U.S. government tightens geothermal regulation amid earthquake fears

The U.S. Department of Energy is planning to release stricter safety regulations on geothermal energy sites in an effort to address concerns that drilling deep holes into the Earth can result in local earthquakes.

Geothermal energy sites work by drilling deep holes into the ground to access hot bedrocks that are found deep underground. Water is then poured into the holes, which releases steam that can be used to power turbines and produce power.

While the localized earthquakes that can occur around these sites are highly unlikely to cause serious enough earthquakes to endanger humans, the local earthquakes have been known to damage the foundations of buildings and can cause thousands—even millions—of dollars in damage if left unregulated.

The new rules will require sites to get plans approved by seismologists and to run seismic tests at the site during drilling. If the earthquakes that result from the drilling are larger than expected, the sites will be required to shut down.

For more information, check out this story from Business Green.