Scientists have turned to an intriguing place to source cheaper, more
efficient energy - blazing-hot magma kilometres below the ground.
At
present New Zealand sources about 13 per cent of its electricity from
its geothermal assets, drawing out water pre-heated to temperatures of
up to 350C from hot rock deep beneath the Earth.
But Canterbury
University volcanologist Dr Ben Kennedy said it was possible much more
energy could be found from sourcing even hotter fluids at the margins of
magma chambers, where temperatures run from 700C to 1200C.
It
would mean drilling several kilometres into the Earth with equipment
that could withstand the "acidic and supercritical fluids" that would be
produced when magma was struck, he told the Herald.
"This concept has long been laughed at by geologists and
engineers as science fiction, or a little crazy, but technology is
evolving," he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=11591953
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