Across the globe (The U.S.A, Australia, Canada, Iceland, China, Japan, etc.) geothermal potential is considered to be amongst the rising shares in the production of renewable sources. Nowadays, it is especially interesting for the wider public due to its usage in helping to heat apartments and economic buildings with the help of water pumps. In Slovenia, geothermal energy is mainly used for heating, but more and more common is its use for balneology. Abroad, geothermal energy is frequently used to produce electricity, however, the only setback is that geothermal sources that are suitable for production of electricity cannot be found everywhere. Currently geothermal electricity represents 0.05% of the world’s usage of energy.
This thesis begins by presenting the properties and uses of geothermal systems, the potential for new and improved geothermal systems, mechanisms and characteristics of middle to high temperature geothermal sources and their ability to be transformed into electricity. The thesis then showcases the realistic potentials of geothermal energy, taking into account the temperature differences and availability of sources within Slovene. Due to low potentials of geothermal energy in Slovenia we are facing the problems of missed opportunities and failures to exploit resources and with (not) returning the water back to the aquifers.
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