Western GeoPower (fka WGP.V)

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A good article about geothermal energy. Click the link to read the whole article:


Geothermal markets heat up

By Karen Broyles
Filed from Houston 5/5/2008 11:06:13 PM GMT


Geothermal power plant

Geothermal, long the "Sleeping Beauty" of sustainable energy, is now showing clear signs of waking up, particularly in the U.S., where geothermal potential remains largely untapped, according to Iceland-based Glitnir Bank.

Late last year, Glitnir opened a New York office with the aim of investing in geothermal projects. Glitnir then estimated that up to US$39.4 billion in funding would be needed to develop available geothermal energy resources in the U.S. through 2025, including US$16.9 billion over the next eight years and an additional US$22.5 billion in the following decade.

In the past, a lack of investment capital and technology to unlock lower heat geothermal resources, as well as a global emphasis on oil and gas exploration, kept geothermal on the backburner in the U.S. However, that tale is beginning to change as investment capital, a growing emphasis on cleaner-burning fuel alternatives to oil and gas and technological know-how are unlocking the wider potential use of geothermal.

"Geothermal energy is very complex and diverse in terms of its use. It's used for fish farming in China, alligator growing in Idaho, power production in China, spas and greenhouses in Mexico and Iceland, and used to heat buildings in Iceland," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Geothermal Energy Association (GEA).

Now, companies such as Iceland-based financial group Glitnir are seeking a stake in U.S. geothermal potential through investment. In recent months, other financial investment companies such as Merrill Lynch also have backed U.S. geothermal development.

The expense of drilling geothermal wells has been a hindrance. However, investment capital has begun flowing into geothermal, and investment bankers are starting get their heads around that, while a geothermal well may take five to 10 years to pay off, it could run indefinitely as an energy resource, said Craig Nunn, member director of the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association.

With developments in turbine technology, "we can look at resources up to 100 degrees Celcius. If we're able to tap lower temperature geothermal systems, it opens a lot of doors to many, many locations."

"And we're not even looking at EGS [enhanced geothermal systems]. That opens a whole other set of doors," Nunn said.

Technology such as organic Rankine steam power plants has allowed regions such as southern Germany to access lower temperature geothermal resources. Gawell said that technology has allowed areas such as the U.S. state of Nevada to utilize geothermal power.

Other engineering techniques, for instance, using wastewater to generate geothermal power such as takes place at The Geysers geothermal field in California, also allow geothermal resources that couldn't be accessed previously to be utilized.

http://www.energycurrent.com/index.php?print=10318