Geothermal Energy Set for Take Off? (CleanTechnica)
Renewable energy sources (i.e., biomass, geothermal, solar, water, wind) accounted for 30.03% of all new U.S. electrical generating capacity installed in the first nine months of 2013 for a total of 3,218 MW.
That is more than that provided thus far this year by coal (1,543 MW – 14.40%), oil (27 MW – 0.25%), and nuclear power (0 MW – 0.00%) combined.
However, the news for geothermal energy is mixed. Although the U.S. is sitting on an incredibly rich pile of untapped geothermal resources, even after decades of R&D it has yet to take off as a mainstream energy source.
Practically all of that nice new technology has been going overseas. Notably, one key customer for US geothermal companies is Kenya, where the government is aggressively supporting geothermal projects.
Ironically, as we've noted before, some of that taxpayer-supported technology has also gone to revolutionize gas and oil drilling, leading to today’s notorious fracking boom.
The U.S. geothermal sector could soon claim its own, though. A few years ago, the Department of Defense realized that there was enough geothermal potential under military property to power all of its electrical needs, with plenty left over for the civilian grid.
That explains why geothermal got a major chunk of the Defense Department’s $7 billion renewable energy buy, with contracts for multiple projects going to Constellation NewEnergy, ECC Renewables, Enel Green Power North America, LTC Federal, and Siemens Government Technologies.
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