do you think we can drill into Earth's crust and use magma's heat energy to solve our electrical generation needs?

Question

Dania Riggs

Physics

4 February, 02:03

do you think we can drill into Earth's crust and use magma's heat energy to solve our electrical generation needs?

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Answers (1)

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Guillermo Berry · Answer 1

Iceland already has. In 2009, the Iceland Deep Drilling Pocket struck a pocket of magma 2100 meters below the surface. This marked the 3rd time in recorded history that magma has been reached. The well, named IDDP-1, is the world's first magma-enhanced geothermal system, producing 36MW of power.

But this can only be done in volcanic areas like Iceland, where molten rock can be found at relatively shallower depths. In most places, Earth's crust is about 8 km deep. Drilling a hole that deep would be a huge feat.