Here's some steamy action: The Department of Interior on Wednesday announced plans to open 97 million acres of public land in 12 states to geothermal energy development. The plan could more than quadruple the U.S.'s current output of underground-heat power, potentially generating enough electricity to power 5.5 million homes by 2015 and 12 million by 2025. Some national forestland could be leased under the plan, though national parks, including geyser-full Yellowstone, are off-limits. Kempthorne praised geothermal energy as "a renewable resource that generates electricity with minimal carbon emissions ... [and] reduces the need for conventional energy sources." Indeed, you'll note that geothermal energy needs no qualifier, unlike "clean coal" and "safe, clean nuclear power."
source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Reuters, Associated Press, Deseret News
see also, in Grist:Google.org invests in geothermal energy
Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success
‘Copenhagen Diagnosis’ offers a grim update to the IPCC’s climate science
Comments
View as Flat
PARice Posted 3:30 am
23 Oct 2008
Be aware that geothermal is not without risks. One is subsidence of the land. The other is that bringing up geothermal energy also involves bringing up Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORMs), some of which must be disposed of. It is not highly radioactive, but it is still something we should be aware of.
Permalink
edarnold41 Posted 3:55 am
23 Oct 2008
TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch)
Permalink
atemplet Posted 5:54 am
23 Oct 2008
Having drilled geothermal wells in the Philippines, Indonesia and Japan, and oil and gas wells in 25 or so countries, it still amazes me that with the release of Arsenic, Hydrogen Sulfide, Radon, and heavy metals along with aquifer damage is geothermal energy is considered harmless. EVERYTHING HAS BENEFITS, AND COSTS...As Buckminster Fuller said 30-40 years ago, if we had to make a barrel of oil it would cost $100 (in '70's dollars!)
(TAANSTAFFL, as always)
After 30 years in the energy industry the waste in my home country makes my cry.
Permalink