geothermal

adjective

geo·ther·mal ˌjē-ō-ˈthər-məl

: of, relating to, or utilizing the heat of the earth's interior

also : produced or permeated by such heat

geothermal steam

geothermal regions

geothermally

ˌjē-ō-ˈthər-mə-lē

adverb

Did you know?

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

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The Agriculture Department put $256 million toward the Rural Energy Program for America to expand use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy. —

Paulina Smolinski, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2024 The governors expressed their collective commitment to grid modernization and resilience, innovation and economic and workforce development, while also incorporating the geothermal and decarbonization goals of the two previous WGA chairs, Polis and Gordon. —

Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 11 Dec. 2024 Overcoming this obstacle will make geothermal drilling far less expensive. —

Pat Sapinsley, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024 Instead of large, noisy blowers, the soundstages’ vast floors are heated with Iceland’s famous geothermal energy, and Kormakur asked for the stages to include windows, so crew members could see the light of day even when toiling on productions for long shoots. —

Pat Saperstein, Variety, 30 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for geothermal