert Southwest, which has geothermal potential, but little available water with which to exploit it. Sequestering CO2 from nearby coal-fired plants could serve as a source to run this process, which would help improve the air quality nearby.

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