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by pjc50 2355 days ago
Yes. The problem is that the thermal conductivity of rock isn't great, so it needs to be in a "hot" area and to have some kind of underground fracturing allowing water to spread out and heat up.

An example: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/06/drilling-to-start-at-the-uks...

Not quite there yet: https://www.uniteddownsgeothermal.co.uk/future-programme

In both construction time and cost it's a bit meh compared to wind/solar, its only advantage is dispatchability.

1 comments

It must be easier to get environmental permits for geothermal since it has such a small footprint compared to wind and solar and won’t kill any birds, make noise, make pulsing light, etc.