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Tumbleweed48 t1_iylg9nk wrote

Can someone please explain why that is not being used as a geothermal energy source?

Just move ten or fifteen miles away from the tourist attractions, sink a few injection wells, and generate enough steam to power most of the northwest and reduce the threat of an eruption at the same time.

It would beat the hell out of burning fossil fuels.

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e-wing t1_iymgozg wrote

For one, it’s in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. It’s pretty much the least populated area in the country. There just aren’t enough people in that area to warrant a huge infrastructure project, and to connect it to the national grid and get power to more people would be a massive undertaking.

Second, it would not reduce the risk of eruption at all, and could increase the likelihood of unpredicted geothermal surface features. Yellowstone is one of the most seismically active areas in the country and much of it is very unpredictable.

Finally, it’s a National Park. We tend to not want to build power plants in National Parks, and it’s actually illegal. There is a law requires NPS to preserve geothermal features in National Parks. To power the entire northwest as you suggest would require a massive facility, and even though geothermal is “green energy” it would still have a huge and damaging footprint in the park. It would alter the landscape and destroy parts of one of the most beautiful and important geological places in the entire world.

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[deleted] t1_iylh5di wrote

[deleted]

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GeoGeoGeoGeo OP t1_iyljqrw wrote

>Possibly the risk of causing an eruption

How would it cause an eruption (especially considering it can't erupt because its only up to 20% melt fraction)?

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kinda_alone t1_iyn7z7l wrote

Geothermal tapping cannot cause an eruption.

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bladow5990 t1_iynyjx8 wrote

It did at fly geyser in NV

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GeoGeoGeoGeo OP t1_iyo4pyd wrote

To be clear, we're talking about an eruption of magma not hot water out of a cm scale borehole.

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SirRockalotTDS t1_iyn5hhe wrote

Now you'll have to explain to me why it CAN'T wrrupt.

A lot of that solid is well over the melt temperature and could instantly turn into melt if the pressure was suddenly reduced. How are you sure that that wont happen?

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GeoGeoGeoGeo OP t1_iyo1hxi wrote

People have drilled directly into magma before (Hawaii in 2007? & Iceland 2009), and there has been no eruption for a couple of reasons:

(1) drill holes are too narrow to transmit the explosive force of a volcanic eruption. (It’s the equivalent of piercing a champagne cork with a pin rather than removing the entire cork at once.)

(2) Due to the small diameter of drill holes (typically <10 cm), the small amount of magma that could flow into the shaft would solidify long before reaching the surface

See Iceland Deep Drilling Project:The first well, IDDP-1, drilled into Magma for more information.

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Strontium90_ t1_iylomn5 wrote

you're just using the steam to drive the turbine, cause eruption how?

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