Geothermal energy in the United States Geothermal Data System (NGDS). Through the NGDS, many older paper archives and drill logs that are stored at state geological surveys are now being digitized and made available for free to the public. The underground hot water and steam used to generate geothermal power may contain chemicals that could pollute the air and water if released at the surface. Hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic in high concentrations, is sometimes found in geothermal systems. Newer methods of generating geothermal power separate the hot steam collected underground from the steam used to power turbines, and substantially reduce the risk of releasing air-polluting
Hot dry rock geothermal energy hydrothermal energy production can only exploit hot fluids already in place in the earth’s crust, an HDR system (consisting of the pressurized HDR reservoir, the boreholes drilled from the surface, and the surface injection pumps and associated plumbing) recovers the earth’s heat from hot but dry regions via the closed-loop circulation of pressurized fluid. This fluid, injected from the surface under high pressure, opens pre-existing joints in the basement rock, creating a man-made reservoir which can be as much as a cubic kilometer in size. The fluid injected into the reservoir absorbs thermal energy from the high-temperature rock surfaces and