Why don’t we use more geothermal energy? episode artwork

EPISODE · Oct 7, 2024 · 26 MIN

Why don’t we use more geothermal energy?

from The Climate Question · host BBC World Service

Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full disclosure, she’s a geologist and is thoroughly perplexed by the lack of uptake. Geothermal is renewable, reliable and abundant and yet, less than 1% of the world’s energy is generated from it. Host Graihagh Jackson hears about a team in Iceland who hope to "super-charge" geothermal power by drilling directly into volcanic magma. And she travels to Germany to visit Vulcan Energy, a company which is combining geothermal with extracting one of the world's most sought-after metals: Lithium. Plus, our reporter in Indonesia tells Graihagh about local opposition to some geothermal power plants.Got a question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721Host: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Indonesia: Johanes Hutabarat Producer: Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Simon Watts

Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full disclosure, she’s a geologist and is thoroughly perplexed by the lack of uptake. Geothermal is renewable, reliable and abundant and yet, less than 1% of the world’s energy is generated from it. Host Graihagh Jackson hears about a team in Iceland who hope to "super-charge" geothermal power by drilling directly into volcanic magma. And she travels to Germany to visit Vulcan Energy, a company which is combining geothermal with extracting one of the world's most sought-after metals: Lithium. Plus, our reporter in Indonesia tells Graihagh about local opposition to some geothermal power plants.Got a question you’d like answered? Email: [email protected] or WhatsApp: +44 8000 321 721Host: Graihagh Jackson Reporter in Indonesia: Johanes Hutabarat Producer: Osman Iqbal Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Simon Watts

NOW PLAYING

Why don’t we use more geothermal energy?

0:00 26:28

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Climate Question?

This episode is 26 minutes long.

When was this The Climate Question episode published?

This episode was published on October 7, 2024.

What is this episode about?

Geothermal energy is renewable, reliable and powerful. So, why is most of it untapped? That’s what our listener, Anna in the UK, wants to know. Full disclosure, she’s a geologist and is thoroughly perplexed by the lack of uptake. Geothermal is...

Can I download this The Climate Question episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!