Chapter 19 - Environmental Impact of Geothermal Power Plants

Abstract

This chapter aims to present a comprehensive picture of the environmental advantages offered by geothermal power plants as well as their possible detrimental effects. Certain environmental impacts associated with the development of geothermal sites and the operations of plants are inevitable. There have now been more than one hundred years of experience in developing geothermal fields, and in building, operating, upgrading, and even decommissioning geothermal plants of various types. Most countries have laws that regulate the construction and operation of power plants with the intent of preserving the natural environment and safeguarding the health and well-being of people as well as the flora and fauna of the region. Abatement technology is available and usually deployed to mitigate the most potentially harmful impacts. Compared with other types of power plants, geothermal plants hold significant advantages for many of these impacts. There is great concern worldwide about atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide, CO2, owing to its heat-trapping properties and the fear of its effect on the global climate. In an attempt to control global warming, rules and regulations are being discussed around the world that would penalize plants that emit carbon into the atmosphere. Geothermal reservoir production at rates much greater than recharge can lead to surface subsidence. Geothermal binary plants are environmentally benign, essentially zero-emission plants, especially when fitted with air-cooled condensers.