South Korea accepts geothermal plant probably caused destructive quake

A South Korean government panel has concluded that a magnitude-5.4 earthquake that struck the city of Pohang on 15 November 2017 was probably caused by an experimental geothermal power plant. Unlike conventional geothermal plants, which extract energy directly from hot underground water or rock, the Pohang power plant injected fluid at high pressure into the ground to fracture the rock and release heat — a technology known as an enhanced geothermal system. The nation’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which had provided funding for the plant, said in a statement that it accepts the panel’s findings and “expresses deep regret” to the citizens of Pohang who were harmed by the event.

Source: www.nature.com