GEOTHERMAL UPDATE

Geothermal energy has success in Nevada, wants to spread to the rest of the West…

Megan Guess, August 10, 2014 (Ars Technica)

“…[S]ome 12 gigawatts of geothermal power are generated worldwide, and the US is one of the largest producers of it, generating nearly 3.4 gigawatts in 2013…Geothermal energy advocates are quick to point out that when the Sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, geothermal facilities can be brought online [within an hour]…Coal-fired plants, on the other hand, have long and costly ramp-up times…One notable [geothermal] advance occurred in the late '80s, when researchers and entrepreneurs started implementing what is called a binary cycle…[allowing] power plant operators to generate electricity at geothermal wells with lower temperatures…With this method, little water is lost, and the power plant is able to maintain pressure underground…Still, without government help, geothermal energy as an industry has a tendency for stagnation. The risk involved in drilling a geothermal well is much higher than it is to build a solar or wind farm…[and] the monetary reward for drilling and striking geothermal activity is often less than you'd see from drilling and finding, say, natural gas…” click here for more

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