Environmental Impacts:
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- Geothermal has minimal land and freshwater requirements, only using up a small amount of space. Geothermal plants use 3.5 square km per gigawatt of electricity, whereas fossil fuels use over 30 square km.
- It can be argued that this geothermal power plants emit noxious or greenhouse gases such as methane. However, plants experiencing significant levels of environmental damage can be equipped with emission-control systems to reduce any negative effects.
- Geothermal energy has far fewer negative impacts on the environment and local wildlife than other energy sources (for example wind energy, where the turbines can be genuinely and seriously harmful or fatal to birds and other animals, who can get caught in the dangerous rotating blades).
- Hot water from geothermal sources occasionally holds traces of toxic elements such as mercury and arsenic. However, the current practice of injecting geothermal liquids back into the earth to stimulate production eliminates this environmental risk.
- Although geothermal fluids and emissions may contain traces of toxic substances, these are not nearly as dangerous or long-lasting as radioactive waste, a by-product of nuclear plants.