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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

Extracts from the US report:

Although solar and wind posted stellar years, geothermal saw a reduction in investment in 2011. Bloomberg Energy Finance reports that global investment in geothermal dropped from $3.2b to $2.8b. A number of geothermal plants benefited  from the 1705 Loan Guarantee program, notably a series of projects in Nevada expected to generate over 150MW of power once commissioned.

Although mentioned less than wind, geothermal projects are approaching the expiration of their PTC benefts, set to sunset at the end of 2013. Without this incentive, many geothermal projects become unprofitable. It is hoped that an extension of the PTC would include extensions not only for wind, but also for geothermal.

Geothermal saw some legislative victories in recent months, including Senate Energy Committee passage of the Geothermal Technology and Expansion Act of 2011, which would create a  federal loan program for geothermal exploration drilling, and the Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2011, which would expedite development of geothermal resources on federal land.