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Alternative Energy - Thursday, October 29, 2009

DOE Awards $338M To Support Geothermal Growth

Geothermal is not just a bunch of hot air as evidenced by the $338 million awarded by the Department of Energy (DOE) today to promote the exploration of new geothermal fields and advanced technologies. 123 projects in 39 states will be supported by the DOE.

Internationally, geothermal energy supplies about 60 million people with electricity and about 4 million people in the U.S. In 2007, 4.5 percent of California’s electricity came from the state’s 44 geothermal plants. Geothermal energy exploration is expensive and the extraction process has its issues including the release of silica. A common element found in water, silica is release from dissolving rock and forms hard deposits that clog pipelines and drilling holes.

“The United States is blessed with vast geothermal energy resources, which hold enormous potential to heat our homes and power our economy,” said Secretary Chu in a press release. “These investments in America's technological innovation will allow us to capture more of this clean, carbon free energy at a lower cost than ever before.”

Of the 123 projects, the largest amount of funding went to AltaRock Energy who is headquartered in Sausalito, CA. AltaRock received $25 million to demonstrate its enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Instead of exploiting natural resources where naturally occurring water and rock porosity is capable of carrying heat to the surface, EGS creates geothermal resources closer to the surface through hydraulic stimulation. Alta Rock’s demonstration of EGS’s power generation capabilities will take place at the Newberry Known Geothermal Resource Center in Bend, Oregon.

The smallest award, $50,000, went to Arthur Mansure. A life cycle expert, Mr. Mansure will determine and document the sustainability of geothermal development.