Thursday, January 9, 2020

Science & Technology: Paper Suggests CO2 Emissions from Geothermal Energy are Significantly Less than from Solar PV

Geothermal energy is better than solar energy: IIT-H (Telangana Today)

The total CO2 emissions during the lifecycle of a solar pv cell are about 3312 × 106 kg. This is far higher than a geothermal energy source, which emits about 450 g/kWh.

An extensive analysis by the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) and researchers from Monash University, Australia has suggested geothermal energy – the use of the earth’s heat to generate power – is better than photovoltaic energy in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The researchers also suggest that a combination of renewable energy technology must be adopted in this era of dwindling fossil fuel reserves and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

This analysis was undertaken by Prof D Chandrasekharam, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-H, and Prof G Ranjith Pathegama, Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Their Research paper was published recently in the reputed peer-reviewed journal Geomechanics and Geophysics for Geo-Energy and Geo-Resources.


Chandrasekharam, D., Ranjith Pathegama, G. CO2 emissions from renewables: solar pv, hydrothermal and EGS sources. Geomech. Geophys. Geo-energ. Geo-resour. 6, 13 (2020) doi:10.1007/s40948-019-00135-y