Survey Finds Geothermal Power Expanding in U.S.

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=46548

When almost 60 new geothermal energy projects now under development in the U.S. are complete, up to 2,250 megawatts (MW) of electric power capacity will come online, generating approximately 18 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.

This would almost double installed U.S. geothermal power capacity to more than 5,000 MW, according to a survey by the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).

These additions produce electric power roughly equivalent to all U.S. wind facilities operating in 2005. "This represents the U.S. geothermal industry's most dramatic wave of expansion since the 1980s," noted Karl Gawell, GEA's executive director.

The new GEA survey identifies power projects under development in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon and Utah and classifies their stage of development. Since the last survey in March 2006, Alaska has been added to the list of states producing geothermal power and a dozen new U.S. geothermal projects have been initiated.

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[mainegreen]

1. It's too bad Yellowstone isn't near any metropolitan areas.

There is a lot of power to be harnessed there!

[sweetheart]

2. small scale works too

A heat pump works like a refrigerator with your house as the box to the refrigerator,
except rather than pumping out excess heat to the warm coils in the back, the process
is reversed, and heat is pumped out of the ground from some coils buried in a trench
by the house.

http://www.iceenergy.co.uk/heatpumps.asp

It is not a good sign when these alternate energy schemes are by 'big power' as the
real power revolution is in 100,000 small private schemes that are ignored by the
big dosh of public free tax projects.

[kestrel91316]

3. Can somebody explain to this techno-idiot exactly how

geothermal plants produce electricity?

Do they run pipes underground that pick up heat and then use it to produce steam?? How deep do they have to go? Can they only do this in areas with hot springs and geysers and volcanic activity???

[jpak]

4. Here ya go...

Geothermal power – clean, silent electricity from out of the ground

http://www.engineerlive.com/power-engineer/20060501/renewable-energy/1.667.727.732/15387/geothermal-power-clean-silent-electricity-from-out-of-the-ground.thtml

Geothermal power generating plants, which make use of the planet’s interior heat, are becoming increasingly popular around the world. Research is still being carried out into the most efficient way to extract the heat but commercial plants are already in operation.

The early use of geothermal was to heat buildings with water that was either already at a usable temperature or needed only minimal extra heating. Now, temperatures are being accessed that are high enough to be used in power generation turbines.

Roughly 99 per cent of the Earth’s mass is hotter than 1800 E C and, about three miles down, the temperature reaches several hundred degrees. The optimum way of accessing this energy at the moment is Hot Dry Rock (HDR) or Hot Fractured Rock (HFR) technology. These are referred to as Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) because they go beyond the drilling of a simple well.

The HDR system comprises at least two depth drillings and one subterranean heat exchanger. The heat exchanger consists of natural joints in plutonite rock which are fractured and connected to each other with the help of water pressure, known as hydraulic simulation.

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