Miles O’Brien:
Geothermal heat comes from the molten core of our planet, which, at more than 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, is as hot as the surface of the sun. As the heat radiates up, it gradually cools.
Here, they drilled wells between 2,000 feet and two miles deep, where the temperature is only about 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Very salty, very hot water, called brine, along with steam, race upward. The steam spins turbines, producing electricity, and the brine is injected back into the ground, where it is reheated by the earth, replenishing the reservoir.
Is this kind of managed well more or less infinitely sustainable?