Do you need to be in a volcanic/tectonic region to harness geothermal energy?

[St Rhenium]

Being a volcano nut, geothermal has always been a renewable energy source that's interested me. Would it be possible to harness this [i]at all[/i] in the UK, or does an area have to be volcanic/tectonic for to even be possible? Surely if we go deep enough there is still magma below us, so perhaps it would just be more expensive?

[JamesH]

It doesn't have to be, it just makes it a lot easier and cheaper.

I believe even households have made use of this before, so it's definately possible, you just have to dig a little deeper (literally).

[LucidEnergy]

No, because everywhere the deep ground is warmer than the surafe. Although in some areas it will be less efficient that it is in places like Iceland.

[allegrif]

It is possible, yes. The question is, is it economically viable? The answer is largely no unfortunately, there are just more efficient systems than this in the UK's case.