Tuesday, April 28, 2015

USA, Utah:

Improving Geothermal Energy (Phys.org)

University of Utah research professor, Joseph Moore, is leading a team from the U's Energy & Geoscience Institute selected by the US Department of Energy to study new techniques and technology for developing geothermal energy.  Credit: University of Utah College of Engineering

Generating electricity from the hot rocks deep underground is clean, safe and renewable - and it's about to take a step forward in Utah.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Monday that a team from the University of Utah's Energy & Geoscience Institute (EGI) is one of five research groups selected to study new techniques for developing geothermal energy in places where it's not currently feasible. EGI is part of the U's College of Engineering.

The U team of geologists and engineers, led by EGI research professor Joseph Moore, also a GRC Board Member, will evaluate establishing an underground geothermal laboratory about 10 miles north of Milford, Beaver County, within the Milford renewable energy corridor. This corridor is home to two geothermal plants and a 306-megawatt wind farm. Utah's geothermal power plants provide enough electricity to power nearly 70,000 homes in Utah, California and Arizona.

"This is really game-changing technology in terms of being able to develop self-sustainable energy for the U.S.," says Moore, who also is a geologist.

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