USA, California:

Geothermal Power Steaming Over Wind and Solar Energies (Forbes)

All the talk about the government subsidies given to the various energy forms has one fuel source steaming: geothermal power, which ranks fourth among all renewable energies in terms of total capacity — after wind, solar and hydro.

The Sonoma Power Plant, The Geysers, California, USA

Geothermal stands in the shadows of the higher profile green energies, both literally and figuratively. In actuality, energy is captured and then extracted from deep underground with the steam used to generate electricity. Because the heat that is contained at the earth’s core is limitless, it is a sustainable energy form and one that — unlike wind and solar — is not contingent on the weather.

Most of the geothermal is concentrated in the western United States, with California having 80 percent of that total share. To this end, the state has a renewable portfolio standard that requires its incumbent utilities to provide at least a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

But Calpine Corp., which owns and operates geothermal facilities that are just north of San Francisco, says that California’s regulatory structure hurts new investment geothermal facilities. Altogether, it generates 725 megawatts in The Geysers, which has 1,517 megawatts of installed geothermal capacity.

The company would like to modernize its operations in The Geysers, if it is able to enter into long term power contracts with the utilities that must comply with the portfolio requirements. Utilities, though, are inclined to buy wind and solar energies that have more tax advantages.

Read More......