Paris digs deep to harness Earth's green energy

reminds me of the city theyre trying to build in dubai that just runs only of solar energy. perhaps you could build a city only running of geothermal or deep rock heat extraction.

You know, geothermal is not renewable energy. Theres a limited amount of heat in the planets core. Sure it may last millions more years but its still not renewable (as in theres nothing reheating the core up).

You know, geothermal is not renewable energy.

If you understand the second law of thermodynamics you'll understand that there's no such thing as renewable energy and never will be.

Sure it may last millions more years but its still not renewable (as in theres nothing reheating the core up).

Sure it is, it's being heated by radioactive decay of potassium-40, the uranium-235 decay chain(actinium chain), the uranium-238 decay chain(radium chain) and the thorium-232 decay chain(thorium chain).

The use of this natural energy source will prevent 14,000 tonnes a year of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide being pumped into the capital's already polluted air.

That is roughly the same amount of CO2 that an average car would belch out if taken on a 470,000-kilometre (290,000-mile) trip, which is longer than the distance from the Earth to the moon.

Come on do your calculations right!
Don't belch out crap please.

Two average cars do about 300000 miles in its lifespan.
Or 10 cars in a year.
Will you spent so much money on this project while it would be cheaper to give away 1000 free lifetime metrocards to residents to save many times more CO2 pollution, if what is said is true.

Come on do your calculations right!
Don't belch out crap please.

Two average cars do about 300000 miles in its lifespan.
Or 10 cars in a year.
Will you spent so much money on this project while it would be cheaper to give away 1000 free lifetime metrocards to residents to save many times more CO2 pollution, if what is said is true.

Quoted poster is on the right track. If you want to tout alternative nergy, do it for the right reasons. Less fossil fuel dependence is a great thing, and France is working on it. Logically if you were doing it just because of CO2 you'd be better off just making all the public transportation cheaper or perhaps, *gasp*, free within the Socialist Republic of France.

"that drilling will go on night and day for about 100 days to reach the required depth."

Anyone want to take a stab at a drilling rig running 2400 hours at full tilt and the tonnes of CO2 that would add? I'm guesing a lot more than they're saving. Hypothetically calling it at a fuel efficiency of 4 gallons an hour, kind of optimistic but it makes the point, would put the first 4 years carbon off sets back into the atmosphere in those 100 days or a little over 3 months.

An over the road truck gets closer to 10 gallons an hour, a drill would use more, but that 10G/hour puts us at the first 10 years reductions in 3 months, not counting construction vehicles. Anyone want to take a guess where this is going?

Add in the dozen site vehicles running on average probably 4 to 6 hours a day, generators, earth movers, and this facility might balance out in a couple of decades, if they are really green contractors.

Good job France, way to set an example, it might be better to just run this off of burning tires instead of geothermal.