Advanced geothermal: Impact on the biosphere

The earthquake risk that shadows high-pressure injection

What this tab covers Effects on human, animal, plant, fungal and microbial life and on whole ecosystems: in the short term (construction and early years), medium term (operating life) and long term (decommissioning and legacy).

The distinctive risk is induced earthquakes from high-pressure injection, shown most seriously at Pohang, South Korea, in 2017. Otherwise impacts resemble conventional geothermal but with lower gas emissions, since most designs reinject everything.

Earthquake with hypocentre about 1 km from the Pohang EGS site Magnitude 5.5, Pohang, 15 November 2017¹¹ Stimulation water per 20 MW EGS plant about 71,000 m3⁹ CO2 saved by Geretsried heat (claimed) up to 44,000 t a year³

Effects over time

Life affected	Short term	Medium term	Long term
Humans⁸¹¹	Injection can trigger felt earthquakes; drilling noise and traffic.	Low air pollution; local jobs for oil and gas workers.	Little evidence of effect.
Animals¹²	Habitat disturbance at well pads.	Little evidence of effect.	Little evidence of effect.
Plants¹²	Clearing for pads and pipelines.	Little evidence of effect.	Little evidence of effect.
Fungi and soil life¹²	Little evidence of effect.	Little evidence of effect.	Little evidence of effect.
Ecosystems⁴⁹	Water withdrawals for stimulation can compete with local uses in dry regions.	Closed loops avoid fluid exchange with rock.	Reservoirs cool gradually; wells must be sealed at the end of life.

How the effects are reduced

Induced seismicity is managed by avoiding stressed faults, 'traffic light' systems that stop injection after small tremors, and soft stimulation that lets fluid flow back. Closed loops avoid fracturing altogether. Recycling produced water reduces fresh-water demand.

Sources

Innovative geothermal project powers up in Bavaria Energy Institute, New Energy World, 2025
Technical barriers for deep closed-loop geothermal (McClure; reviews Malek et al. 2022, Beckers and Johnston 2022 and others) arXiv, 2023
Technology breakthroughs are unlocking geothermal energy's vast potential in countries across the globe (launch of The Future of Geothermal Energy) IEA, 2024
Life-Cycle Analysis of Geothermal Technologies (Wang, Clark and Sullivan, Argonne National Laboratory) US DOE, 2010
Earthquake close to a geothermal site in South Korea GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, 2018
A Guide to Geothermal Energy and the Environment Geothermal Energy Association, 2007