The owner of Internet considers the possibility of drilling into the ground feasible. This is a controversial project that could lead to a global blackout. Sending letters, going to expert talks, or visiting a local library are activities we used to do in person. The information took time and mobility resources, but now it’s a matter of knowing what to put in the search engine and ‘clicking’.
Without leaving home, it is possible to meet, teach, study or access research from years ago. The advantage is more than clear. We save time and money. However, behind this seemingly perfect solution lies an ecological footprint that is difficult to track and calculate.
With every search we do Internet Approximately 0.2 grams of CO2 is released into the environment. As recorded Googlingthis means that the greenhouse effect generated by 1,000 searches is equivalent to driving a car for one kilometer. In this context, a controversial project is ready to change this devastating but useful reality.
This system allows the Internet to change like never before
In November last year, a space of Internet was painted green by a pioneering geothermal operation in the northern desert of Nevada. It was developed by the company I am hot and called Network project. The action consists of injecting electrons into a local network that includes data centers operated by Googling.
The search company made an investment in the project two years ago, part of its efforts to run all its data centers on green energy 24 hours a day. He Network project It is small and generates between 2 and 3 megawatts of energy, enough to power a few thousand homes.
However, it is a crucial demonstration of a new approach to geothermal energy that would harness the Earth’s natural heat Tierra Somewhere in the world.
The Internet realizes a new form of supply
Hot rocks are everywhere, with temperatures rising hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit in the first kilometers of the surface. However, geothermal power plants provide only a small part of the world’s electricity supply.
This is explained by the fact that they are mainly built in places where natural heated water can easily be used, such as hot springs and geysers. The heated water is pumped to the surface and generates steam that drives the turbines.
The ‘enhanced’ geothermal system (EGS) of Nevada It has a different effect. I am hot it does not pierce a natural hydrothermal system. Instead, he dug into completely dry rocks and formed an artificial hot spring by pumping water back to the surface, much hotter. The strategy is supported by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) techniques.
I am hot It drilled two wells that expanded their activity to more than 2,000 meters deep each before becoming a completely horizontal stretch. After this, he connected them using hydraulic fracturing, which created cracks in the rock connecting the two wells. The water enters one source cold and leaves the other at a high temperature, enough to operate the turbines and produce energy.
Result of the experiment of the ‘owner’ of the Internet
The result of the experiment I am hot it was all a success. It only took a month of testing where temperatures at the bottom of the wells reached 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius). Enough water circulated in it to generate approximately 3.5 megawatts of electricity.
According to the testimony of the CEO of I am hot, Tim Lettimerthese figures have remained relatively stable since then, a fact that indicates that we may be dealing with a project that will be connected to the network in the long term.
In short, the ‘owner’ of Internet would create a more sustainable way of carrying out its activities. A news that attracts as much attention as Google’s latest decision to prevent the global collapse of the Internet.