Hawai'i:

U.S. Energy Secretary Touts Lasers for Hawaii Geothermal Development (Honululu Civil Beat)

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu has high hopes that "transformative" laser drilling technology could be a boon to geothermal energy developments, especially in Hawaii.

In an interview with Civil Beat on Wednesday, Chu called the development of laser drilling "the thing that gets me the most excited" about geothermal energy. Argonne National Laboratory, one of the federal government's oldest and largest labs, is exploring such technologies.

Mexico:

GeoPower Mexico

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Kenya:

KenGen Will Seek $745 Million to Fund Geothermal Well Drilling (Bloomberg)

Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KEGC), the East African nation’s biggest power producer, said it will seek “concessionary funding” for the $745 million needed to drill 209 geothermal wells over the next four years.

The company, based in Nairobi, plans to drill 168 wells from 2012 to 2014 and 41 wells in the 2015-16 period, Managing Director Eddy Njoroge told reporters today in the capital.

USA, California:

Santa Barbara Assemblymember Introduces Pro-Geothermal Bills (Santa Barbara Independent)

Assemblymember Das Williams 

(Courtesy California State Democratic Caucus)

Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) recently introduced three bills aimed to help promote green energy technology, facilitate guidelines for efficiency upgrades and optimize investments in distributed generation.

AB 2339 will require that the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) establish policies and infrastructure to overcome barriers to the development and use of geothermal and solar heating and cooling technologies. Geothermal energy uses the subterranean temperature of the earth to provide energy, largely for heating and cooling systems. It is seen as a cost effective and environmentally sustainable to help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Global:

United States and California Named Global Leaders in Geothermal Energy Investment (News Release - Ernst & Young LLP)

In 2011, USA led the world and California topped the ladder among US states in geothermal investment, according to Ernst & Young's latest quarterly Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (CAI), released today. Ernst & Young LLP also issued a new forward-looking report – United States Renewable Attractiveness Indices – that benchmarks the US state investments that were the driving force behind this shift, offering insight into the nation's diverse renewable energy markets, energy infrastructures and their suitability for individual technologies.

The Geothermal Index is made up of a set of technology factors.
The top 25 countries and states are listed below:

Rank	Country	Geothermal Index		Rank	US State	Geothermal Index
1	USA	69		1	California	79
2	Italy	62		2	Maine	75
3	Germany	58		3	Pennsylvania	73
4	Australia	57		3	New York	73
5	Mexico	54		5	Nevada	70
6	China	51		6	Colorado	69
6	New Zealand	51		6	Hawaii	69
8	Japan	46		6	Illinois	69
9	India	45		9	New Hampshire	68
10	Romania	41		10	Massachusetts	66
10	Turkey	41		10	Oregon	66
12	Hungary	39		12	Maryland	65
13	Taiwan	38		12	Vermont	65
14	UK	36		14	Arizona	64
14	Canada	36		15	New Mexico	63
14	South Korea	36		16	New Jersey	61
14	Chile	36		17	Michigan	60
18	Sweden	35		18	North Carolina	59
19	France	34		19	Iowa	58
19	South Africa	34		19	Montana	58
19	Bulgaria	34		19	Florida	58
22	Denmark	33		19	South Dakota	58
22	Austria	33		23	Texas	57
24	Ukraine	32		24	Kansas	52
25	Norway	30		25	Oklahoma	51

USA:

EIA Projects U.S. Non-Hydro Renewable Power Generation Increases, including Tripling of Geothermal (Energy Information Agency)

Growth in geothermal generation is projected to be robust relative to recent history for the industry, tripling over the projection period from 15.67 to 49.19 billion kilowatt-hours per year, but geothermal remains a small portion of overall generation. Geothermal resources suitable for centralized electricity production are concentrated in the west, and like other renewables, development is driven by State RPS policies.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 
Annual Energy Outlook 2012 Early Release Reference case. 

Technology:

Geo vs. Geo: Which Form of Geothermal Helps the Most (Cross-posted from the Intercon Blog on Progressive Times)

Excellent summary of the differences between “geothermal power” and “geothermal heating and cooling”.

The term “geothermal” describes two similar technologies that operate on different scales. Both are used for harvesting clean energy from the earth. Both yield opportunities for displacing pollution and emissions. The best case would allow for us to pour support into both of these technologies, but the prolonged fragility of the economy prompts the question of which one of these options actually gets us farther? Which should we be encouraging, publicizing and subsidizing? Which gives more bang for the buck?

Canada:

Nevada Geothermal Power Reports Dec Quarter Results (Press Release - Nevada Geothermal)

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. today announced results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

Revenue from electricity sales fell from US$5.8 million in the 2010 Dec quarter to $5.1 million. EBIDTA was $1.4 million, down from $3.6 million in the previous corresponding quarter. NGP also reported a net loss of $3.9 million in the 2011 Dec quarter, versus a net profit of $300,000 the previous corresponding quarter.