The future of geoenergy – a perspective

Abstract

Energy from Earth resources (geoenergy) in the form of coal, oil and gas has fuelled the global society since the Industrial Revolution began. Amongst the consequences of fuelling society and associated population growth, is climate change, driven by the emission of greenhouse gases liberated through unabated combustion of fossil fuels. There is much more to Earth energy systems, however, than just coal oil and gas. The Earth contains, in human terms, an unlimited supply of accessible heat and pressure (differences), as well as copious quantities of storage space, non-hydrocarbon gases and valuable solutes. These resources can be targeted to provide sustainable energy sources with low to zero carbon footprints. This report does not contain any new radical technologies that will deliver energy free from all environmental impacts but it does show that, when considering geoenergy, society needs to look at the whole system, which combines chemical, thermal, potential, kinetic, gravitational and other energy forms that could be used from individual developments to minimize waste, maximize efficiency and reduce unwanted impacts. We demonstrate that geoenergy will continue to play a key role in decarbonized energy systems for centuries to come.