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May 3, 2006

Geothermal Could Meet 6% of U.S. Electrical Needs by 2025

Washington, DC [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

Geothermal resources could supply more than 30,000 MW of power by 2025, the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) told the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this week. This would meet 6 percent of today's total U.S. electricity needs, supplying consumers, boosting the economy, and stabilizing energy costs. But, GEA testified, budget cuts would be a major setback for new development.

"The loss of DOE's program would be a major setback to both the pace and extent to which we can expand our use of this important renewable energy resource."

-- Karl Gawell, Geothermal Energy Association, executive director

GEA warned that proposals to close down federal research programs would cut this figure in half. Its members estimated that of the projected 30,000 MW, "one-half is highly dependent upon continued research and technological development supported through DOE's research program."

"The loss of DOE's program would be a major setback to both the pace and extent to which we can expand our use of this important renewable energy resource," said Karl Gawell, GEA's executive director.

GEA projections show a substantial expansion of geothermal power. About 2,800 MW today are in production in four states: California, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii. GEA projects that utility scale power production will expand to include Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. In addition, GEA projects expansion of new distributed generation technologies and nonelectric "direct uses" of geothermal resources by farms, businesses and communities.

New geothermal development, states the release, could bring in more than $70 billion of new investment to the economy, producing 130,000 permanent full time jobs and stimulating significant construction and manufacturing employment. GEA estimated that this level of renewable power production would annually offset 266 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions compared to providing electricity from coal plants, equal to the annual CO2 emissions from 41 million automobiles -- 30 percent of all automobiles in use in 2003.
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Reader Comments (2)
 
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May 5, 2006
Why limit the use of geothermal energy to the production of power? In the early 80's, at Raft River, Idaho the USDOE drilled geothermal wells and established a 10 Mw power plant. The warm waste water was routed through a greenhouse farm for heat and for support of hydroponic farming. This waste heat source could also be used for the production of ethanol from the sugar beets that are grown in the Utah and Idaho areas, and from wheat and other grains that are grown in the Montana and Wyoming areas where geothermal sources are present.
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May 5, 2006
The biggest obstacle to achieving energy independence, and the development of renewable energy resources, is a lack of political will to carry out the multitude of programs that are in the best interest of the public. One can only hope that a government controlled by people who by and large are afraid to or do not want to believe in something as basic as evolution will make the decisions that will enable the U.S. to stay a superpower. More important than even the concept of maintaining the economic and military might of the country is the importance of maintaining the livability of the planet. Anyone want to give odds on our chances of surviving as the dominant species for another two hundred years?
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