Archive for category Geothermal Power

Groundwater Cooling System for Supercomputers Ecofriendly and Efficient

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on February 26, 2013

Australia’s largest supercomputer may get a renewable system for cooling in the near future thanks to a geothermal energy project in Perth. The Pawsey Centre supercomputer, an $80 million facility, needs an advanced solution for cooling. CSIRO Geothermal Project has determined that a groundwater cooling system will work best. The system works by pumping cool [...]

US Geothermal Power Capacity Increased by 147 MW in 2012

Posted by Mike Sandru in Geothermal Power on February 19, 2013

Of the various forms of green energy, geothermal power is the least popular when compared to solar and wind. For example, with the wind energy capacity in the US increasing by over 13 GW in 2012 and 5.5 GW of the total coming only in December, the Geothermal Energy Association reports that 147.05 MW capacity [...]

Alaska Champions Geothermal Power, Plans Leasing Rights Public Offering

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on February 12, 2013

In Alaska’s Lower Cook Inlet, home of the active Augustine Volcano, the Division of Oil and Gas plans to offer the public the chance to bid for leasing rights on the entirety of Augustine Island, its tidelands, and surrounding waters. This amounts to close to 66,000 acres of state-owned land. On May 8, the lease [...]

Heilbronn House, a Sustainable Geothermal Home on the Edge of a German Forest

Posted by Mike Sandru in Geothermal Power, Green Buildings on February 7, 2013

Heilbronn House is a three story home designed by KM Architektur which boasts sustainable features such as a passive solar design, solar water heating and a geothermal energy system as well as being built using sustainable materials such as wood, glass and copper. It is a sterling example of an eco-friendly home but also enjoys [...]

Geothermal Energy Likely to Replace 25 Nuclear Power Plants In Japan

Posted by Mike Sandru in Geothermal Power on December 25, 2012

Iceland’s ambassador to Japan, Stefan Larus Stefansson, lectured in Tokyo not too long ago about the enormous potential for geothermal energy in Japan. He pointed out that if the geothermal potential of the country could be fully invested in and tapped, about 25 nuclear reactors could be replaced. He cited his home country’s example in [...]

Researchers Create Fresh Water from Geothermal Energy

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on December 20, 2012

One of the key challenges in our brave new world is creating a sustainable water supply for the ever growing global population – a population that has surpassed 7 billion and keeps expanding. Experts recognize this issue must be met head on, paying particular attention to comprehensive water management and responsible water usage. Diminishing resources [...]

ARPA-E Funds Laser-Drilled Geothermal Energy Project

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on December 15, 2012

The US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) has provided funding to Foro Energy to develop inexpensive, high-powered lasers that may be able to tear through rock to drill for oil. This would eliminate the need to bore through the Earth using giant metal drills in the quest for resources. Using [...]

Only 2% of US Geothermal Energy Needed to Supply 2500x Power Demand

Posted by Janina Lazo in Geothermal Power on December 4, 2012

Unlike solar and wind powers, geothermal power is cost-effective and a reliable source, 24/7 whole year round at a consistent and predictable rate. What’s more, according to the estimates of MIT, only 2% of the available heat energy at three to ten kilometers below the grounds of US would suffice to supply 2,500 times of [...]

Australia’s Geothermal Energy Projects in Jeopardy

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on November 30, 2012

The future of geothermal energy in Australia is looking bleak. Despite the fact government data speculates that using only 1% of hot rocks can generate power for Australia for 26,000 years, major companies are retracting their support. Since they have not seen any returns in Geodynamic’s Cooper Basin wells, Ten years ago, Origin anticipated major [...]

Pacific Northwest’s Klamath Basin a Possible Site for Geothermal Energy Plant

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on November 28, 2012

There are currently three high-volume, low-heat geothermal energy plans in the world. These are located in Japan, Germany, and Iceland. By the end of 2013, if all goes according to plan, there may be a fourth plant, located in the Klamath Basin which spans parts of California and Oregon. In mid-November, two potential plant locations [...]

Geothermal Power a Possible Solution for Japan’s Energy Crisis

Posted by Leigh Kim in Geothermal Power on November 7, 2012

While unquestionably tragic, the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 has Japan reconsidering previously feared forms of renewable energy. Long-neglected geothermal energy is now being considered thanks to the country’s massive energy shortage. Even onsen (hot spring) resorts, major Japanese tourist attractions, once vehemently against the use of geothermal power, are [...]

Development of Philippines Geothermal Energy, Helped by NZ Scientists

Posted by Janina Lazo in Geothermal Power on October 25, 2012

Among the renewable energy industries in the Philippines, geothermal energy is the one able to keep on expanding. What’s more, it ranks second among other providers of geothermal power in the world. Along with the sector’s development is the continuing support of New Zealand’s Institute of Geothermal and Nuclear Sciences (GNS Science), which evaluates current [...]

Newberry Volcano in Oregon to Become Geothermal Power Source

Posted by Mila Luleva in Geothermal Power on October 16, 2012

Nearly one million people could benefit from a new project in Oregon, where deep waters would be turned into steam by deep geothermal activity of dormant volcanoes and the turbines will be powered without producing greenhouse gases. Altarock, the company in charge of drilling, managed to get approval for the project by the U.S. Bureau [...]

MIT Scientists Scavenging the Power of Volcanoes… Safely, They Say

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on August 13, 2012

An MIT report submitted to the DOE forwards the idea of scavenging the power of volcanoes for electricity, safely. In short, they want to inject water inside a dormant volcano in Oregon at pressures that could trigger earthquakes. However, MIT claims that the new technologies they use will not generate any crust movement. The MIT [...]

Could Fracking for Methane Have Caused the Recent Italy Earthquakes?

Posted by Ovidiu Sandru in Geothermal Power on June 4, 2012

You probably heard about Italy’s recent earthquakes and their aftermath. While it’s highly possible that the event had natural causes, there is also the possibility that methane extraction facilities nearby the epicenter have something to do with it. They employ a method called “hydraulic fracking” to crack the rocks beneath the soil by means of [...]