AEI Faculty Spotlight

Energy from the Earth

A team of researchers led by chemical engineering faculty member Brian Anderson, received $1.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a three-year research project aimed at expanding the use of geothermal energy, which is energy stored beneath the surface of the earth.

“The Department of Energy is aggressively pursuing the development of geothermal systems that will enable the production of energy from any region in the country,” said Anderson. “We are happy to be contributing to that effort, and to demonstrating that geothermal energy can effectively help us meet our energy needs.”

Anderson is the lead researcher on the project, along with colleagues from Cornell University, Iowa State University, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Engineered geothermal energy systems (EGS), Anderson explained, would involve drilling into the earth in an area with hot or warm rocks, pumping water through those rocks, bringing the heated water back to the surface and using that water to heat buildings or generate electricity.

In the U.S., geothermal resources today are generally restricted to isolated areas of the west, where rocks are hot at relatively shallow depths and where some states already use geothermal energy for heating and electricity.

In the eastern U.S., rocks under the earth are not as hot. Anderson and his colleagues will investigate new methods of using the lower-temperature eastern resources, some involving the use of geothermal resources in combination with other forms of renewable energy such as biomass.

The ultimate goal is to develop innovative uses of the lower-temperature geothermal resources in the eastern region.

“We are leading the effort to integrate what we learn into national energy deployment models,” said Anderson.

Last year Morgan Ames, a WVU chemical engineering major, conducted research focused on using geothermal energy to heat Elkins High School in Elkins, West Virginia.

“Morgan’s research showed that it is possible to heat buildings with low-temperature geothermal energy,”said Anderson. “We will be developing plans for putting this theory into practice on a much larger scale.”

“If we can realize the full geothermal potential of the high-temperature resources in the west and the lower-temperature geothermal resources in the east, it will make a huge difference in the overall energy picture of our country,” he added.

For more information on news and events in the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources:
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