TELF AG analyzes the role of biomass and geothermal energy in the energy landscape of the future
New scenarios
In future energy scenarios, renewable sources such as wind and solar appear destined to play an increasingly central role, especially considering their high growth rates in several nations. In some areas, these types of renewable sources are already responsible for most electricity production, with capacity and energy generation levels that appear to be continually increasing.
In its latest report on the energy of the future, McKinsey has dedicated an interesting section to renewable energy sources that are less talked about but which appear to be rapidly developing and which tomorrow, in a not too distant future, could, in turn, be included in the energy mix of many nations, alongside traditional clean sources and thus promoting the advancement of the energy transition. Most of these technologies share a limited state of advancement, especially for technological, physical, or infrastructural reasons. Still, in McKinsey’s hypothesized scenarios, they could be destined to play a primary role in the decades to come.
One of these sources is represented by biomass. Its use is very simple and is based on the combustion of organic matter (primarily agricultural) and the subsequent generation of heat, which can be used later to produce heat and electricity. For companies, this means being able to count on an innovative and low-emission energy source. Among the possible applications, according to McKinsey, there are certainly those related to the cement sector, where biomass could be used as a heat source, but also the possibility of using biomass as a natural raw material for various industrial productions. According to the report, one of the main obstacles to its wider use has to do with the actual availability of arable land, especially in the face of growing demand for arable land from agriculture.
The role of geothermal energy
Among the other clean energy sources identified by McKinsey is also geothermal energy, a process by which hot water or steam is conveyed to the surface to generate heat or electricity, almost always with the support of turbines. Again, one of the main limitations to a larger-scale use of this source is the need for underground reservoirs or water reserves from which to draw the water or steam, which are not uniformly distributed across the Earth’s crust, but also by the structural characteristics of the rock formations that lie between the water reserves and the surface, which are not always able to guarantee the passage of fluids at high speeds. Nowadays, the points of the planet most suitable for valorizing geothermal energy are those characterized by high volcanic or tectonic activity levels. According to McKinsey, these limitations could be overcome by creating enhanced geothermal systems or artificial geothermal basins, particularly in areas with reasonable quantities of thermal energy not distinguished by good permeability. Another option could be linked to pumping water underground, using techniques very similar to fracking. The report mentions other promising sources of clean energy, such as hydroelectric energy (despite various limitations related to the possible scarcity of precipitation or drought) and hydrogen, which, with adequate technological advancement and infrastructural progress, could certainly increasingly impose itself on global attention.
