Geothermal Power Heats Up

2010 Jan 28

The United States continues to lead the world in geothermal energy capacity and growth, the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) said this week in a report that details gains and milestones over the past year.
Geothermal energy supplies a total installed capacity of 3,152.72 MW to the United States, in states including Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
The report identifies up to 6,442.9 MW of new geothermal power plant capacity under development in the United States in those states as well as Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. This pushes the prospects of nearly 10 GW of installed capacity in the coming years over a broad section of the nation. At that level, geothermal power will satisfy the needs of over 10 million people in 14 states and still have tremendous growth potential.
The report, which highlights the geothermal industry's growth, status as a green energy source, job creation and investment potential, comes on the heels of GEA's Geothermal Energy Finance Forum, an event that brought geothermal development experts and major financial players together in New York City's financial district.
"The Geothermal Energy Industry is experiencing unprecedented growth with future years's promising double-digit, year-over-year expansion," said Karl Gawell, GEA Executive Director. "While stimulus money has been driving much of our recent growth, we are also seeing that as geothermal technology pushes forward the economics of these projects really make sense."
A major source of the geothermal industry's 46% growth in confirmed new power projects over the past year and 33% increase in employment was the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, which expanded tax credits for new projects to include a 30% investment credit and a "cash grant" alternative. ARRA also "laid the foundation for sustained future growth" according to Gawell by providing up to $400 million in new funding to implement a wide range of research, development, demonstration and deployment activities. The amount of Federal funding provided to the geothermal industry through ARRA is unprecedented and is spurring the continued development of domestic geothermal resources.


Read more:  http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS4562100020100128
  
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