OCT 12

A study carried out by Southern Methodist University and funded by Google found that West Virginia contains a surprising amount of geothermal energy, enough to more than double the amount of energy generated by the state.

West Virginia is a large producer of coal-based energy, with a lot of its economy based on that production, but with this new information, a clean energy boom may be in its future.  Researchers calculated that if just 2 percent of the available geothermal energy were harnessed, the state would be able to produce almost 19 GW of clean energy.  Currently, West Virginia generates about 16.4 GW of energy, with 97 percent of that coming from coal.

West Virginia is tectonically stable, so while this is big new for the state, the tectonically active zones in the west still have it beat as far as geothermal capacity.  Nevada, for example, has a capacity of over 146 GW at a 2 percent recovery rate.

The study found 78 percent more geothermal energy than was expected, adding 1,455 new spots to existing geothermal energy maps.  The hot spots are mainly located in the eastern part of the state.

This is very exciting news for a state known for producing dirty energy that is not only bad for the planet but for the people who work in the mines and those who live nearby.  I hope that a safer, cleaner alternative is on the way for West Virginia.

via Green Biz

Comments (5)

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wv
written by sarah, October 12, 2010

Did someone say hot springs?

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written by Thomas, October 12, 2010

Geothermal is awesome because it is silent and hidden. Solar and wind get all the attention but geothermal is so simple and easy. I work in the industry as an installer and it is really picking up. It is a good time to know how to do this sort of thing. I've been looking for workers but I can't find anyone who has taken the necessary courses to install solar panels. CleanEdison now provides geo training

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written by RV, October 13, 2010

For geothermal power... don't you need water to use the heat coming from the Earth? If all of West Virginia's power was met from geothermal, how much water would be needed?!?!

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written by Chuck, October 14, 2010

don't expect to see any geothermal plants in the forseable future.
West Virginia is owned by the coal mining industry and they'll never let this happen.

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not so fast
written by Citizen, October 19, 2010

"exciting news for a state known for producing dirty energy that is not only bad for the planet....."

This country could not get by without that coal being burned at present. WV is where the coal IS, it's not like West Virginians decided to be evil.
What's more, although geothermal is promising, you will see democrats line up to block it, just as Senator Boxer is blocking at least 17 solar projects in California, and Senators Kennedy and Kerry tried to block Cape Wind....

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