The Sweet Spot Remodeling Blog

Jun 24 2009 10:36AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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By Jonathan Sweet

I had never heard of this before, but apparently there is some evidence that deep drilling in bedrock for large geothermal projects can cause earthquakes. It happened in Basel, Switzerland, in 2006 and residents in Northern California are protesting a plan to use a similar method there in the near future.

The New York Times has the full story:

Power companies have long produced limited amounts of geothermal energy by tapping shallow steam beds, often beneath geysers or vents called fumaroles. Even those projects can induce earthquakes, although most are small. But for geothermal energy to be used more widely, engineers need to find a way to draw on the heat at deeper levels percolating in the earth’s core. 

Some geothermal advocates believe the method used in Basel, and to be tried in California, could be that breakthrough. But because large earthquakes tend to originate at great depths, breaking rock that far down carries more serious risk, seismologists say. Seismologists have long known that human activities can trigger quakes, but they say the science is not developed enough to say for certain what will or will not set off a major temblor.