Earth Spa

With an increasing proportion of the world getting online in 2021, there has been a growing emphasis on our means of production particularly with regards to the sustainability of our energy sources. This undoubtedly is driven by our shift towards the sustainable development goals set out by the Paris accord along with the climate goals to be achieved by 2030. While this has placed an emphasis on electrification rates around the world, there has been further disconnect on methods of generating electricity in a sustainable manner, particularly in those communities that had lack of access to begin the negotiation with. This brings us to discuss one of the more abundant renewable sources of energy available to us, however due to lack of awareness and its nascency in scaled production, is yet to pick up popularity. Geothermal energy is energy derived from volcanic and seismic activity which relies on various methods to take advantage of heat energy generated underneath the earth’s surface. This is accomplished through wellhead steam and power generation as well as through drilling further below the earth’s surface to reach a geothermal reservoir which is heated by the magma below its surface. This steam is then utilised to transfer heat and move turbines powered by steam to be able to generate electric power to be packaged and transported into the relevant power grid. There is also further development done to be able to utilise the byproducts in a more effective manner, through the utilisation of the steam released for heat energy and other direct uses.
This categorisation of geothermal energy for generation of electricity as well as for direct use is further driven by research and studies that have been conducted by various countries that led the use of this natural resource such as Iceland and the Netherlands, the former of which has now become a leading producer of this energy source. Iceland has also adopted a resource park model which can be replicated pretty much anywhere geothermal energy sources are found, with which local communities where resources are located can be empowered significantly through benefits. Such a resource park would entail the promotion of a local industry of factories, horticulture and tourism related businesses, that would far outweigh the socio economic benefits brought forth in contrast to merely building a drilling rig. Such factories would be able to directly utilise the steam which is a byproduct of electricity generation, through the use of this heat in processing of beer plants, dry foods processing and various other production methods that rely on steaming. There is also direct application in the fields of fish farming and other greenhouse farming workflows where there is a high requirement of clean potable water as well as clean energy which contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases in its immediate atmosphere. There would also be benefits towards the indigenous communities around these regions that would benefit from the modernisation of this region as well as access to a source of potable water for their livestock, agriculture and pasteurisation as often times lack of water is a key issue to address within these last mile communities. These would also be coupled with a vibrant tourism sector that can be developed through the building of a variety of geothermal spa’s which don’t only add to the increase of traffic of tourists into the region but also contribute to the development of a local job industry, significantly larger than those employed within drilling rigs.
Though this would sound ideal, geothermal energy is still quite a nascent source of electricity production, which leads to its dismissal when considered for exploration efforts. These challenges lead to a further pushback on the sides of not only the public finance institutions needed to fund such projects but also through private financiers willing to take on the risk of exploration which may lead to a less bountiful harvest. Furthermore, there is often a lack of support from the relevant ministries and regulatory agencies that are tasked with facilitating research and outreach programs toward local communities which add on to the list of challenges that developers may face when considering getting involved in such sources of energy production. Such support is often available quite clearly in other energy generating fields, such as solar and hydropower, through policy such as Investment Tax Credits, Feed-In tariffs & Feed-In Premiums. Such programs offered in solar would almost certainly guarantee profitability within a specific time frame, through worst and best case scenarios, effectively de-risking the project for developers. This would enable them to not only get access to funding from public and private sources, which is unrestricted and often in surplus to scale, but also affords them the peace of mind to be able to construct projects that will undeniably see the revenues needed to achieve profitability. Such tariffs could exist for electricity generated from geothermal sources through power plants, although such a mechanism has not been set for heat credits for energy generated through steam. This would also be further emphasised by the lack of technical knowledge within the countries that have substantial resources due to how nascent the technology is and the availability of training and technical programs required to train not only mining and drilling engineers but also power production and distribution engineers.
Though the uptake has generally been slow, there are some countries that have been able to receive the support required to be able to shift their sources of energy towards an emphasis on geothermal and thermal energy such as Ethiopia and Kenya. This has been accomplished due to not only the recognition of an abundance of volcanic and seismic activity along the East African Rift region but also through policy support toward exploration of alternatives within this space. This has been accomplished through investment into demonstration projects as well as newer models of operations such as buy-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) which encourages private industry developers to participate in the space through Public Private Partnership (PPP) models. These models are common within the energy industry as well as the natural resource space where government response time is usually constrained due to bureaucracy and lack of technical ability however when paired with private partners often increases efficiency in achieving results. This would also provide incentive toward developers to be able to effectively de-risk them through the provision of letters guaranteeing credit often leading to concession loans and grants covering up-to 85% (in some instances) of the funds required for initial exploration. This would provide plenty incentive for an industry to be spawned, all while further research and improvements in methodology and tools required to conduct exploration improves the accuracy of exploration results to be able to ensure the availability of adequate resources through preliminary drilling and scanning methods. Another benefit of such improvements has led to further classification between thermal and geothermal energy, which distinguishes between the energy generated through energy from reservoirs less than 500m below the surface and those that are further below up to 2.5km below the surface. This helps achieve a couple of milestones. Firstly it increases the probability of revenue being generated, and a lot faster than it traditionally would, through the development of wellhead drilling. This would enable developers to realise revenues during the early stages of exploration by generating energy through the upper layers of the mine, which would further support drilling deeper into the ground to reach higher levels of profitability. The energy that is produced from sources further below into the surface is often at higher temperatures, therefore leading to a more substantial source of energy. Such a model allows developers to break down their profitability into levels, allowing them to incorporate a suite of financing tools to allow for immediate exploration and beginning of projects. Traditionally this was a significant bottleneck however thanks to developments this is no longer the case and these developments coupled with improvements in technologies allow for a more accurate prediction on the viability of such projects which effectively encourage more participants to get involved in the market.
Not only is this the electricity generated from this source 100% renewable, it is also a provider of steam and other carbon-rich byproducts which have further utility downstream their supply chains. This would also enable the ability of local governments to be able to reach these last mile communities which are often disconnected from their urban counterparts due to simply being too far away to be able to access and service. This would further contribute toward our sustainable development goals through not only the improvement of renewable energy consumption rates but also improve rural electrification rates in these communities through the provision of an industrial region that could follow alongside the development of such an energy source. With the correct approaches to stakeholder outreach, the impact that could be achieved is too significant to be ignored. The construction of a thermal mining rig would employ up to 100 people however with such ancillary benefits such as resource parks including resorts attracting tourism, factories utilising heat within their production process shifting closer to the source of heat energy, aquaculture and fish farming as well as horticulture through greenhouses, this would provide a near fourfold increase in the employability of people with figures closer to 1,000 people employed rather than that of simply with a mining rig. This would also attract the possibility of empowering local communities with the benefits that come with a modern settlement such as access to renewable energy and internet which would enable them to improve their own pasteurisation, agriculture and livestock practices through resource sharing and mentorship programs as well as the possibility of engaging with the tourism market by developing arts & crafts markets and so forth. The cycle could be a virtuous one however this starts with the improvement of research and planning on the side of regulatory and administrative agencies tasked with improving the environment towards not only electricity generation but also toward the realisation of benefits through direct uses of such a resource.