5 Ways Geothermal Power is Heating Up Around the World
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 09. 3.08
photo: Calpine
Last week when the US Geothermal Energy Association released it’s biannual report which stated that geothermal power had grown by 20% so far this year , it cemented what TreeHugger said over a year ago: Geothermal power is the poor cousin of higher profile renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. It doesn’t seem to be a question of geothermal’s potential (which is great) but its amount of publicity (which isn’t so great). Towards that end, here’s a roundup of what’s heating up in geothermal power around the world:
Australia Could Have 2200 MW of Geothermal by 2020
Framed in the context of the vast untapped potential of geothermal energy in Australia—the figure of 1% of the country’s potential being enough power for 26,000 thousand years was thrown around—the Australian Geothermal Energy Association said that under current policy 2200 megawatts of power could be developed by 2020. Though a drop in the bucket of the total funding need to develop this amount of power, the Australian government announced that it is investing A$50-million (US$43.5 million) into developing this potential.
Volcano Power Surveyed in Alaska
Alaska is planning to survey the state’s volcanoes to determine the feasibility of tapping into them as a source of geothermal power. Some estimates place indicate that up to 25% of the state’s overall energy needs could be met through this rather volatile source of geothermal power. The first volcano to have its exploration rights auctioned off, the 11,070 foot tall Mount Spurr, erupted as recently as 1992.
U.S. Public Sector and Private Sector Invest in Advanced Geothermal Research
About two months ago it was announced that the US Department of Energy is investing a total of $90 million to research advanced geothermal energy over the next couple of years. These funds will be distributed to academia and industry in the form of 26 grants.More recently Google.org announced that it was investing a bit over $10 million to develop Enhanced Geothermal Systems, a technology which by MIT estimates has the potential to easily supply all of the nation’s energy needs with as little of 2% of the continent’s potential being tapped.
Kenya Plans 1,700 MW of Geothermal Power by 2018
Though it’s come under fire recently for proposing to expand biofuel production in an important coastal wetland, Kenya also plans to develop some more environmentally friendly power: President Mwai Kibaki announced that 1,700 megawatts of geothermal power over the next ten years.A worker at Kenya’s Ol Karia geothermal power plant was quoted as saying, “Because geothermal energy is our only indigenous source of energy, we’re going for it. We can supply Kenya’s entire needs with geothermal alone.”
Indonesia, Philippines Investigate Tapping Into the Ring of Fire
Being located on the so-called Ring of Fire, it’s not surprising that both Indonesia and the Philippines are investigating how much of their geothermal power potential they can turning into usable power.
In Indonesia, the Bedugal project on Bali at 175 megawatts would supply half of the island’s power needs, but concerns over the project damaging a sacred area or affecting the water in local lakes will need to be addressed. According to TreeHugger contributer and Earth Policy Institute president Lester Brown, Indonesia as a whole could “run its economy entirely on geothermal energy and has not come close to tapping the full potential.”
In the Philippines, the goal is to increase its geothermal power capacity by nearly a third to about 3,100 megawatts in the next five years. The problem here is that many of the island nation’s geothermal fields are still acidic due to active volcanic activity. This acidity can corrode pipes and is making it difficult to expand geothermal power beyond the 18% of total power generation which the resource currently supplies.
More on Geothermal Power
4000 Megawatts of US Geothermal Power in Development, Sector Has Grown by 20% This Year
A Primer to Iceland’s Geothermal Power Stations
Geothermal Energy: Renewables’ Poor Cousin
Jargon Watch: Geothermal vs Ground Source Heat Pump
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Geothermal is coming around. Once we start popping the tops on these EGS wells, geothermal will be the BIG granddaddy of renewables. Thanks for the article.
Underground hot water could be pumped to holding tanks. The water could be run past turbines which could charge batteries for electricity. The hot water could be used to heat homes. The water chould also be purified for community use. The holding tanks would act as a buffer to supply water needs for high and low usage rates.
Always good to hear about efforts to reduce our dependance on fossil fuels. I am not a doom and gloom type person and don't think we are going to run out any time soon, but eventually we will and we need to be prepared. For every "green" unit of energy produced, we prolong the life of our existing fossil fuels by 1 unit and that is a good thing!
one more source coming up which will help us to tap more energy without compromising on earth safety
I think it is rapidly becoming clear that geothermal
energy of all types will become the preferred energy
source worldwide..
It amazes me that it has taken so long for people
to realize the benefits that it can bring.
Since the water is being pumped up. Could energy also be made, with micro hydro equipment, when it is sent back down?