Alternative Energy / Geothermal Energy

• Geothermal's Potential as a Serious Energy Source

  The Earth started its existence as a red-hot rock, and has been cooling ever since. It’s still quite toasty in the core, and will remain so for billions of years, yet. Cooling implies a flow of heat, and where heat flows, the possibility exists of capturing useful energy. Geysers and volcanoes are obvious manifestations of geothermal energy, but what role can it play toward satisfying our current global demand? Following the recent theme of Do the Math, we will put geothermal in one of three boxes labeled abundant, potent, or niche (puny). Have any guesses? The Physics of Heat Thermal…

• Kenya to Investigate Potential of Geothermal Power

  Kenya, plagued by electricity shortages like many of its East African neighbors, has awarded Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corp. and South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering Co. contracts to build $420 million in new geothermal plants. The contracts for the Olkaria I and Olkaria IV geothermal power plants represent Kenya's largest ever geothermal plant project and are Toshiba's first African contracts for supplying geothermal power equipment. The contracts further strengthen Japan's role in developing Kenya's geothermal power generation capacity. Toshiba was selected by Hyundai Engineering to supply the turbines and generators for the project. The two Asian nations will build a new 140…

• Indonesia’s Geothermal Potential Being Hamstrung by Regional Politics

  Indonesia has the potential to become the world's biggest geothermal energy leader, so long as investment is pursued. Indonesia's geothermal energy is literally bursting from the ground, with the world's highest number of volcanic hot spots. Unfortunately, Southeast Asian politics and a lack of foreign investment is bogging down the great potential of the country's clean energy market. With plans to add as much as 9,000 MW of installed capacity by 2025, the industry will need to attract investors. "The tenders are out there, they just need the investors to come in," says Paul Brophy, president and chief executive of…

• Chile Investigates Geothermal Power

  Aside from cost constraints, perhaps the biggest hurdle facing nations seeking to embrace renewable energy is its unpredictability. Re solar, the sun goes down. Plant your biofuels patch and drought could wipe out an entire crop. And the wind is variable. Two seemingly constant natural cycles are tidal power and geothermal energy – if either decline, then major potential environmental changes could dwarf all other considerations. Chile is investigating its geothermal options as an expensive but long-term bet to diversify its energy sources. Santiago’s Diario Financiero reported that earlier this month Chilean Energy Minister Rodrigo Alvarez Zenteno told his audience…

• U.S. Geothermal Industry Could be Given a Boost by Congress

  With Washington finalizing a last minute debt deal to avoid a default, some are preparing for what’s next.  Frankly, the poorly pieced together debt deal will do little more than delay a default, in the meantime, both the public and private sectors will need to scramble to figure out how to kickstart the economy.  One popular belief is that renewed investment in energy infrastructure development—particularly in renewables—could help create jobs and spur economic growth.  In light of this, two new bills are making their way to congress for approval in the coming months that will boost geothermal energy development across…

• Researchers Develop a More Efficient Approach to Extracting Geothermal Energy

  Researchers from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Earth Sciences have developed an approach to extracting geothermal energy more efficiently while reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide at the same time. The new approach, which the researchers call carbon dioxide-plume geothermal system or C.P.G., uses high-pressure carbon dioxide to produce power from the Earth’s heat. In conventional geothermal power technology, water is used to tap into the Earth’s heat. Hot water or steam is extracted from underground rock formations then used to turn turbines to produce power. The C.P.G. system also used the Earth’s heat but instead of water, uses high pressure…

• Geothermal Station that Generates Energy from People to be Opened in 2012

  The glow of many a hot and bothered commuter will be harnessed for local heating in Stockholm and Paris. Swedish realtor Jernhusen is investing SEK 1 billion in the regeneration of Stockholm Central Station, including an innovative geothermal system to capture and channel the body heat of its 250,000 daily commuters. Heat exchangers in the ventilation system will convert surplus low-grade body heat into hot water, which will then be pumped to heat office space in the nearby Kungsbrohuset building, also owned by Jernhusen. The plans, due for completion in June 2012, also include the replacement of all lighting in…

• The Coming Geothermal Energy Boom

  According to a report released last week by Pike Research we’ll see a significant increase in the use of geothermal as an energy source between now and 2020. The Pike Research analyst constructed several scenarios based on an estimated 10.7 gigawatts of geothermal capacity in existence throughout the world in 2010. The U.S., the world’s leading user currently possesses 3.1 gigawatts of installed geothermal systems compared to the 10.7 added gigawatts of new resources.  Pike’s research shows 88 percent of the world’s geothermal energy systems currently in operation are used in only eight countries, leaving lots of room to grow…

• Incredible Geothermal Energy Potential in the United States

  USGS estimates 500,000 MWe of EGS geothermal resource potential lies beneath the western United States. This is approximately half of the current installed electric power generating capacity in the United States. _EERE PDF The US could be producing 32 million times more geothermal electrical power than it does at present. The U.S. produces more than 100,000 gigawatt-hours per year of geothermal electricity already, but it could produce as much as 3.2 trillion gigawatt-hours. ...the Earth's heat never stops—meaning a geothermal power plant can produce electricity as regularly as a nuclear power plant can. And it also has nearly no emissions…

• Financiers Bullish on Geothermal, But Industry Must Address Drilling Risks

  Renewable energy financiers are bullish on the geothermal sector, but resource and drilling risks still make them skittish. Total investment in the clean energy sector reached a record $243 billion in 2010, but only $1.8 billion, or 0.76%, was directed at the geothermal sector, Mark Taylor, head of the finance team at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, told attendees of the Geothermal Energy Finance Forum in New York on Wednesday. The US geothermal sector will need $29 billion in financing over the next six years, said Arni Magnusson, executive director of international industries for Iceland-based Íslandsbanki, which finances geothermal projects worldwide.…