geothermal
adjective
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Geothermal comes partly from the Greek thermos, "hot". Most geothermal electricity is provided by power plants situated in areas where there is significant activity of the Earth's great tectonic plates—often the same areas where volcanoes are found. But hot water from deep underground may be used by cities far from volcanoes to heat buildings or sidewalks. And a newer source of geothermal energy relies on a less dramatic kind of heat: Individual homeowners can now install heat pumps that take advantage of the 50°-60° temperature of the soil near the surface to provide heating in cold weather (and air-conditioning in the warm months). These very small-scale geothermal systems may eventually supply more useful energy than the large power plants.
Examples of geothermal in a Sentence
Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2024
The increase is attributed to higher electricity segment revenues due to the acquisition of geothermal and solar power plants from Enel Green Power North America.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 7 Nov. 2024
Just last year the company switched on an advanced geothermal plant in Nevada that has already made impressive gains in developing its technology for using heat from beneath the Earth's surface to generate power.
—Michael Franco, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2024
But then life did what life does, and all that youthful bravado leaked out through the lines in his face like steam through fissures in geothermal rock.
—Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 1 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Geothermal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/geothermal. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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geothermal
adjective
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