Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Shocking Fact: California Geothermal Power Plant Triggers 1 Earthquake Every 11 Days

It's not just deep well injection of fluids or coal mining that can trigger earthquakes.  It is geothermal power production too.

Published in Science, a new study of geothermal generation 12 miles from a major California fault finds that the operation of the plant causes 1 earthquake every 11 days and that the number of earthquakes increases or decreases with the amount of power production.  That's an ugly energy fact.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-geothermal-power-earthquakes-20130711,0,4232017.story.

Geothermal power production has many strong environmental benefits.  No air pollution. No water pollution.  But this study is a reminder that all forms of energy production have environmental impacts.

1 comment:

  1. yes, all sources have their pros and cons..just don't like how some sources lie about their cons...it would be refreshing to have an honest discussion.

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