Wednesday, August 29, 2012

USA, California:

Geothermal Energy's Trouble In Competing With Solar (Forbes)


A geothermal power plant can deliver electricity day or night and help California utilities meet the state’s renewable energy mandate. But geothermal energy developers in California are feeling a bit left out these days.

Why? Because utilities and state regulators are putting a premium on solar energy when they evaluate and approve power purchase agreements even though solar electricity production typically fluctuates and makes it more difficult to balance the supply and demand in an electric grid. And it doesn’t help that a geothermal power plant often requires a high upfront cost to develop and takes a long time to plan and build.

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