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US Geothermal Industry Grew 26% in 2009

April 14, 2010 | 6 Comments

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Washington, D.C., United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] The U.S. geothermal power industry continued strong growth in 2009, according to a new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA). The April 2010 U.S. Geothermal Power Production and Development Update showed 26% growth in new projects under development in the United States in the past year, with 188 projects underway in 15 states which could produce as much as 7,875 megawatts (MW) of new electric power.

According to GEA, the projects under development will represent capital investment of more than US $35 billion when completed.

"Geothermal power can be a critical part of the answer to global warming," said Karl Gawell GEA's executive director. "For example, California could achieve its 2020 goal for global warming emissions reductions just by keeping energy demand level and replacing its coal-fired generation with geothermal," he asserted.

According to GEA's analysis, Nevada continued to lead in terms of projects under development with more than 3,000 MW in the pipeline. The fastest growing geothermal power states were Utah which quadrupled its geothermal power under development, New Mexico which tripled, Idaho which doubled, and Oregon which reported a 50% increase. In addition, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas all reported that they had their first geothermal projects in development.

“These geothermal power projects will create substantial sources of new employment across the country,” said GEA Executive Director Karl Gawell. “Not only are we seeing more and more development and hiring in places with a long history of geothermal like Nevada and California, but for the first time these jobs are being created in the Gulf Coast, in states such as Louisiana and Mississippi. Along with a huge number of new construction jobs, geothermal power also creates many permanent positions that can never be outsourced.”

Together, the direct, indirect and induced employment created by these projects is estimated by GEA to be 29,750 permanent jobs and 112,000 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment. According to GEA, the projects under development will represent capital investment of more than US $35 billion when completed.

New geothermal power projects are in progress in fifteen states from the Pacific to the Gulf Coast. GEA identified new projects in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Four of the top five states with geothermal power under development have substantial renewable standards. Those states in order of geothermal development and their state renewable requirement are listed below.

California: 33%
Nevada: 25%
Oregon: 25%
Utah: 20%
Idaho: 0%

In addition to large utility scale power projects, the survey continued to show expanding interest in power systems under 1-MW with projects in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oregon and Wyoming.

Geothermal Energy

6 Reader Comments

Comment
1 of 6

Anonymous

April 14, 2010

The title is vast hyperbole. Capacity additions in 2009 were 176 MW for a total capacity of 3087 MW. Most people would say that capacity grew 6% in 2009 and not claim an inflated value of 26% based on projects in progress that might never be completed. There has been nice progress in the pipeline of projects under development or permitting, but the industry is not growing at 26% annually.
Steven

Comment
2 of 6

mortimer-shnerdlyfrump-47009

April 15, 2010

Steven,

As a reader I appreciate comments like yours. Author's should be held to accurate statements.

Comment
3 of 6

jacob-rudisill-171035

April 16, 2010

Hyperbole is the GEA's major writing tool. The geothermal industry is in a giant investment bubble right now, and many of the projects pointed to by the GEA will certainly never happen, just as the first commenter has rightly noted. Why? Because the resource is simply not there, and what is there is subject to decline. If the industry's statistics were updated as to actual capacity and not just nameplate, it is doubtful that ANY growth would be measured.

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4 of 6

Anonymous

April 16, 2010

Shows the difference between a news story and a press release. This article may be on what is ostensibly a news site but I'm sure it started out as a press release, and reads like it got little editing, much less a rewrite by a reporter. (I say this as a 25-year journalist now in the renewable energy business.)

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5 of 6

DMMELLOW

April 17, 2010

well ,in a very sceptical enviroment the article is clearly focussing in the positive developments in this new industry as oppossed to fossil fuel burning industry dominated media
It is a very dificult and unequal fight this days

Comment
6 of 6

HouseofWallace

April 22, 2010

To Jacob-rudisill; As you say, "and what is there is subject to decline." however the earths heat will be here longer than any earthly source you can imagine. If the geo-thermal industry were to get Mr. T. Boone Pickens involved in more deep wells, we would have heat sources for power for generations adinfinitum . As coal, oil and gas are presently evaluated, they will probably not be here for any real time duration. Ray Wallace

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