There is tremendous amount of heat energy, called geothermal energy, lying dormant under the surface of the earth. This can be a viable source of alternate energy, which can be turned into electricity to light or heat our homes. Unfortunately, geothermal energy remains untapped as it faces some serious criticisms from critics and scientists. It is because of such resistance from experts that we are yet to manufacture geothermal energy on a mass scale. 

According to critics, it is an extremely costly proposal first to tap the actual sites from where geothermal energy can be extracted. The study and research that needs to be done to find the right location is a cost-prohibitive proposal. It not only costs money to make such energy on a large scale, but it can prove to be extremely time-consuming also. Then the question comes regarding building the geothermal power plant - as there is no guarantee whether the plant is ultimately going to be profitable or not. For example, a particular geothermal plant may not produce the required volume of heated gas to make the operation financially viable or operationally reliable. There is opposition from environmentalists as well who claim that bringing out magma on the surface of the earth might prove to be dangerous as there are chances of other elements coming up along with it.  

But it is still a fact that geothermal energy could be a viable energy option once we explore the possibilities more extensively. The fact that it originates from mother earth should imply that it is free from pollutants. While it excels in terms of energy-efficiency, its ultimate channeling after production is also relatively easy. Setting up a geothermal plant is also not as elaborate as setting up electrical plants, huge dams or even atomic energy plants - therefore the chances of it polluting the environment is also minimal. Not only would geothermal energy be able to replace our dependence on oil energy, but it is also backed by life-time of supply. We would never run out of it. This means that there are no chances of it getting more expensive with passing years. Finally geothermal energy could be one of the cheapest options in alternate energy sources after the cost of creating the plant and site location have been recovered.