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Ten gigawatts (GW) of U.S. geothermal power appears to be feasible in the near- to mid-term, according to a new report by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).
The report predicts strong growth in new geothermal power projects continuing through 2009 and identifies 144 new geothermal projects under development in fourteen states that could represent as much as 7,100 megawatts (MW) of new baseload power capacity. This is in addition to 3,100 MW of existing capacity.
The report found a total of 144 projects under development that could add between 4,700 and 7,100 MW of power to the U.S. geothermal energy output. At the high end, that would be enough baseload power to supply about 20% of California’s total electric power in 2008–or enough generating capacity to supply the power needs of about 7.2 million people.
“It is great to see that between March 2009 and September 2009 there was a continued increase in new geothermal projects,” remarked Dan Jennejohn, the report’s author. “Interest in geothermal development continues to grow, with the number of projects up 50% and megawatts under development nearly doubling over the past two years."
On a state-by-state basis the GEA report found:
(state, number of projects/potential MW)
Alaska, 6/70–115 MW
Arizona 1/2–20 MW
California, 37/1841.8–2435.8 MW
Colorado, 1/10 MW
Florida 1/0.2–1 MW
Hawaii, 2/8 MW
Idaho 5/238–326 MW
Louisiana 1/.05 MW
Mississippi 1/.05 MW
Nevada, 64/1876.4–3473.4 MW
New Mexico, 1/20 MW
Oregon, 13/317.2–368.2 MW
Utah, 10/272.4–332.4 MW
Washington 1/Unspecified.
The number of states with geothermal projects under development also increased, from 12 to 14 over the past six months, with the addition of two oil-field co-production projects in Louisiana and Mississippi.
While the report shows generally good news, it also shows a decline in projects currently listed in "phase 4," or under construction. According to GEA this was due to 4 new geothermal power projects moving to completion, but also reflects difficulty obtaining final permits and difficulty obtaining financing.
The recession, as the report confirms, is having an impact on the industry. "Financing is expensive and scarce, and available lenders are requiring much more work be done before they will finance projects," noted Gawell. "We hope the tax, loan guarantee, and DOE spending provisions of the stimulus bill will help turn this around, but there have been delays implementing these initiatives by the federal agencies."
"It also appears that some projects seeking final construction permits are having difficulty acquiring them because of the tremendous demands being placed on federal, state, and local agencies by a wave of renewable energy project applications," Gawell noted. "These geothermal projects would otherwise be ‘ready to go’ bringing new jobs and spurring economic growth," he stressed, "So it’s important that federal and state agencies don’t neglect the needs of geothermal projects."
The report is available at the link below.
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