GEOTHERMAL GETS HOT

There was a 40% attendance increase over 2007 at a recent conference about geothermal energy in Nevada.

Thomas Fair, renewable energy executive, NY Energy: "[It’s] a sign of what is going on in Nevada…"

And what’s happening there is NOT staying there.

Steve Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy, U.S. Department of Energy: "[The U.S. is] at the cusp of an historic movement in renewable energy…We're going through a renaissance now with geothermal - a rebirth…"

MIT’s The Future of Geothermal Energy; Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EHS) on the United States in the 21st Century, a comprehensive study done in 2006, concluded the technology could produce 100 gigawatts of power by 2050.

Yet geothermal development has been slow gaining momentum – until now.

Yoram Bronicki, president, geothermal developer Ormat Technologies:"I don't know if we have failed, but we certainly have not succeeded until now to capture the imagination of other people on the public relations level…Everybody else looks at the wind turbine as the staple of renewable energy."

Geothermal may not be ready yet to challenge wind's pre-eminence as the New Energy closest to grid parity but the entire energy world is shifting toward domestic energy sources and nothing is more domestic than the seething heat deep beneath America’s feet.

Even established geothermal producers are sensing the change. Chevron Geothermal, the biggest geothermal energy producer in the world, last year started a campaign to draw more attention to its product.

Barry S. Andrews, senior vice president, Chevron Geothermal: "[It is a] critical time for us in the energy field…While geothermal has gotten more attention recently, it often seems to take a back seat to solar and wind…"

Here's a marketing tip for Chevron Geothermal: Geothermal! The New Energy answer to “drill, baby, drill.”

More recently, geothermal has acquired a brand new admirer: Google. As part of RE < C, Google’s drive to bring the costs of New Energy to below the level of dirty coal, Google.org (the company's foundation) has invested $10 million in enhanced geothermal (“deep” geothermal) development.

Dan Reicher, director of climate change, Google.org: "It is indeed the sleeping giant of renewable energy…Indeed, the giant is stirring."

Google’s $10 million+ went to Potter Drilling and AltaRock Energy.

The basic idea. (click to enlarge)

Geothermal Energy Gathering Steam; Economic, Environmental Forces Favorable To Developing Renewable Power From Below Ground
October 7, 2008 (AP via CBS News)

WHO
Jim Gibbons, Governor, Nevada; Rebecca Wagner, former geothermal development company manager/commissioner, Nevada Public Utilities Commission; Steve Chalk, deputy assistant secretary for renewable energy, U.S. Department of Energy; Yoram Bronicki, president, geothermal developer Ormat Technologies; Barry S. Andrews, senior vice president, Chevron Geothermal; Dan Reicher, director of climate change, Google.org

WHAT
According to state and federal regulators, oil company executives, investor-owned utility officials and private developers who spoke at the recent Nevada conference, geothermal appears poised to become a bigger player in the New Energy marketplace.

The deeper you go, the hotter it gets. (click to enlarge)

WHEN
- 2006: 2,936 megawatts of developed U.S. geothermal capacity
- 2008: Completion of all geothermal projects in development this year will bring U.S. geothermal capacity to ~6,304 megawatts

WHERE
- Nevada has the most potential geothermal power of any U.S. state, 2,100+ megawatts, more than enough to meet the state’s Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) requirement of obtaining 20% of all electricity from New Energy sources by 2015.
- New projects are now in development in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

WHY
- Nevada has 10 geothermal power plants with 325 megawatts of capacity and 73 more megawatts coming by 2010.
- Nevada also has 45 geothermal projects in development, more than 2 times the 21 California, the 2nd most active state, is developing.
- The speakers described the financial meltdown, high oil prices, natural gas price volatility global climate change concerns and a new administration coming to the White House as a "perfect storm" changing the U.S. energy world and creating increased demand for the geothermal energy.
- Tens of thousands of acres U.S. Bureau of Land Management lands have been leased for geothermal exploration and/or drilling by small and large investors, even big oil companies.
- 80% of all federal acres land leased for geothermal projects are in Nevada. The state issues an average of 60 drill permits every year. annually for geothermal projects. Governor Gibbons is pressing officials to expedite the process.

Big untapped potential. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Rebecca Wagner, former geothermal development company manager/commissioner, Nevada Public Utilities Commission: "There is not going to be another opportunity like there is now… This is the perfect storm of events to prove the geothermal industry is going to help address and possibly solve a lot of our energy issues…"
- Governor Gibbons: "When it takes eight to 13 months to get a geothermal drill permit approved and only 30 days to get an oil well drill approved, we have our work cut out for us…"