Since the energy bill was approved by Congress and the president, we’ve been exploring some of the less visible measures of the bill, including the Green Jobs Act and the efficient lighting mandates.
The Advanced Geothermal Energy Research and Development Act of 2007 is another important feature of the wide-ranging energy bill. Following recent reports by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) highlighting the enormous potential for clean, renewable energy produced from heat within the earth’s crust, House and Senate negotiators agreed to measures instructing the Department of Energy to implement a broad and aggressive research program promoting geothermal energy.
Congress authorized up to $95 million annually for the geothermal research; however, in the omnibus spending bill passed last week, the program received only $20 million for fiscal year 2008.
Although the House and Senate both provided higher funding levels in their original Energy and Water Appropriations bills, funding for the geothermal program was reduced to meet demands made by the White House to cut the cost of the omnibus bill by approximately 5%.
Nonetheless, support for the measure is an important step in making geothermal energy a major energy source in the future.
“The new program of geothermal research set forth in the energy bill will help push the geothermal industry into a new era of advanced technology and expanded development,” said Karl Gawell, the Geothermal Energy Association’s (GEA) Executive Director. “The geothermal provisions come at a crucial time in the history of the industry. Renewed research, development, and public-private partnerships are needed to continue the momentum we’ve seen in the past few years.”
According to GEA, several key areas are addressed in the energy bill:
–Geopressured and oil and gas field co-produced resource production: Clean, renewable geothermal energy can be produced with existing natural gas and oil and gas fields.
–Industry-coupled drilling: This program pairs the federal government with geothermal developers to reduce drilling risks and improve drilling precision.
–Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS): The MIT and NREL reports suggest that 100,000 megawatts (MW) or more of geothermal power could be produced using advanced technology.
–Center for geothermal technology transfer: Such a center, which currently does not exist, is critical to developers seeking information about geothermal prospects and technology advances.
International Geothermal Collaboration: DOE and US AID are directed to support international geothermal development, particularly related to the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility, Australia, China, France, the Republic of Iceland, India, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Gawell said, “This energy bill shows the tide is turning, and with increased awareness about the urgency of global warming and the continued crisis posed by our dependence on foreign sources of energy, renewable energy and energy efficiency can only continue to grow and become an ever larger part of our energy mix.”
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