Geothermal energy: sustainability and the environment

Rybach, Ladislaus

doi:10.1016/s0375-6505(03)00057-9

Cited by 186 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Human intervention/Depletion of fauna & flora [10][11][12][13][14]27,28,62,68,80,[85][86][87][88][89] "Traditional firewood cooking causes faster depletion of biomass resources and adds to the women's working hours in collecting firewood" [62] (p. 409).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large hydropower solutions have been criticised because flooding of a large territory affects the bio-diversity of the region, and projects of a much smaller scale have also been rejected by some communities because of their interference of rivers [10,11]. Geothermal power is believed to affect the stability of land, which may trigger earthquakes [12]. Solar photovoltaic systems have been ignored due to a lack of awareness about their affordability [13], and in some cases, the use of biomass is unattractive because of the emissions produced and the fact that the process must be carefully monitored and controlled [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective

et al. 2016

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Rapid population growth and increasing concern related to improving the living standards in impoverished communities without damaging the natural environment have drawn attention to the adoption of renewable energy systems (RES) around the world. Despite this global trend, the implementation of these projects has not succeeded completely in rural poor communities due to several factors, including social barriers faced at the time of their execution. These social barriers lead to poor acceptance of the projects and their consequent abandonment. Acceptance is a social construct that is influenced by several factors that need to be understood to achieve successful and sustainable results in the future. In this paper, we develop a conceptual model, based on principles of sustainability and systems thinking, to understand the interrelationships among the main factors that have been reported in the literature as key to determining the sustainability and community acceptance of RES projects. To do so, we review the existing literature on sustainability and social acceptance of RES and then construct a causal-loop diagram of their driving factors. While doing so, we also view the problem through the lens of the sustainable livelihoods framework, aiming to maintain the perspective of rural communities and observing the impacts of RES on their contextual reality. The resulting model helps to understand the multiple interactions that RES projects have with rural communities as well as identify potential intervention points for future projects. We end the paper with a discussion of the implications of the model and how can it be used to inform future rural energy decision making.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective

et al. 2016

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“…Lund (2007) and Rybach (2007). These include emission of harmful gases, noise pollution, water use and quality, land use, and impact on natural phenomena, as well as on wildlife and vegetation.…”

Section: The Environment and Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Today's and Future Challenges in Applications of Renewable Energy Technologies for Desalination

Goosen

Mahmoudi

Ghaffour

2014

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

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Recent trends and challenges in applications of INTRODUCTIONAdequate and dependable fresh water resources are major issues confronting many nations worldwide (Maila, 2006;Goosen et al., 2011aGoosen et al., & 2011bHuang, 2010; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a Mahmoudi et al., & 2010b. With the world's energy demand increasing much research has been directed at overcoming these challenges and in particular in using renewable energy to help meet the power needs for water desalination (Huang, 2010; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a;Serpen et al., 2010). However, Goosen (2012) and Gottinger and Goosen (2012) argued that while development opens up and advances economies, and creates new wealth, millions are forced to struggle to make meaning of the darker side of development that is not environmentally sustainable. In the past, the world's ecosystems (i.e. air, land and water) were able to absorb the environmental damage resulting from extensive industrialization and development. Nevertheless, with the rapid increases in global population and industrialization, as well as enhanced demands on natural resources such as fresh water supplies, the earth is no longer able to sustain a healthy and balanced ecosystem (Laboy-Nieves, 2009; Laboy et al., 2009; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a Mahmoudi et al., , 2010b Misra, 2000). The sustainability of the society in which we live is determined not only by technical and economic progress, but also by environmental management (Abdulla et al., 2009; Gottinger and Goosen, 2012; Laboy et al., 2010; Maila, 2006). Sustainable development using more renewable energy sources, by improving energy efficiency and reducing water demand and waste production is now considered by many as being the model to follow (Goosen et al., 2004; Goosen, et al., 2009aGoosen, et al., , 2009b Misra, 2000). Elimelech and Philip (2011), for example, reported on the possible reductions in energy demand by desalination technologies, and the role of innovative technologies in improving the sustainability of desalination as a technological solution to global water shortages ( Figure 1). They argued that future research to improve the energy efficiency of desalination should focus on, for example, the pre-treatment and posttreatment stages of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants. Furthermore, Peñate & García-Rodríguez (2012a) presented a comprehensive review of the main innovations and future trends in the design of SWRO desalination technology with an emphasis on improving process performance and efficiency. They concluded that desalination with renewable energies is an attractive combination that will help to reduce stress on existing water supplies.The economic potential and environmental benefits of renewable energies, such as geothermal, solar, wave and wind, and their applications to reducing overall energy requirements have been described in a number of recent articles (Cataldi, et al., 1999;Huang, 2010;Goosen et al., 2011b; Lund, 2007; Mahmoudi et al., 2010a;Serpen et al., 2010;Stefansson, 2005)....

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“…Regarding the evaluation of renewable energy systems, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the most appropriate methodology, since it accounts for a wide range of environmental impacts and considers the overall life cycle in a quantitative way ISO (2006a,b). Though many previous studies discuss the environmental impacts of geothermal systems DiPippo (1991); Mock et al (1997); Rybach (2003); Kristmannsdottir and Armannsson (2003), very few use a quantitative life cycle perspective. Among them, Saner et al Saner et al (2010) performed a LCA for shallow geothermal systems, and Santoyo-Castelazo et al SantoyoCastelazo et al (2011) for electricity generation from hydrothermal systems in Mexico.…”

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confidence: 99%

Environomic optimal configurations of geothermal energy conversion systems: Application to the future construction of Enhanced Geothermal Systems in Switzerland

Gerber

Maréchal

2012

Energy

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Geothermal energy: sustainability and the environment

Cited by 186 publications

References 3 publications

On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective

On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective

Today's and Future Challenges in Applications of Renewable Energy Technologies for Desalination

Environomic optimal configurations of geothermal energy conversion systems: Application to the future construction of Enhanced Geothermal Systems in Switzerland

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