Solar and wind have been the celebrities of renewable energy news coverage recently, but according to the United States Geological Survey and industry experts, geothermal energy is the next big thing.

The current economic crisis and rising costs of oil have led to a push for more geothermal energy production in the U.S., already the world’s leading producer.

In the first government assessment in 30 years, the USGS reports that the U.S. has “identified conventional” sources of geothermal energy that, if fully developed, are capable of generating 9,057 megawatts (MW). One megawatt is equal to 1,000 kilowatts, enough to serve about 1,000 U.S. homes, meaning 9,057 MW could power 9,057,000 homes.

Another potential 30,033 MW is available in “conventional undiscovered” sources and 517,800 MW from Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), sources that have high temperatures and low permeability. This figure makes Google’s August announcement that it was investing $10 million in EGS development pretty exciting.

At an international conference this week on geothermal energy, industry insiders revealed that projects are being developed in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Nevada, which has the most potential geothermal power, has 45 projects alone. More than 2,100 MW can be produced in Nevada, more than enough to meet the state requirement to have 20 percent renewable power production by 2015.

This news makes me feel like the U.S. is really in reach of utilizing large amounts of renewable energy. Let’s hope that the experts are right, the press coverage increases and the funding follows.

via CleanTechnica

Geothermal power is getting a closer look from several directions. These new studies are based on "hot rocks" at temperatures of around 150 degrees C (about 300 degrees F) that can be reached by drilling a couple of miles into the earth's crust. This is a much more involved approach than dealing with surface or near-surface geothermal activity, as is used for much of Iceland's power generation.

Google, which has an interest in affordable power to run its growing numbers of server farms, is heavily investing (through Google.org) in research into the development of geothermal power. In the US, Google is the largest funding source for geothermal research.

At the same time, the Australian government is investing nearly four times as much as Google to develop geothermal power for Australia. "An Australian Geothermal Energy Association report this week forecast it could potentially produce 2,200 megawatts of baseload power by 2020, adding that represented up to 40 percent of Australia's 2020 renewable energy target."

MIT scientists estimate that the US could develop 100 gigawatts of generating capacity from geothermal over the next 40 years at a cost of US$1 billion. The Australians' timetable is much more aggressive, and comes with a higher price tag. "The association estimated A$12 billion would need to be invested to develop the 2,200 megawatts of power, but added the cost of generating electricity would fall to acceptable levels by the time commercial projects were up and running."

The amount of energy that could be generated from geothermal power is potentially huge. The Australian group estimates that just 1 percent of the country's geothermal capacity could provide 26,000 years worth of clean electricity.

Links: Scientific American, Planet Ark