The GEA has released a year-end review of geothermal and offered an outlook for 2010 and beyond. Its report US Geothermal Power Production & Development Update concludes that the US geothermal industry will triple in the coming years, reaching an installed capacity of 10,000 MW, providing electricity to 10 million people in 14 states. It also emphasises how, even after this goal is reached there is still huge potential for further industry growth.
Despite the recession, geothermal energy grew at a robust pace in 2009. New projects launched in 2009increased by 46% over the previous year. $342 million were allocated for 132 projects, most of which will be completed within 2-3 years, while 750 full-time jobs and 2,827 construction-related jobs were created due to a roughly $800 million investment in the technology. With six new geothermal plants online in the United States, power capacity rose 6% during the year.
Pushing toward 10 GW
Currently, 144 new geothermal plants are under development in the United States. The accelerating growth of geothermal projects could bring the nation 7,000 MW of new baseload geothermal power in the next few years, raising the prospects of 10 GW of geothermal power in coming years.
The most attention-getting emerging technologies were Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which will allow geothermal power to expand its effective range across the nation. Additionally, inaugurated this year were two projects that would utilise hot water produced by oil and gas wells to produce geothermal power.
The stunning progress of the geothermal industry this year has been propelled by state and federal policies. The two largest geothermal producers, California and Nevada, each raised their renewable standards; California to 33% by 2020 and Nevada to 25% by 2025. Utilities in those states are looking to geothermal energy to fill these needs.
In addition, the DOE this year opened its loan program for innovative technologies to geothermal technology, and Congress created a new DOE loan guarantee program for renewable projects using commercial technology. Finally, BLM held a sale involving lands in Nevada, California and Utah which resulted in the sale of 255,355 acres of land and total revenue of approximately $9 million.
ARRA funding boost
Up to $338 million in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding was allotted for the exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. These grants will support 123 projects in 39 states, with recipients including private industry, academic institutions, tribal entities, local governments, and DOE’s National Laboratories.
“Geothermal energy will experience unprecedented growth in the coming years. While stimulus money has been driving much of our recent growth, we now see that the development of new geothermal technology starts making many projects economically attractive in itself”, said Karl Gawell, GEA’s executive director.
2010 even better
The outlook for 2010 is for even stronger growth in the industry, continued progress with new technology, and greater priority from federal and state policymakers. GEA predicts in the new year that the number of states with geothermal power will reach double digits, with new power projects coming on line in four to eight states. New technology advances will continue to expand the recognized power potential of geothermal resources; DOE will officially recognize a near-term potential of at least 20 GW, or 5% of U.S. power needs, with longer-term possibilities well over 100 GW.
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