# Geothermal earthquakes



## happytown (11 September 2009)

story in today's nyt re earthquakes and geothermal projects (latest a 2.7 in germany on 15 Aug)



> German geothermal project leads to second thoughts after the earth rumbles
> 
> Landau in der Pfalz, Germany - Government officials here are reviewing the safety of a geothermal energy project that scientists say set off an earthquake in mid-August, shaking buildings and frightening many residents of this small city.
> 
> ...



cheers 

another quality post brought to you by happytown inc


----------



## So_Cynical (11 September 2009)

"propensity to cause earthquakes" LOL ya gota love the media and there ability to sensationalize the ridiculous.

If geothermal power generation causes earthquakes why isn't the earth shaking in central Aust were GDY have been drilling for years and Lihir Island where LGL have a geothermal plant that's been in operation for many years?

What absolute crap.


----------



## jbocker (12 September 2009)

So_Cynical said:


> "propensity to cause earthquakes" LOL ya gota love the media and there ability to sensationalize the ridiculous.
> 
> If geothermal power generation causes earthquakes why isn't the earth shaking in central Aust were GDY have been drilling for years and Lihir Island where LGL have a geothermal plant that's been in operation for many years?
> 
> What absolute crap.




GDY did have a 'big bang' in their Habanero-3 well during testing that had to be shut in.
It appears though the cause was hydrogen embrittlement of the casing and no mention of any 'induced quake'


----------



## Smurf1976 (12 September 2009)

So_Cynical said:


> "propensity to cause earthquakes" LOL ya gota love the media and there ability to sensationalize the ridiculous.
> 
> If geothermal power generation causes earthquakes why isn't the earth shaking in central Aust were GDY have been drilling for years and Lihir Island where LGL have a geothermal plant that's been in operation for many years?
> 
> What absolute crap.



The volumes of heat removed by GDY etc thus far are absolutely trivial compared to a full scale operating plant.

It's like saying see, floods are impossible here, when there's only been a bit of drizzle. That's not a valid analysis until you get sustained heavy rain - only then and still with no flood can you say that your drains really are up to the task and there won't be flooding.

When there's 10GW of capacity running for a few years without earthquakes, then there will be some validity to the argument. Running a tiny pilot plant is a drop in the ocean so you wouldn't expect any adverse effects.


----------

