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Geothermal power may be about to kill the Nuclear Energy industry. Drilling costs are falling so fast, by 2027 it will be able to provide baseload electricity at the same price. (www.nature.com)

submitted 4 days ago by Lugh to c/futurology

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[–] Preflight_Tomato@lemm.ee 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) enable geothermal energy usage in unconventional areas by enhancing the subsurface permeability and increasing fluid flow, which is then extracted as a carrier of the thermal energy.

Is this fracking?

technical issues and concerns over induced seismicity have historically hindered the broader expansion of EGS.

Yeah, fracking…

I don’t know of recent advancements or how it relates to this application, but my understanding is that fracking is a bad idea.

Also, I’m astonished that anything costs more than nuclear.

[–] sushibowl@feddit.nl 2 points 3 days ago

Technically just a little bit different from fracking as used in the oil/gas industry, since it doesn't create new fractures in the rock, it only expands existing ones. However it carries basically the same risks with at most a difference in magnitude.

There's an interesting case in Switzerland where they tried to drill one over an historically active fault line, without first doing a seismic risk assessment.