The geothermal industry is heating up, with enough new projects in development in the U.S. to double the country’s geothermal energy supply, according to a survey released by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).
The GEA survey says new projects underway in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming will provide up to 3,368 MW of new electric power capacity for the grid.
The new supply will more than double US geothermal power capacity from 2,936 MW
to almost 6,304 MW — enough to meet the needs of 6 million households.
Last week U.S. Geothermal Inc. announced that it’s Raft River, Idaho geothermal plant had commenced commercial operation with an output of roughly 9 MW. The company says it expects the yearly average output to be around 13 MW.
"The surge in new geothermal power development continues in the US," said Karl Gawell, GEA’s Executive Director. According to the new GEA report 86 new geothermal power projects are underway in 12 states. This is an increase of 35 projects in an additional three states compared to a survey completed in November 2006.
Development of these new projects will provide significant economic benefits, according to GEA.
"New projects will result in the infusion of $11 billion in capital investment in the western states, and create 5,600
permanent geothermal jobs and over 21,000 person-years of construction and manufacturing employment," Gawell stated. "New projects will offset 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide compared to coal-fired power plants," he added.
The survey will be presented at a GEA Workshop Wednesday, January 16th at Bally’s Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"New federal and state initiatives to promote geothermal energy are paying off," commented Gawell. "State renewable standards coupled with the federal production tax credit are creating a renaissance in US geothermal power production," Gawell said.
But, the federal production tax credit is about to expire at the end of 2008. In December the Senate failed by one vote to keep a multi-year extension of the renewable tax credits in the energy bill. According to the industry, it is now facing a serious dilemma.
"If we can build and sustain this momentum, geothermal energy can become a major US energy source," according to Gawell. "But, Congress and the Administration must work together to extend the renewable energy tax credits before they expire. Without an extended credit, the resulting tax hike will undercut one of the fastest growing segments of the US economy–renewable energy," he warned.
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