Geothermal Searches for Avenues to Build Critical Steam (RenewableEnergyWorld.com)
The teams of geothermal geologists, driven executives and keen marketers assembled in Reno this week for the Third Annual National Geothermal Summit, are easily as optimistic as their counterparts in the solar and wind renewable energy industries, but they perhaps are a tad more perplexed.
Why isn’t geothermal yet taking off like it should? Solar and wind installations are growing at mouth-watering double-digit rates. But geothermal requirements of a longer lead time and higher developmental costs mean that it simply is not cost competitive for a place in utilities’ state-mandated renewable portfolios — if lowest cost kilowatts are the only criteria the utilities consider.
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