'Green energy' project gives Swiss the shakes -- The Environmental Lounge

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, 3, [4], 5 ]

Subject: 'Green energy' project gives Swiss the shakes

Author:
larry

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 15:49:51 02/18/07 Sun

you can read the hole thing at the link. heck there was even a movie made about this one. seen it last week.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/18/wquake18.xml

Swiss prosecutors are investigating a green energy project after it was revealed that it caused earthquakes.

The inquiry was launched after experts confirmed that the Deep Heat Mining project to exploit geothermal energy near the north-west border city of Basel had caused tremors measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale.

Deep Heat Mining system - click to enlarge
The project involved injecting large quantities of pressurised water into three-mile-deep boreholes, where underground temperatures reach 200C. The super-heated water is circulated back to the surface where it is used to produce steam and drive a turbine to generate electricity.

But Geopower Basel, the company behind the scheme, was forced to stop pumping water into the hot rock layer following a series of powerful earthquakes, which were felt up to 10 miles away.

Jean Ueberschlag, the mayor of nearby Saint Louis in France, wrote to the Swiss authorities demanding a halt to the experiment. He said: "You don't have the right to play with the safety of our populations."

Prosecutors are now investigating everyone involved in the project to determine possible criminal responsibility, amid allegations that project officials knew there was a risk of triggering earthquakes.

The four quakes, the latest of which took place two weeks ago, caused panic in Basel, Switzerland's third largest city, as people sought shelter from what appeared to be a natural disaster.

Houses and other property sustained only minor damage but seismologists, who -confirmed that the quakes were caused by the project, warned the local population that stronger seismic activity could occur even though the project has been temporarily halted.

Basel is one of the areas in Switzerland most prone to seismic activity. In 1356, the city was almost entirely destroyed by a quake of 6.5 on the Richter scale. Swiss prosecutors say that all partners in the scheme could face charges of causing material damages and "spreading fear" among the population.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]