The following is a paper I wrote: 

Geothermal Energy 

Geothermal heating is used in three different types of applications, heat pumps, direct use and generating electricity. There are many reasons to use geothermal energy, it will save you money on your electric bill and provide a constant source of heating and cooling. Right now that is very important to me as I watch heating prices rise along with gas prices.

Heat pumps are a common use in Geothermal applications, they can be used to heat or cool any type of building. The system works by fluid such as water being circulated through a loop of piping that is set underground. The fluid running through the piping creates a heat exchanger. The indoor system will extract the energy from the fluid to heat the building or it will add energy to the fluid to cool the building. This replaces the need for both a furnace and an air conditioner.

Geothermal heat without conversion into electricity is used throughout the western united states and in parts of the east. A district heating system in Boise, Idaho supplies more than 400 homes and a number of public and commercial buildings including the state capitol complex. In Iceland, geothermal energy is used to heat 85 percent of the country’s houses.

There are many industries that can use geothermal energy. It is used for such purposes as heating greenhouses, dehydrating vegetables, and pasteurizing milk. Drying onions and garlic is the largest industrial use of geothermal energy. Because of this success geothermal heating has been proven to be an effective way to heat businesses and homes and to help grow the crops our world needs to survive.

Geothermal energy can also be converted into electricity. In 1960 the country’s first large-scale geothermal electricity-generating plant began operation at The Geysers in California. Today, there are 69 generating facilities in operation around the country.

In the future geothermal energy could play an important role in agriculture, including greenhouses, aquaculture, and crop drying. In rural areas, ground space to install geothermal heat pump systems is readily available, and tax incentives may encourage their use.

I feel that this is a great system that could really help many people I hope that the government will really look into tax breaks or better grants for people who are willing to have this system installed now, not later down the road. This form of energy is not only good for your wallet is also good for the environment and could help to slow down global warming. These reasons alone would make geothermal energy a very attractive alternative energy source.