geothermal

Ask an expert on clean tech what the largest barriers to a low carbon energy future are, and chances are they will list higher technology costs, policy barriers, or the need for new infrastructure to accommodate novel energy sources.[read more]

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy agency (EERE) has announced a roadmap workshop for enhanced geothermal. It is inviting a select — small — group of subject matter experts to take part in this roadmap workshop in order to help develop a plan for how the country can proceed in developing its dry rock geothermal resources and...[read more]

The clean energy sector is entering a phase of dramatic change in which business models are being transformed against a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty, as the industry emerges from a challenging period caused by the global economic downtown. Technologies and business structures that were once abandoned, are now being revived in several key sectors.[read more]

The Obama Administration betting big on enhanced geothermal systems, a new drilling technique that could boost geothermal power to 10 percent of America’s total portfolio. But it also could increase the risk of earthquakes. Correspondent Dan Goldstein goes to California and Oregon to investigate if this technique is shaky, or if it’s on solid ground.[read more]

I just caught up with last week's bankruptcy filing by Raser Technologies, Inc., a small developer of geothermal power plants. Burdened with excessive debt, Raser is filing for Chapter 11 protection to restructure its liabilities and continue operating under new ownership. In the process the current shareholders will see their much-...[read more]

The SMH has an article on the cost of nuclear power - Nuclear power 'failing' price test.NUCLEAR energy will be more expensive than most forms of renewable energy by 2020 according to a paper by the University of NSW energy expert Mark Diesendorf.The paper, to be given at a solar industry conference in Canberra today, finds the cheapest...[read more]

The Business Spectator has an update on the geothermal energy sector in Australia - A clean energy source feels the heat. Has a cloud of steam ever generated as much excitement as the vaporised water that emerged from the Panax Geothermal’s Salamander well in South Australia last Thursday? “Those are beautiful pictures,” said one...[read more]

Coal has become the energy source we love to hate.  Many people don’t want to live with its global warming pollution and we can’t practically live without the electric power it generates.  In the latest round of the love-hate match, last week Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator, agreed to reconsider a decision made by her...[read more]

Oil at $132 a barrel. The cost of nuclear power plants doubling and tripling. Clean coal and CCS too pricey and unproven, while conventional coal faces stiff public opposition. Meanwhile, interest in electric and plug-in hybrid cars is growing, drawing more interest in electricity from renewables such as wind, solar, and perhaps more...[read more]

The Center for American Progress has a good article on the clean energy investment bill that will voted on soon by Congress. Bush and the conservatives have thwarted this effort repeatedly, but it remains an important piece of legislation, especially because: The new bill includes a production tax credit for wind, geothermal, and other...[read more]

I wrote a Clean Break column this week on the need for more attention -- serious attention -- to matters involving the electric grid. My concern is that we put so much focus on new power generation, arguably a more sexy topic when we talk about wind and solar, and seem to forget that maximizing renewable output means improving the way...[read more]

Why is it that the Dutch and the Danish are doing some of the coolest stuff in the world when it comes to renewable energy projects? Figured I'd point out this AP story about parking lots turned into solar sponges -- basically solar thermal systems under the wheels of our cars. Here's a description of how the lots work: "A latticework...[read more]

Zero. That's how many power plants in Canada use high-temperature geothermal heat to generate electricity. It's estimated that British Columbia alone could have 6,000 megawatts of "easy" geothermal potential, and as I point out in my latest Clean Break column, across Canada the potential is much more if we include low enthalpy...[read more]