The Path to Sustainability
Moving forward into the future we need to look at routes to more sustainable energy, not only due to the fact the resources will eventually run out but the footprint they require to reach and damage this does to the environment. A promising renewable energy source that’s getting more attention these days is geothermal energy, as a replacement energy source and with newer technology it means that where geothermal stations can be set up is now much greater than it once was. Geothermal plants/pumps are far smaller in scale than ones used for traditional fossil fuel extractions, also once they are in situ they don’t need to be moved and can remain permanently where they are. This is because it is a renewable source, so the resource doesn’t have a limited amount before it needs to change sites like oil drills or dig up large areas like mining.
A side note, a lot of job skills that are required for oil extraction can be applied to geothermal energy roles. This means that the switch over won’t put the staff out of work and their skills are transferable. Newer technologies and machine learning are helping expand the feasibility and expandable field of geothermal energy beyond what was available before. This enables the technology to be used in areas that were previously deemed unsuitable, also for locations without fossil fuels that currently must import their fuel needs. A renewable energy sources is only part of the solution, switching will only help reduce how much Carbon dioxide we are currently putting into the atmosphere, we also need to look at removing what we have already put there. There are a wide number of companies looking at ways of capturing the carbon dioxide, one of the ones already trialling is sprinkling crushed basalt on crop fields. Basalt has the capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during weathering while also improving our soils. There is a paper by G.C. Mwakipunda et al. that has reviewed experiments, pilots tests and simulations. In fact the company Undo has been offering its crushed Basalt to UK farmers for free (BBC, 2024). These are just two solutions than can be applied to the geo-problem, there are many more to help with this geo-problem we just need to start implementing in a world wide effort.
A Case study
As was previously mentioned the vast majority of Africa is with out energy, not only that but also reliable drinking water. The paper by O. Bamisile et al (2023) looks how there is an interlinking of Energy, water and food nexus it forms, how this affects the population and economic growth. How looking at these three needs as an interlinking system means improving one of these helps the other parts in the system. This not only improves the basics needs but help build the economics of the area. O. Bamisile et al (2023) looks at 7 east African countries in particular, due to not only their poor EWF nexus but their proximity to the Great Rift Valley. There is huge potential for geothermal energy production and can be additionally supported by other green energies.
The paper predominantly looks at geothermal energy due to its “constant and reliable base load” (O. Bamisile et. Al, 2023), they discuss how to optimise energy, water and food production and where if needed supports by other green energies. The paper goes into great detail, and I would highly recommend that you read it for further information. This is also not the only paper looking into geothermal energy potential in various parts of the world and I will list a few in further reading. This website is too small to be able to go into great detail about how geothermal energy can be a massive help in the worlds shift towards green energy and decarbonisation, but I hope you have gained some insight and will check out the
further reading page.
This is a google map image showing the 7 countries, outlined in red, in East Africa as mentioned in the paper by O. Bamisile et al (2023)
References
O. Bamisile, et al, ‘Geothermal energy prospect for decarbonization, EWF nexus and energy poverty mitigation in East
Africa; the role of hydrogen production’ Energy Strategy Reviews, Volume 49, 2023, 101157, ISSN 2211-467X, available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2023.101157.
Grant Charles Mwakipunda, Ping Yu, Norga Alloyce Komba, Edwin Twum Ayimadu, Jennifer Sanford Moshi, Fravian Mwizarubi, Irene Martin Ndunguru, Long Yu, A review on carbon dioxide sequestration potentiality in basaltic rocks: Experiments, simulations, and pilot tests applications, Geoenergy Science and Engineering, Volume 242, 2024, 213253, ISSN 2949-8910, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoen.2024.213253. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949891024006237)
BBC online article, sept 2024, Farmers use 'magic dust' to capture millions of tonnes of carbon - BBC News
